We have a big goal in mind: to reach 100% of the nation’s highest poverty schools. We identify schools in which over 65% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch as “highest poverty schools.” It’s no surprise that educational inequity is correlated with the economics (ex: median household income) of the area where that school is located, and we see that in the types of resources teachers request. Highest poverty schools are likely to request essential supplies, like paper and pencils, while more affluent schools request more enrichment materials. The schools most in need are often chronically underfunded, and that’s where DonorsChoose.org can be a solution.
As of October 2016, 74% of all public schools in America have at least one teacher who has created a project on DonorsChoose.org. Of all highest poverty schools, 76% have teachers who have created projects.
1. Where are the highest poverty schools that have not yet requested resources from DonorsChoose.org?
More orange means fewer schools in that geography are benefitting from DonorsChoose.org. More green – the inverse. Greys indicate areas of low school density or absence of highest poverty schools.
2. Where does DonorsChoose.org succeed at covering the highest poverty schools?
You can: zoom in, search for a location, pan around, enable full-screen, share and enable/disable layers. Hovering over an area will show:
- Percent of highest poverty schools covered by DonorsChoose.org
- The absolute number of schools in that state not yet using DonorsChoose.org (select the “Yet to Join DonorsChoose.org” layer)
- Total number of public schools in a state
- Teacher success rate (in which states are teachers most successful at getting their projects funded?)
- Average number of projects posted per school