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Teachers at John Carroll Elementary in Landover know the difficulties of teaching students who do not have the things they need to learn.

Tiya Wiggins, who teaches third-, fourth- and fifth-grade math at the school, said many of her students come to school empty-handed, leaving her and other teachers to obtain the supplies they need.

"They come in sometimes without backpacks," Wiggins said.

Thanks to an agreement with the nonprofit organization World Vision, based in Federal Way, Washington, teachers at John Carroll and other Prince George's schools with students from low-income families will be able to obtain free supplies for their students' use.

The center will be open to teachers at schools that qualify for federal Title I funding. A school is designated Title I if 40 percent or more of its student body comes from low-income families, which is measured by their qualification for the federal free and reduced price meal program in schools.

For a family of four, a family income of $39,220 or less would qualify for reduced price meals and an annual income of $27,560 would qualify for free meals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are 53 Title I schools in the county.

The Carroll teachers who were the first to "shop" in the two-room warehouse adjacent to Carroll full of school supplies were in awe of all that they could choose from — ranging from the simplest items of paper and pencils to the more expensive — including a binding machine that teachers said they would use to preserve students' work.

Tara Turman, a third-, fourth- and fifth-grade science, social studies and health teacher, said the facility had all the things she needed as an educator.

"If I had a wish list, all this would be on it, definitely," she said.

Several Carroll teachers who participated in the first day of shopping estimated they spent anywhere from $200 to $500 of their own money on school supplies each year, with some noting that first-year teachers often spend the most. Some said they would buy supplies they at discount stores or share among teachers.

In the last fiscal year, which ended in July, the school system spent $18 million on classroom supplies, which is allocated based on the number of teachers in the school. Management teams in each school allot the supply budget for their own school.

According to a study released in July by the Silver Spring-based National School Supply and Equipment Association, 94 percent of teachers nationwide buy classroom supplies with their own money. The study reported that the average first-year teacher spends $770 of his or her own money on school supplies. Overall, teachers reported spending an average of $395 on school supplies in the 2007-2008 school year.

Anne Duffy, a spokeswoman for World Vision, said the mission of the organization is to provide for the neediest children, which is why the Teacher Resource Center is open only to teachers in Title I schools. The nonprofit has 10 Teacher Resource Centers nationwide, some of which can serve more than one school district.

The organization provides materials for the center based on donations from corporations, and other materials are purchased by World Vision as necessary.

Each teacher is permitted to visit the center about four times per year, depending on the availability of supplies. Teachers must document how the supplies are used, and they are provided for students' use, not for the school's office or any other non-classroom use, World Vision officials said. The materials in the center are valued at about $40,000.

The center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. three days per week.

The procedures on how many supplies each teacher can take per visit are still be worked out, but at other centers it varies based on how many teachers they are serving and how many supplies they have to give, Duffy said.

Thomasina Bland, a sixth-grade teacher at Carroll, shopped for "the basics" for her class, including notebooks, pencils and an incoming and outgoing assignment box that she could use for the students to turn in assignments as they walk into class.

"I'm trying to get my class so they'll be more independent going into seventh grade," she said.

Even in schools without access to resource centers, teachers say they manage to find ways to get the supplies they need for their students.

Julie Little, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Montpelier Elementary, which is not a Title I school, in Laurel, said many parents bring in supplies for the students to use during the year and she has access to supplies through the school.

Montpelier kindergarten teacher Evana Santee said teachers at the school have access to supplies and share their extra supplies with each other. She makes many of the decorations that go in her room herself.

"Especially with younger kids, they like to see things you made," Santee said. "I think it helps inspire the kids to be more creative."

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.

To learn more

For more information, visit www.worldvision.org/

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