Tools of the Trade

There is a severe shortage of trained educators qualified to teach in the rural areas of the United States. This is also a major concern for communities in rural Texas.   Too often, the rural school districts do not receive as much funding as the urban districts.  The limited financial resources continues into the classroom where teachers are not allocated much needed funds to purchase classroom supplies.  

According to the Economic Policy Institute, about ninety percent of teachers have to purchase their own classroom supplies due to limited budgets.  Teachers purchase classroom supplies from their own pockets which is often financially difficult for them to do and is especially hard for new teachers. 

TechTeach is a Texas Tech University College of Education academic program for student teachers who are willing to commit to a three-year long tenure in rural school districts of Texas such as Slaton, Roscoe, Roosevelt (Lubbock County), Hamlin, Floydada, Fayetteville, Crosbyton and Brownfield.  The TechTeach program earned top marks from the National Council on Teacher Quality, placing in the top 35 programs in the nation. 

The future educators of TechTeach are not only highly trained but also truly committed to the teaching profession!  According to the U.S.News & World Report from April 10, 2017, the typical rural teacher makes almost $12,000 less than their suburban counterpart.   

The goal of this fundraising campaign is to support twenty-two dedicated educators currently participating in TechTeach to purchase basic classroom supplies when they start their posts after graduation in rural schools districts of Texas.  

In addition to pens, pencils and paper, the new teachers of TechTeach will pay for a wide range of  supplies to adequately equip their classrooms.  Items such as planners, maps, flip charts, binders, math manipulatives,  stencils, white boards, dry eraser markers and erasers, colored markers, highlighters, crayons, sticky notes, electric pencil sharpeners, crayons, poster boards, plastic bins for storage, scissors, hooks, first aid kit, tape dispenser, staplers and glue.  The more costly endeavor for the new teachers is to build a resource library needed for a classroom with books and reference material the students need to learn. 

The amount of $500 is a good start for supplying the TechTeach educator with the basic supplies to equip a classroom.  Many students in the rural school districts are from families in lower socio-economic levels so new teachers of TechTeach also feel compelled to provide snacks, hand sanitizers, tissues etc. for the children.   

The monetary goal of $11,000 is to provide $500 worth of supplies for each of the twenty-two TechTeach educators as they embark on a professional journey to teach the children in the rural communities of West Texas.  

          Let's support these dedicated educators with the tools they need to teach!!