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When I first came to my school, I felt the same way a lot of people do — that students should bring their own supplies. But when you work in an impoverished area, you find that more and more children come to school with nothing — not even a pencil to write with. A lot of these parents are on a month-to-month income, trying to pay the bills; they can’t afford to do school-supply shopping.

I’ve had kids without book bags because their mom couldn’t get them one, or kids who bring in homework written in crayon or marker because they didn’t have a pencil at home.

Many of my students are in shelters, so you can only imagine what their life is like when it comes to what they want and what they need.

With Teacher’s Choice money, I buy an extra stash of notebooks, pencils and folders, every little thing they use. Everything helps. Every dollar helps. It makes all the difference because they know they’re prepared. Some of them even think, I’m going to work extra hard because my teacher gave me this book and I’m going to take care of it.

Imagine needing supplies — it’s a little thing for us to give it to them, but for them it’s like the biggest thing in the world.

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