Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Fund $1.2M in Teacher Requests for Distance Learning Tools
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is paying it forward in honor of national Teacher Appreciation Week with a $1.2 million grant to help support the nation’s educators as they continue to navigate the new normal that is distance learning.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), which was founded by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan, announced Thursday that the funding will benefit DonorsChoose, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that allows educators to request classroom resources that are then sent directly to them once enough money has been raised.
DonorsChoose has recently launched a new “distance learning” category as teachers and their students learn from home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
CZI’s grant will go toward this new category, which includes everything from supplies like laptops, WiFi hotspots and notebooks, to grocery delivery and other basic needs for students.
“In the face of considerable challenges and uncertainty, teachers are going above and beyond to ensure their students’ learning stays on track and to support their overall wellbeing,” Chan, 35, said in a statement. “We’re thankful every day for the incredible contributions of educators, but now, more than ever, we’re humbled by their dedication and creativity. We are proud to partner with DonorsChoose to salute and support their work.”
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CZI will provide $500,000 to match donations to projects up to $1,000 related to distance learning in districts where at least 75 percent of students quality for free or reduced lunch.
CZI is also committing $750,000 to local Bay Area teachers in six different counties; in communities where 50 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, CZI will donate up to $300 (one project per teacher) for distance learning projects that cost up to $1,000.
Those who also want to help can choose to support a classroom on DonorsChoose, and CZI will match each donation dollar for dollar while funds last.
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DonorsChoose surveyed more than 4,000 teachers to get a better understanding of what the transition from in-person to distance learning meant for classrooms, and teachers reported back estimating 68 percent of students lacked the resources needed to work at home.
A student receives a package funded by DonorsChoose
Current examples of projects listed on the DonorsChoose website include a California kindergarten teacher looking to build her students backpacks filled with alphabet letters, numbers and linking chains for counting, and a first-grade teacher in New York asking for building bricks, jump ropes and Play-Doh to keep her kids’ creative juices flowing.
“These projects let teachers request a shipment to an address of their choosing —whether that’s to the teacher’s home or directly to a student,” DonorsChoose founder Charles Best said in a statement. “We’re profoundly grateful for this grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which will support thousands of teachers and students as they continue to face the challenges posed by COVID-19.”
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Back in October, CZI announced a $1.2 million grant that funded nearly 700 different professional development projects shared to DonorsChoose.
That grant covered a variety of different projects, including an elementary school teacher in San Francisco who wanted to attend a literary conference, and a middle school teacher in Baltimore looking to become board-certified.
Education is a cause near and dear to Chan’s heart, as she co-founded a nonprofit private school in East Palo Alto, The Primary School, in 2016.
She and Zuckerberg, 35 — who married in 2012 and share two young daughters — launched CZI in 2015, pledging 99 percent of their wealth to causes with a focus on “science, education, and justice and opportunity,” according to the organization.
