Generous Teachers Rewarded

Teachers spend approximately $4 billion a year out of their own pockets to provide various supplies that help ensure a functional learning environment. The Day Made Better campaign gave back to 23 teachers in the Denver area.

The Denver Daily News reports that of the 1000 teachers nation wide who were recognized, 23 Denver area teachers were given $1200 worth of classroom supplies in the campaign's effort to eliminate the out of pocket expenses to the teachers. On Tuesday morning, the 23 Denver teachers were simultaneously surprised with in-classroom ceremonies.

Sue Hock, a special education teacher at Whiteman Elementary, was thrilled with the gift.

“Our school’s pretty poor, so anything, really anything, is just great,” said Hock.

Hock said her out-of-pocket expenses go towards a variety of items, such as extra books, paper, notebooks and toys for the kids.

Hock recently took the class on a field trip through the Boy Scouts to Cherry Creek Reservoir — completely paid for from her own pocket.

It's true, many teachers go way above and beyond the call of duty especially when it comes to furnishing their classrooms with supplies and other items to make it a better learning environment. I had one teacher who had a bookshelf full of used books, which were offered to students who achieved perfect test scores. Another purchased a window air conditioning unit for his classroom because he felt that no one could work efficiently in sweltering heat. It's nice to see that something is being given back to the teachers who do so much.