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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Funding School Programs Using a Thousand Points of Light - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Funding School Programs Using a Thousand Points of Light - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:



Funding School Programs Using a Thousand Points of Light

By now, it's a familiar story. An art teacher in a public elementary school, paying for her annual art supplies using a crowdfunding site. Her goal seems pretty modest--$1000--and nearly half of it is already in the can, mostly arriving in $10 and $20 increments. Her principal praises her for "thinking out of the box."
The teacher--Debra Ennis of Ypsilanti, Michigan--is careful to note that her school does provide basic art supplies, but the students can do more creative exploration and special projects with the added materials. She sincerely commends the community for valuing its children and its educators.
A spokeswoman for an adjacent district sniffs that her system pays for the classroom materials teachers require, without having to solicit outside donors--although, she adds, teachers can certainly reach into their own pockets for extras.
While I find the whole issue disheartening, I certainly understand why Ms. Ennis did what she did. In fact, I was Debra Ennis, for about 30 years. The first year I taught instrumental music, my annual band budget was $500. Even in the 1970s, that wasn't enough to purchase a new tuba, let alone outfit a band program with music and instruments and equipment. I spent decades mastering the art of year-round fund-raising, resource trading with other schools and just plain scrounging. I am sure there are band teachers whose schools provide all the financial support they need to run a quality program, but I've never met one.
While seeking outside resources isn't limited to art and music instruction, raising money for school programs is almost always described as a way to get "extras" (often qualified with "for the kids"). My question is: how do we determine what's essential in adequately funding schools--and what is an "extra?" In Ypsilanti, Debra Ennis teaches art to 400 students. Is the $2.50/per child she hopes to raise superfluous--a luxury?
Would it be better if she said: Hey, if this is all the district can give me, I'll scale back my program and Funding School Programs Using a Thousand Points of Light - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: