Easing the Toll on Teachers' Checkbooks
Rockville Educator Is Among Beneficiaries of Program to Erase Out-of-Pocket Expenses

By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 9, 2008

All the markers were dry in Theresa Baker's classroom the morning of Oct. 1, and there was no tissue paper for wiping the dry-erase boards. Good thing, then, that a group paraded into her classroom with a large cardboard box filled with school supplies worth $1,000.

Baker, a teacher at Wheaton Woods Elementary School in Rockville, was one of 1,300 educators surprised in their classrooms that day with boxes of supplies, in an event created by OfficeMax and Adopt-a-Classroom.

"One of the kids said, 'This is Christmas for the school,' " Baker said.

The nationwide event, "A Day Made Better," was intended "to erase teacher-funded classrooms," according to the program's Web site.

The sponsors estimate that teachers spend, on average, $1,200 a year of their own money on classroom supplies. That's on top of the supply lists posted by schools and fulfilled by parents, who spend perhaps $30 to $50 at the start of the school year. And that is on top of the books, worksheets, erasers and chalk provided by the school.

The slowing economy has made it harder for school systems to keep classrooms fully equipped, and it has put a pinch on teachers.

The 1,300 schools were identified by Adopt-a-Classroom for financial need, and teachers were nominated by principals.

Others in the region honored last week include Sharon Hammonds-Richardson, a second-grade teacher at Dodge Park Elementary in Landover, and Paul Carpenetti, a fifth-grade teacher at Laurel Woods Elementary in Laurel.

Baker has a classroom but no full-time students. She is a "pullout" teacher, taking children from other classes to dispense extra help. She teaches a Wheaton Woods program called Boost. The goal is to help children who fall just short of passing the Maryland School Assessment, the measure of progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Baker, a former Howard County teacher with 10 years' experience, also teaches children in the basement of the low-income Rock Creek Terrace apartment complex Tuesday nights.

Helping students who are barely shy of passing such tests is a common goal in the nation's public schools. No Child requires schools to attain ever-higher passing rates each year.

Schools commit many resources to students who might pass with a little extra help.

Baker's Boost classes, along with the efforts of other Wheaton Woods teachers and Principal Judith Lewis, seem to be elevating performance throughout the school.

Passing rates on the state reading tests have more than doubled, from 42 percent in the 2002-03 school year to 92 percent last school year, and passing rates for students of limited English proficiency and low-income students are nearly as high.

Passing rates in math have risen from 50 to 82 percent.

"Any intelligent approach focuses on what your greatest area of need is," Lewis said.

Last year, the focus was on training Wheaton Woods staff members to teach English-learners, a group that has grown from one-tenth of the school population to half in nine years.

Staff efforts, including by Baker, paid off so well that the school's reading performance outstrips math progress, and Lewis has shifted focus this year from phonics to figures.

Baker pulls several students from each class in grades 3 through 5 for an hour of daily instruction. Students are selected based on test scores, teacher recommendations and other assessments.

"We sit together and say, 'Who are we not sure of?' " Baker said.

The goal of the program is to improve reading skills.

Baker also serves as the science and social studies teacher for her students. She uses content from those subject areas to build literacy, a strategy that supplements the two hours of language arts instruction delivered daily to Wheaton Woods students.

Her strategies have changed over time. Five years ago, when she started Boost, students needed help with the rudiments of reading.

Today, students arrive in third grade as stronger readers, so Baker focuses on the more sophisticated matters of comprehension and organizational strategy.

Each child keeps a data notebook, charting progress on the statewide test and other indicators.

Because Baker has no full-time students, her classroom does not benefit from the supplies provided by parents at the start of the school year. She spent $700 of her own money on supplies last year.

The donated goods from OfficeMax include a digital camera, a swivel chair and piles of pencils, pens, markers, Post-its, scissors, magnets and other items.

"There's a lot of stuff that we never saw before," said Christian Arvealo, 8, a Wheaton Woods third-grader. "A lot of stuff that I can't wait to use."