While donations provide crucial relief, teachers still personally spend $600 on classroom supplies annually, and 37% hold second jobs
Students aren’t prepared for their futures
Teachers are working overtime while spending on their classrooms
New York, New York, Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Education nonprofit DonorsChoose today released the findings of the 2026 DonorsChoose Teacher Survey, an annual national survey of U.S. public school educators. According to responses collected in Spring 2026 from 2,500 teachers who use DonorsChoose, educators report spending around $600 of their own money to stock their classrooms in the 2025-26 school year. Many are also taking on additional jobs, filling gaps in students’ basic life needs and grappling with a lack of resources to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.
Teachers also report that they would be spending nearly double out of their own pockets on classroom resources without outside funding sources, like DonorsChoose. Over half of educators say that without the added support of classroom donations, students would simply go without learning resources altogether. Classroom basics like pencils, paper, and notebooks remain the top category teachers spend the most on out-of-pocket.
Teachers are also stepping in to meet students’ basic needs. Forty percent of teachers say they provide students on a daily or weekly basis with necessities like food, hygiene items, and clothing.
“Before my first DonorsChoose project got funded, I was at a point where I was secretly tracking how much of my own paycheck was going toward my classroom,” said an elementary school teacher in California who responded to the survey. “I was arguing with myself in the Target aisle over whether I could justify spending another $40 of my own money on supplies my kids desperately needed but our budget couldn’t touch. It’s a really demoralizing, quiet burden that so many teachers carry.”
To supplement their incomes, 37 percent of educators are working additional jobs, averaging 23 hours per week outside the classroom. The most common jobs teachers take on are tutoring, retail work, and food service and restaurant work.
For teachers at underserved rural schools, however, the burden is even greater. On average, these educators spend 30 percent more out of pocket than the average teacher, are more likely to work an additional job, and are more likely to report concerns about student mental health and physical well-being. 54 percent of teachers at underserved rural schools say they’re more concerned about student hunger than they were last school year compared to 46 percent of all educators surveyed.
The 2026 DonorsChoose Teacher Survey also found that most educators don’t feel equipped to prepare students for their futures. More than 60 percent of teachers say they don’t have or aren’t sure they have the right resources to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.
Teacher sentiment is split on the use of artificial intelligence and technology in K-12 classrooms. 63 percent of teachers say they have requested more physical learning resources over the last two years; educators report returning to handwritten work and banning AI usage. Alternatively, more than 30 percent of teachers maintain that AI will be important to students’ education in the near future; educators say they are focusing on teaching students about how to responsibly and ethically use AI.
“The 2026 DonorsChoose Teacher Survey reminds us that public school teachers are at the frontlines of what students need to learn, thrive, and grow,” said Alix Guerrier, CEO of DonorsChoose. “Teachers are stretching further and further to make sure their students don’t go without. By listening to their wisdom and supporting their classrooms, we lift the financial burden off of educators and give every student a real shot at success.”
Support a classroom now at www.donorschoose.org.
ABOUT DONORSCHOOSE
DonorsChoose is an education nonprofit ensuring every US public school student has the classroom resources they need to learn, grow, and thrive. Founded by a teacher in 2000, DonorsChoose connects educators with a nationwide community of supporters who believe investing in students today will transform tomorrow. Educators request the materials they know their students need, and donors can choose the classroom, community, or cause they want to support. Since its founding, donors have supported 90% of US public schools. Every request is vetted, resources are delivered to classrooms, and donors can see the impact of their support through transparent reporting and updates from students and teachers. Raising $1.9 billion for classrooms, DonorsChoose has earned top ratings from Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and CharityWatch for their transparency, trust, and impact. Learn more at www.donorschoose.org.
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- Students aren’t prepared for their futures
- Teachers are working overtime while spending on their classrooms
CONTACT: Juan Brizuela DonorsChoose 212-239-3615 media@donorschoose.org
