Teachers throughout the county are trying to get funding for various student-centered initiatives through educational crowd funding site DonorsChoose.org. Through Sunday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will pay for half the project if public donors fund the rest.
DonorsChoose.org is a web site that teachers can post projects that need funding, which donors can search by school, subject or grade.
According to the site, 15 Prince William County teachers are looking for funding for projects ranging from a fourth grade classroom that needs computer tablets for a high population of Elementary English learners to a teacher in a Title 1 school that is looking to purchase a classroom set of graphic novels to encourage student literacy.
Other projects include differentiated "Rise and Shine Binders," books to expand classroom libraries, and even Play Doh for children with developmental disabilities.
Most of these projects are for county schools designated "high or highest poverty" and are only a few hundred dollars away from qualifying for the matching grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Nine projects have already received funding by Aug. 23. through this grant.
Residents can browse and fund these projects here.
"Teachers across the country are struggling to give their classes great tools for learning...Melinda and I are big fans of DonorsChoose.org, a program that makes it easy for teachers to connect with potential donors," philanthropist Bill Gates said. "To make it easy for everyone to support teachers via DonorsChoose.org, our foundation will meet donors halfway. From August 22 through August 24, nearly every project on the site will be half off."
Support Bristow Beat - Donate Today!