With budgets being tight, classroom teachers often provide many materials to their classrooms on their own. There are bigger items on many teachers’ wish lists, though, and DonorsChoose.org has helped grant some of those wishes.

According to its website, DonorsChoose was founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx.

“DonorsChoose.org empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials and experiences for their students,” states the website. “Right now there are thousands of classroom requests that you can help bring to life with a gift of any amount.”

Teachers in East Haven are seeking funding for 58 projects on the site. Requests range from technology like iPads and projectors to art supplies to gymnastics mats and padding for the gym walls.

“DonorsChoose is a great resource for teachers and schools,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Portia Bonner. “We’ve had quite a few teachers use it, one in particular, who was able to get different types of furniture for her classroom to engage students more in an active form of learning.”

Allison Santoro, a 1st-grade teacher at Deer Run Elementary School, has always had a focus on creating an active classroom environment. She incorporates movement breaks into her daily routine with her students doing yoga and dance parties, hopscotch, interactive games, and more.

“Being active helps keep the kids motivated and engaged,” said Santoro. “Research shows it helps with their learning because even an adult can’t sit in a chair all day. This is something I’ve been doing for a while, but without specific furniture.”

This year, Santoro took her active classroom to a new level. She applied for state grants to purchase four pedal desks from Kidsfit for her classroom with the remainder of the balance being paid out of the school budget.

She also posted several projects on DonorsChoose to bring even more activity to her classroom, receiving funding for four standing desks with a foot bar, yoga ball chairs, lapboard desks, rocker chairs, wipe board tables, and Hokki stools, which are wobbling stools. Her students move to different stations throughout the day, using the items.

“All of these tools help them remain active,” said Santoro. “I reached out to a lot of businesses in town and Donovan’s Reef funded my wipe boards. Target did a big action-based funding this summer because they wanted to promote movement in the classroom and promote health and fitness.”

Santoro has been using DonorsChoose since 2008. Over the years, she has received funding for many projects, bringing ant farms, books, board games, iPads, an electric pencil sharpener, and more to her classroom. She has also helped other teachers get started with DonorsChoose as well.

“DonorsChoose is just another vehicle for getting new equipment into the classroom,” said Bonner, who noted Ferrara School has been phasing SmartBoards into the classrooms. “Each school has equipment line in the budget, but it’s about the priority of what the school is doing.”

DonorsChoose is a public charity and donors can submit tax-deductible donations to specific projects or to a project in need. When a project is fully funded, DonorsChoose purchases the items with the funds and ships the items directly to the school. If a project is not fully funded, those who donated can choose a new project to fund or put the donation toward a future project by that teacher.

“It’s a cool opportunity where people in or out of the community can choose to donate funds to public education—it’s a neat way to give back to education,” said Bonner. “These are special teachers who go above and beyond that know the district is strapped for cash and want to try something innovative. I’ve got some bright stars here in East Haven who are really making a difference.”