#clearthelists: Texas Teacher Amazon Gifting

BACK TO SCHOOL SALES— Last week, a fellow teacher at my school wanted to see how much it would cost for one of our students to buy school supplies. She went to Office Depot/Target and spent roughly $40 for just about everything. She thought to herself...that’s not bad at all! Then immediately starting thinking...well that’s not including the clothes, shoes, haircut, potential new glasses, sports physical and other things kids need before school starts 😳😳. 

Last year Waco ISD had a total of 14,756 students from Pre-K through 12th grade. What is even more shocking is something people may not know...

* 70.62% or 10,421 students are considered At-Risk which means students who aren’t where they need to be academically are at-risk of dropping out of high school because they get so far behind that they are discouraged and eventually drop out; fall behind other students and struggle to make it through school.

* 88.09% or 12,999 students are economically disadvantaged which usually means the student’s household income is below average.

* Roughly 450 students were considered homeless. 

I’m not saying that all the kids in Waco ISD need help. There are some REALLY good kids and families in Waco ISD that go above and beyond to provide not only themselves but for others. Families that don’t have a lot but refuse to let their children fail because they don’t have access to resources to help them succeed. BUT for the ones that don’t...preparing to go back to school is a matter of having electricity or food vs new school clothes/shoes/supplies. Some kids show up to school without new clothes or supplies...but happy to be back. Teachers (myself and others like the one I spoke of) buy supplies for these “just in case” moments so students don’t feel embarrassed that they don’t have something. So when you see a school supplies drive, a teacher asking for classroom donations or your child’s supply lists...throw some extras (PENCILS please🤣) in your basket! 

In addition to throwing in some extra supplies and donating them for those in need, a movement was started by Texas teachers to share Amazon wish lists in a Facebook group called Texas Teacher Amazon Gifting. The goal is for fellow teachers to help each other clear wish lists created for their classrooms by gifting each other items from their lists. The movement is hashtagged #clearthelist. The fun part of it all is playing Santa and gifting strangers items they really need for the upcoming school year. It is a fun perk to also receive gifts in the mail. I started out with a very long and extensive list with items many of our students need in band, but found I needed to shorten it (a LOT) and include $10 gift cards. I have gifted seven people so far and plan on gifting another three before the weekend is over making it an even ten. I will gift those who gift me too. So far, I've received gifts from three people. 

If you want to join the movement and can help to #clearthelist I've created, please go to https://amzn.to/2H1LKDd.

Thanks so much! I'm excited about the school year. We will see the students on August 20th.