Across the country, schools are abandoning cumbersome textbooks in favor of equivalents that can be downloaded and printed out for free. And this isn’t just for cost savings — EdReports.org found that Eureka Math, an online distributed math program that teachers can download and print out for free, was more aligned to national education standards than some traditional textbooks.
On the one hand, students no longer need to lug around 20-pound backpacks and schools are able to save substantial cash on textbooks that are not only expensive but also quickly become outdated. At the same time, however, schools are increasingly desperate for paper.
With 94% of US teachers spending their own money on school supplies — at an average of $479/year — RFPIO decided to step in and take care of their paper needs. RFPIO, including both founders and individual employees, collectively donated over 20 boxes of paper to Ridgewood Elementary School in the Beaverton School District. To put that into perspective, we managed to fill 2 cars with paper that we dropped off the Friday before school started.
Sometimes it’s the little things that really make all the difference. If you want to support teachers, check out Donor’s Choose. You can donate to specific districts, projects (books for libraries, STEM tools, etc), or simply choose any classroom you deem worthy of your dollars!
