Neigborhood Expert: How to support local school teachers this year

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in Vienna. You can follow Laura on Instagram at @LauraSchwartzRealtor or her Facebook page. Laura can be reached at 703-283-6120 or Laura@GuidingYourMove.com.

With the start of the school year quickly approaching, there are many ways people are starting to help teachers and schools set up their rooms for a successful year.

As some of you may know, my husband is a high school teacher, so I love supporting educators. They work so hard. So, so hard. Many of them spend a lot of their own money on their classrooms, especially elementary school teachers.

Here’s a list of ways you can directly support teachers as well as schools:

• Complete a Teacher’s Amazon Wish List: A recent Facebook group was started for FCPS educators to post their Amazon Wish Lists for people to purchase items off of. You can do so anonymously or with your name, either way, they’re getting many items for their classroom that will directly benefit the kids.
• If your school doesn’t have a Blessings in a Backpack program, consider adding one. The organization quietly provides food for kids over the weekend who need assistance.
• There’s also a website called DonorsChoose.org where teachers can post projects they want to do with a funding request. You can see which teacher, which school and how much they need. I did a quick search for Vienna, Virginia and found multiple opportunities!

Whether you decide to donate or not, consider sending a simple thank you to your favorite educator just to give them a little boost as they head into their final days of summer. Many are already in planning mode for the upcoming school year.