Please read the following about a new initiative we learned of while attending ISTE this year, the #TeachersAreProfessionals movement. This initiative is focused on provided teachers with $250 of FREE MONEY to use in their classroom ANY WAY THEY CHOOSE. No receipts, no purchase orders, no permission needed!
We have three goals with the #TeachersAreProfessionals movement:
- To help educators not spend money-out-of-pocket and reverse the “norm” that educators must pay for their own classroom resources.
- To help educators gain access to their favorite EdTech tools in a more affordable, easier, and quicker process.
- To help educators grow professionally through professional development books and interacting as a community to allow us to help each other.
We know each teacher pays at least $250 out of pocket for classroom supplies (not including EdTech subscriptions.) We are working towards getting you a store gift card for you to spend however you want on school supplies. No receipts. You are a professional and can be trusted to buy the supplies you need for your class. Additionally, the introduction of technology into classrooms has added a financial burden on teachers to purchase EdTech subscriptions. In the short term we hope to leverage group purchasing to get you better pricing like school sites receive. Long term we hope to get these 100% funded for you as well.You are the start of the community we are building. This process will take some time to get all the pieces in place to get you the funding you deserve and the community of support that we can all benefit from. The information that we are collecting allows us to better understand how #TeachersAreProfessionals can make the difference that we need. The more teachers we have join the community the more leverage we have to request donations for your classroom supplies and for group discounts on EdTech tools. Please share the link to help build our community so we can end the norm that teachers pay for supplies out of their pocket.If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out. This will only succeed with the work and dedication from all of us working side-by-side to make a positive impact. As we continue to grow and have more updates, we will be sure to email you (but not too often!)For now, what can you do to help: you can share our #TeachersAreProfessionals form with all of your educator friends to complete. The more responses we receive, the quicker we can provide the solutions we want for you.
Spread the word!