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The Hechinger Report
Teachers forced to “MacGyver” their own tech solutions
When states don’t reimburse teachers for supplies, they have to figure
out ways to make remote teaching work and how to pay for it
By Nichole Dobo
November 9, 2020
When Audrey Green, a middle school teacher in Broward County, Florida,
began the year working remotely with her students, she had a lot to
think about.
She had to establish a personal connection with students she’s never
seen face to face and help children develop tools to cope during a
pandemic. And she had to handle emotionally heavy issues, like the
student who hung around after class online because she said she didn’t
want to be alone. All of that while also ensuring they were being
challenged academically.
But before she could do any of the hard work of teaching students
through a screen, she had to solve another problem. How would she set
up those screens in the first place?
Teachers have long spent their own money to outfit their classrooms —
on average, teachers spend $459 out of pocket on school supplies
annually, according to an analysis of 2011-12 data collected by the
National Center for Education Statistics. Some teachers get some of
that money back: Several states provide at least partial reimbursement
for these expenses and the federal government allows a $250 tax
deduction, according to Alyssa Evans, a policy researcher at the
Education Commission of the States.
But the national economic crisis means that teachers might be out of
pocket this year as they attempt remote teaching. States that normally
compensate teachers for their expenditures might not have the money to
fund those programs. In Nevada, for instance, the state created a $4.5
million program in 2015 that allows local schools to set their own
rules or reimburse teachers who buy their own supplies. The budget for
that item this year? Nothing. The state legislators zeroed out that
budget item due to the pandemic-fueled budget crisis.
Florida, where Green teaches, is one of the states that provides
teachers with a pot of money to be reimbursed for supplies. But
technology isn’t an allowable expense because the law excludes
equipment.
Green is also a technology liaison at Silver Trail Middle School, so
she was able to think of solutions to remote teaching issues that may
trip up a less tech-savvy educator. “I’m a MacGyver,” she said. “I can
cook you an entire meal with an old whisk.”
And yet even for Green, the start of the school year brought seemingly endless obstacles.
Consider, for instance, the seemingly mundane task of ensuring the 35
to 40 students in the virtual room could hear and speak during class.
Most cell phones these days don’t come with headphone jacks, so many
students only had wireless ear buds at their disposal, but needed
plug-in headphones for their laptop school computers. Some students
were unable to procure those. Green got a tablet to use on the side so
she can chat with those students via text.
The tablet is one of several screens she uses to pull off remote
teaching. She has a work-issued laptop and a large monitor she uses to
see and acknowledge raised hands among a sea of three dozen faces. She
uses another screen to project presentations and examples for the
children to look at while also being able to see their teacher.
It’s “like mission impossible,” Green said.
Green had access to extra technology around her house to hack together
her remote workstation. But she also had to buy things, like an extra
$40 for battery packs to ensure she can stay connected. Green said she
is fortunate that she had a lot of things on hand. She knows other
teachers who weren’t as lucky.
“It’s money, money, money going out, going out to make it work and they won’t cover it,” she said.
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