RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond Public Schools teacher is thanking the Problem Solvers Community for helping her students reach their potential.
In an effort to give her Cardinal Elementary School students the technology they need to succeed, Michelle Gelrud sometimes pays for classroom needs out of her own pocket.
"We want to give the kids everything we can and if we can’t we get it from another resource, we use our own because we want all of them to have a leg up," Gelrud said.
Since tough economic times have put a damper on some of her personal spending, Gelrud has looked elsewhere for help to equip her language lab.
"I’m trying to get a color printer for the language lab so my kids can take home proof of what they’ve done in class and be excited about it," she said. "We have 20 desktop computers in the lab and I really need five more because I usually have around 25 kids in the classes."
She said having the right technology is important for her students.
"I teach them internet safety and they also do practice assessments," she said. "It's really important for all of them to have the exact same resource."
Gelrud wanted to reach out to the Problem Solvers Community to raise awareness about teachers in the same boat.
She said they’ve turned to Donors Choose, a crowdfunding site, to get the word out and she hoped the community would consider supporting not only her class, but others across the area.
"The project was originally for almost $700 and I’m down to needing only $240," she said. "The kids don’t know about it because I want to surprise them. My principal knows and there are Donors Choose projects all over Richmond for other schools that need the help."
Gelrud said she was hopeful she'll get the remaining funds for the color printer.
