LAKELAND, Fla. -- Teachers are coming up with innovative ways to get the supplies they need for their students.

  • Teachers using Amazon wish lists to get supplies for their students
  • DeAnna Krause says she spends $1,000-$2,000 of her own money each year
  • With just a couple weeks before school starts, teachers hope to have wishes fulfilled

North Lakeland Elementary School teacher DeAnna Krause is using an Amazon wish list with hopes other teachers or people in the community will help her get the things she needs for her classroom. 

"Support Polk County teachers. Public school teachers," Krause said. "I would like to see some of our teachers, even if it's not me, we do have a couple of great first-year school teachers coming in. I know one teacher who was an intern here who just spent her entire savings to fund her classroom. You hate to see that."

Krause got the idea from the Facebook group, Support A Teacher- Teacher Gifting (started by Courtney Jones), which now has more than 33,000 members. It has branched out into groups by states, where teachers are finding ways to support each other. There's one for Support a Teacher-Florida, which anyone can request to join. 

Krause said the extra support is helpful. She said she typically spends about $1,000-$2,000 a year of her own money on her classroom and students. 

"I've been teaching for 16 years. I have a Master's degree in reading. I've been a highly effective teacher for many years. I think I just broke $50,000 last year,'" Krause said. "So teaching in Florida is a struggle. We are ranked 46th in the nation for teacher salary and some of that has to go back into my classroom."

Krause believes having a welcoming classroom, with plenty of books, makes her students feel at home and improves their performance. 

"Our children need to walk into these classrooms feeling comfortable, feeling loved, feeling that this is their home too. We strive to make sure our classrooms are wonderful learning environments that are just full of things that'd make them feel comfortable. In order to do that, we have to spend out of our own pocket."

Krause said the district gave her $50 to buy paper, staples, and pencils from its teacher store. She said teachers also receive $250, but it comes with restrictions, such as it can't be used for books.

Krause wants to buy manipulatives, which students can use to build things, so she can increase STEM learning in her classroom. She also wants more Leap Readers, which help students identify words in books and cost $20-$30 each. 

"Another thing that I know a lot of the teachers need are headphones, and the big one, of course, is Lysol wipes just to keep those rooms clean and free of germs for the school year," Krause said.

With two weeks left before school starts, these teachers are hoping their wishes will be fulfilled.

Below are a couple of teachers' wish lists: