Cents in Action: Dewitt Robinson

Welcome to our sixth Cents in Action blog post. Every Sunday, we will be featuring an educator who has used our site to raise money for a school or classroom need. Last week, we featured Natalie Bedford of Spring Creek Elementary in Dallas, Texas. You can check it out here if you missed it.

Meet Dewitt Robinson, a history teacher at Andrew Jackson High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Dewitt raised $1,835 with PledgeCents to help flip his class! He also started a basketball shoot-a-thon to raise additional funds, and he is planning on doing this again in the future! His efforts were recognized by the media, and you can read more about them here and here or watch the video below!

Dewitt was kind enough to share some of her thoughts and experiences regarding teaching and PledgeCents. Here is just some of what he had to say!

How long have you been a teacher, and what is your favorite teaching moment from your career so far?

I have been an educator over twelve years. One of my most memorable moments was last year’s fundraising campaign that involved a basketball shootathon.

How much of your own money do you think you have put toward your classroom and students in any given year?

Annually, I probably spend over $1,000.

If money weren’t an issue, what would be the top 3 things you would provide for your students?

If money were not an issue I would provide every student with a personal device to use at school and home. This would help us to move to a true 1:1 deployment. Additionally, I would provide computer coding classes and a trip to Mountain View and Cupertino, CA to visit Silicon Valley.

What did you personally do to market your cause? What worked? What did not work?

Last year’s cause was a success because of a team effort. I leveraged social media to reach out to local attorney, John Phillips, who donated $1k towards the goal. John contacted Vic Miccolucci of WJXT. Vic provided news coverage the evening of the shootathon. A local family Jay and Dianne Higbee. The Higbee family purchased 26 Chromebooks and projector that were desperately needed to increase student engagement with devices.

What are you planning on doing differently for your next cause?

I plan to add star power to the shoot-a-thon. There are a few local celebrities that I am considering to add to the marathon to boost the donations.

If you were one school supply what would you be and why?

Laptops. I believe in innovation. Many students in challenged schools are falling behind in developing 21st century skills. With proper professional development, teachers can be empowered to integrate more technology during instruction.

Thanks so much to Dewitt for sharing his experiences with us, and we wish him the best of luck for this school year!