Supplying Our Teachers Kit
A supply kit already curated for teachers to ease the burden of buying or advocating for their own supplies.
The problem
Many teachers face numerous issues such as high workload, high stress, and poor support. These issues paired with low pay cause qualified teachers to leave the career, creating a shortage of teachers across America. This issue is especially prevalent in high-poverty school districts.
The goal
Help alleviate a portion of this problem as it would take a lot of reform to get teachers proper pay and support.
Research
This problem was one that I was already familiar with. I conducted research to find out which issues are most burdensome to teachers and look at recent data relating to this career.
Insights:
86% of public schools struggle to hire educators
51,000 teachers quit their jobs in the United States during 2023
62% of teachers don’t want their children to become teachers
A study in 2022 from NORC at the University of Chicago found that fewer than 1 in 5 Americans would encourage a young person to become a teacher citing the following issues as barriers:
Low pay
High workload
High stress
Unsupportive administration
Poor classroom behavior
Parent complaints
Lack of resources
Educators spend an average of $500 to $750 of their own money every year on classroom supplies which includes things like:
Paper, pencils, glue
Class subscriptions
Snacks
Tissues and cleaning supplies
Current process map
Using the research I found, I created a process map of what becoming a teacher looks like starting from recruitment to the end of their first year of teaching to examine where these issues occur and how they interact.
Key notes:
More common for urban and rural schools to face teacher shortage
There are common issues throughout schools no matter the region
Overall the difficulties faced are not equal to the salary earned which is what leads many teachers to quit
Ideation
Going back to the research, I do believe that increasing the salary would help incentivize people to take on this role. This alone would not decrease the other struggles that teachers face, but at least they would be getting paid properly for their work rather than facing all of these issues and receiving low pay on top of that.
My first solution for this was therefore to write a letter to Congress to demonstrate my concern for this issue and let them know that this is something that people care about.
I wanted to create another solution in addition to this to help alleviate another problem in a quicker way than increasing teacher salaries countrywide. One in particular that stood out to me was teachers having to buy their own classroom supplies, including necessities like tissues and cleaning supplies. The reason why teachers do this is simply because their school doesn’t give them the supplies that their students need to succeed. This is why some teachers provide snacks for students who don’t get enough to eat at home since they otherwise wouldn’t be able to concentrate on their work. Some also provide fidget toys for students who need to fidget with something to help them focus. There are many more items that teachers provide for their students, but the point is that different students have different needs that need to be met before they can succeed academically and teachers are trying to bridge that gap by using their own money because they care about their students.
To help alleviate this issue, I decided on a supply kit that would be funded by donations so teachers wouldn’t have to use their own money for their classroom needs.
Process map after solutions are implemented
To determine how my solutions would fit into the process of becoming and being a teacher, I created a process map that included ideally how my solutions would help.
Key notes:
An increase in salary would help justify the issues faced and allow more educators to support themselves
Classroom supplies kit helps burden of paying out of pocket and having to find materials themselves
There would be more teachers and therefore smaller class sizes
Solutions
My letter to Minnesota Senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, was direct and concise in asking for an increase in teacher salaries. The letter is as follows:
The Honorable Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senate
425 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Tina Smith
U.S. Senate
720 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Klobuchar and Senator Smith,
My name is Carissa Wehring and I’m a current student at the University of Minnesota. I’m writing to you to ask for funding allocations to be made towards teacher salaries.
The teacher shortage in America is important because without enough qualified teachers, the future generation suffers. Teachers are essential to ensuring that students are given the best environment possible to learn in and it is difficult when there’s an abundance of students in one class because there aren’t enough teachers.
Many students don’t even plan to become teachers because the salary is so low compared to other jobs that they could get with their degree. In fact, this is why I decided to pursue a major in computer science rather than education despite this being an important subject to me. While I value making a difference in students’ lives I also value making a salary that’s representative of the work that I’m doing.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and considering my request.
Sincerely,
Carissa Wehring
My supply kit would include essentials such as:
Pens, pencils, markers, crayons, colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, sharpies, dry erase markers
Scissors, glue sticks, stickers, stapler, rulers
Lined paper, printer paper, construction paper, graph paper, post it notes
First aid kit
Tissues, hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes, paper towels
Storage, organizational things
Decor
Command strips and tape
This kit would be pre-built for them to alleviate even the process of having to select their own materials like they would on an Amazon Wishlist. They also wouldn’t have to advocate for their supplies to be bought like on Adopt A Classroom as it would be funded by donations organized by the company. The kits would include different options for elementary and middle/high school teachers with flexibility to add or subtract items based on need.
To design this, I began by coming up with a name for the company and landed on Supplying Our Teachers which is simple and descriptive on its own. For the logo, I wanted to capture the feeling of using supplies such as markers and pencils. I did this by choosing a handwritten font that looks similar to calligraphy. I also added a pencil detail with a line that curves around the text. Regarding color scheme, I went with green as it symbolizes newness, abundance, and is calming.
For the packaging, I wanted it to be simple but still incorporate the branding, so I extended the pencil doodles from the logo to create a square of squiggles that would be on the sides of the box.
Reflection
In addition to the box, I created a thank you note to be placed atop the supplies, letting teachers know that they’re appreciated and they do important work.
I also created a bus stop advertisement as an example of marketing material to encourage people to donate.
This was my first time doing package design and creating a process map. I think that creating a process map was helpful to understand the different pathways and intersections of issues. With package design, I would like to learn about typical procedures in how to design for packaging and get more experience in this area.