Twin Cities-based Nonprofit Helps Teachers with Rising School Supply Costs
Monte Brown loves teaching.
He works full time in the Robbinsdale Area School District, but during summer break, you can find him at Relentless Academy in Brooklyn Center.
“A lot of times, I think teachers take summers off just to rejuvenate and re-energize,” said Brown. “Me, I like the money to keep coming in. And also, I just like working with kids.”
Money is always a hot topic in education.
School districts provide teachers with materials for curriculum, like books. But if educators want other classroom supplies like crayons, pencils and storage bins, Brown says they typically pay out of pocket.
“When you go to a classroom and you see it decorated, teachers, nine times out of 10, did that themselves,” he said.
During the school year, Brown works as a physical education teacher at Lakeview Elementary in Robbinsdale.
And yes, he’s spent his own money on his students.
“A lot of storage things. Also, I buy my own markers and creative play things,” said Brown.
Monte Brown is a physical education teacher in Robbinsdale. He uses AdoptAClassroom.org to raise money for school supplies.
Brown estimates that he’s spent more than $300 out of pocket. But now he has some help thanks to AdoptAClassroom.org, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit.
“It’s like a GoFundMe. You make a profile, state what you need, and then you just wait for donors to come across your page or profile,” said Brown. “If they like your vision and your mission, they pretty much allocate money to you.”
Brown has created a page on the website. He hopes to raise $2,000. He’d use that money to buy posters and rent Rollerblades for the kids.
“I think it would give kids a different experience, because some kids have never even been Rollerblading,” he said.
Ultimately, it’s about helping the students without putting too much of a financial burden on the folks who educate them.
“It takes a lot of anxiety away, and I can walk as an educator with a little more confidence that I can buy things that my students don’t have,” Brown said.
A survey conducted by AdoptAClassroom.org says that teachers pay nearly $900 annually out of pocket for their students.
