ROANOKE, Va. – As local school districts like Roanoke City try to make every dollar count, some teachers are going outside the budget to help kids learn.
10 News watched first-graders at Hurt Park Elementary use tablets and Chromebooks their teachers got for them with help from the website Donors Choose, which links classrooms with donors looking to support education.
Some sources are local, like friends and family and stores like BJ's and Dicks Sporting Goods. Others are national, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“I think it’s been a huge benefit for our class,” teacher Michelle Nixon said. “It’s just been really nice because we’re able to give the children more opportunities to work with technology and it’s going to help them once they leave Roanoke City.”
The students are reading books, playing educational games, answering questions and even learning basic coding concepts on the devices.
“I think that they’re really helpful for learning,” first-grader Lundyn Morgan said.
Many teachers have received more than a thousand dollars each in donations. Others have funded double-digit numbers of projects, getting everything from more folders to new chairs.
At least one teacher in the district alone has gotten more than $4,000 in donations.
Teachers in Montgomery County have also had success using Donors Choose, according to a schools spokeswoman.