It's Back to School We Go

Another school year is upon us. Teachers set up new classrooms for the year – decorating, planning fun ways to teach important lessons and preparing for desks full of new students.

Books, new school supplies, empty notebooks wait to be filled with knowledge – all icons of a new year full of new possibilities. But as many teachers prepare, classrooms without these resources are a reality. On average, teachers spend $480 of their own money on books and resources for their classroom each year.

This lack of resources doesn’t just affect teachers’ wallets. It affects their ability to provide a multifaceted, engaging learning environment for the kids they serve.  Without books to read and materials to help them learn, students at schools in low-income neighborhoods are often at a disadvantage.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing stories of outstanding teachers and program leaders who have relied on First Book to provide books and learning materials to kids in need. We’ll also be sharing some fun ways you can get involved in getting books to kids, and to the teachers and programs that serve them, this school year.