Economic woes lead teachers to sacrifice, rely on donations

The recent economic downturn and anticipated budget shortfalls in many states have led to teacher sacrifices and ingenuity: Some teachers unions have given up pay raises for members, while teachers are getting creative to raise money for supplies and are relying more heavily on donations. A New York teacher said she uses DonorsChoose.org -- a nonprofit site that connects teachers' requests for supplies with willing donors. ABC News

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Yup, if teachers like me are not resourceful there will not be enough resources and supplies for our students to use for our everyday lessons and projects.

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Every week, I go to the dollar store to buy treats for my students for good learning and behavior during the week; it's always a pleasure for me to see them rewarded for their hard work. A few cents that I earn from blogging goes a long way. I have four working computers in my classroom for my students because I gathered those old but working computers that I found in the hallways of my school during the beginning of this school year during our clean up. I still have the Playstations that we used four years ago from the afterschool tutorials when I volunteered to tutor some students in my school. And thanks to our donors and philantropists for our project supplies. Twice my project proposals were funded by DonorsChoose.org (Special Needs Making Memories & Greek Mythology We Need Badly) and another proposal is underway, Special Authors Need Special Journals that my students and I are hoping to get funded too. We also received a $500.00 grant from The Washington Post Grants in Education in 2006. Parents and students are always happy at the end of the school year Class Recognition Day when I honor each student after presenting an excellent project or their best work that they did in class.

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I never ran out of ideas of where to get grants and resources for my students. But it's difficult to get funding for the Professional Development trainings that I need. My initial National Board processing fee was fully supported in 2006, but the support was cut after that. DCist was right when he said that "D.C. has been a frustrating place for teachers to apply for National Board certification. It can be an expensive process, and while the majority of states and districts offer extensive financial and professional incentives for earning the certification, "... continue I hope there will be more support for our professional development like the National Board Certification coming soon.

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Do I need to dip in my own pocket for the $350 that I need to continue my National Board Certification?...that 2 points that I need to pass is attainable. Any ideas where I can get financial support for my professional development? Please email me: solangala@yahoo.com