First-year teachers get free supplies for their classrooms

“I’m excited to be in my own classroom,” Fowler said. “My mom’s a teacher, so following in her footsteps is exciting.”

Wright State University partners with Crayons to Classrooms, a local nonprofit that provides free classrooms supplies for teachers in schools that qualify for free school lunches, to provide WSU’s recent graduates with classroom supplies. These first-year teachers got to “shop” at the store before the store officially opens for the school year.

Carlye Rausch, director of programs for Crayons to Classrooms, said the event helps teachers who usually won’t get their teaching paycheck until after school starts get items together to start their classroom.

“We really try to get them to come out early so they’re able to get their classroom started before school starts,” Rausch said.

This is the second year of the partnership, and Crayons to Classrooms says more people signed up than last year. Last year, about 44 students signed up and the organization gave out about $66,000 worth of supplies.

Steve Rubenstein, executive director of Crayons to Classrooms, said the team talked a few years ago about how to better support teachers, and one of the ideas that came up was getting help early for first-year teachers.

“They’re going to be going into schools, a lot of them where the majority of their students don’t have the means to provide the supplies that they need for their classroom,” Rubenstein said. “So that burden transfers to the teacher.”

Many first-year teachers end up at schools that have fewer resources.

Fowler, an incoming third-grade teacher, and Hartley, an incoming first-grade teacher, both said the shop helped them set up their classrooms.

Hartley said she hopes to learn a lot, alongside her students, this first year.

“It’s fun, getting to experience what I’ve been dreaming about for so long,” she said.

Jim Denniston, dean of the College of Health, Education and Human Services, said the program is a way to celebrate teachers moving into their careers. Multiple Wright State education faculty were at the event Tuesday talking to students.

“It’s one thing to see them at graduation and celebrate them completing the program at Wright State,” he said. “This is really an opportunity to like help them cross over into schools and begin their career as an educator.”