Tamara Griffith
Access to Resources: NAEIR
"To push for excellence today without continuing to push for access for less privileged students is to undersmine the crucial but incomplete gains that have been made. Equity and excellence cannot be divided."
~ Ernest L. Boyer
In order for students' academic potential to be fully realized, they must have adequate tools with which to learn. To support this endeavor, I spent some time researching how I could supply my students with basic school supplies to maximize their learning potential. The vast majority of my students are at or below the poverty line; as a result, procuring basic supplies -- pencils, paper, highlighters, erasers -- can present an undue hardship for their families who are already worrying about how to make sure their children are fed.
It is easy to chalk students' lack of supplies or classroom materials to irresponsibility; however, the poem to the left has always kept me grounded in the fact that, oftentimes, there is more to the story than mere irresponsibility. In several conversations with my students over the years, I have come to realize that for many students whose stories resonate with the one depicted in this poem, a lack of supplies leads to unnecessary shame and embarrassment, shame and embarrassment that can unnecessarily impede their academic achievement. In an effort to ensure that all of my students felt safe and secure, I decided to use my teacher lead money ($275 a semester) to provide students with access to supplies to aid in their learning.
While I was researching ways to provide supplies to my students affordably, I came across several possibilities: Donor's Choose, Right Road Kids, and NAEIR. While I tried to use all of these avenues to maximize what I could provide my students, to date, NAEIR is the one that I have been able to utilize consistently and in ways that provide my students with access to both individual and shared classroom supplies.
NAEIR collects unsold merchandise from a variety of companies, which they can then sell to teachers for "free" once it has been verified that they are currently working at a school. There is only a small handling charge associated with the products, meaning that the supplies cost next to nothing -- in fact, there is a Facebook group for NAEIR by this name. Because of my enrollment in this program, I have been able to supply my classroom with almost $4,000 worth of classroom supplies for just over $600.
Images
The slideshow below showcases some of the orders I have placed, examples of the supplies I have been able to provide my students, and examples of ways that access to these supplies has benefited my students in the classroom.
In order to be able to take advantage of the significant discounts provided by NAEIR, I had to register for the program.
Once my teacher status was verified, I was eligible to order items. This image depicts the orders I placed with my teacher lead money.
In addition, some of the more vied for items -- mechanical pencils and sharpie pens -- are placed in a treasure box that students can trade their blue tickets for as a reward for positive behaviors and habits shown throughout the class.
In order to be able to take advantage of the significant discounts provided by NAEIR, I had to register for the program.
Student Surveys
Because having a classroom that feels safe and non-threatening to my students is important to me, I wanted to ensure that my students felt as though they were benefiting from the supplies and resources provided to them through NAEIR. Consequently, I had them complete reflections regarding this access to supplies. Some of their responses are recorded below.
Reading students' reflections demonstrated that access to NAEIR resources not only relieved students' feelings of shame and embarrassment associated with not having/ being able to afford school supplies, but also helped students feel more successful academically, thus demonstrating that access to resources opened the doors of academic success for my students.
Teacher Reflection
Something that is incredibly important to me is for students to realize that they have amazing things to offer this world regardless of the socioeconomic status into which they are born. I truly believe that all of my students should have the tools to succeed in the classroom as these tools will help transform students into successful 21st century global citizens. Access to the basic tools of learning -- pencils, pens, erasers, paper, highlighters, etc. -- should not be something that students have to worry about or be ashamed of. As I think about the way in which NAEIR has transformed my classroom, I think about the academic benefits that students have had in the classroom: more efficiency in procedures, enriched projects, and more hands-on and visual learning opportunities. Since my students don't have to worry about where they will get their classroom supplies, they spend more classroom time practicing and applying content knowledge, allowing them to make tremendous learning gains and academic growth.
Moving forward, I would like to expand this impact. Providing my students with access to basic supplies is a good beginning, but, in an effort to be truly transformational, my goal is to broaden the impact in the coming weeks and months ahead by applying for technology grants to help better facilitate the technological literacy of my students.