As the fire roared through Los Angeles, Cathy T., a 6th grade teacher who retired in May and grew up in Altadena and Pasadena, donated her classroom supplies for next year. Cathy connects with other teachers on the Teacher Help List. So far no one has responded, but Cathy wrote, “I feel like they are still in shock about everything and waiting to hear where they will be moved.”
Since the LA fires began on January 7, 2025, more than 600,000 students have been displaced by the fire, and schools are in various stages of reopening and serving students. No matter when schools reopen, teachers and students will return to very different classrooms.
As teachers begin to understand their needs moving forward, here are five ways to support them, with input from the We Are Teachers community:
1. Send encouraging letters.
When she was in kindergarten, teacher Hannah K. received letters from other children after Hurricane Katrina and loved reading the letters sent by children her age. “Many books were talking about what other people were doing to help other primary school students across the country. … It was really nice to know that other people wanted to help.” – Hannah K.
Have your students write letters or participate in a letter writing campaign. Connect with teachers in the Singoteacher community to see who is ready to receive a full envelope.
If you are going to do a letter writing campaign, use these letter writing templates.
2. Take care of the wish list.
When teachers and students return to schools, they will learn more about what they need right now. View an online wish list to donate to. One We Are Teachers contributor pointed out that basic supplies—pencils, markers, paper—may be in high demand as students return to learning.
3. Donate books.
High school English teacher and author Veronica Bane has set up a book donation form that teachers or parents can use to request or donate books. The program started in young adult and YA books and has expanded to elementary and middle grade books.
Read more: LA Fires Book Donation Form
4. Check out GoFundMe.
This fundraising website has donation request pages for teachers. For example, one page supports an Altadena teacher and her husband. Another page supports an El Monte high school teacher. Use the following school fundraiser to donate to a teacher or school on GoFundMe.
5. Donate to SupplyBank.org.
The California Department of Education is partnering with SupplyBank.org to direct resources to affected schools. This is a great way to make a general donation that will be directed to schools that need it most.
See also 9 Ways to Help Schools Affected by Natural Disasters.
Looking for more articles and resources like this? Be sure to sign up for our newsletters to find out when they are posted.
Source link
