Cents in Action: Anne Marie Norman

Welcome to our tenth and final (for now at least) Cents in Action blog post. Every week, we have featured an educator who has used our site to raise money for a school or classroom need. Last post, we featured Kurt Schwartz of High Tech High North County in San Marcos, California. You can check it out here if you missed it.

This week, meet Anne Marie Norman of KIPP Houston High School right here in Houston, Texas! Anne Marie is a Teach For America alumna and a passionate chemistry teacher! Anne Marie has raised just under $5,000 on PledgeCents for iPads, AP study books, and lab supplies.

Here is just some of what Anne Marie had to say about her experience with PledgeCents:

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

I am currently in my 7th year of teaching. My favorite teaching moment was the first time we combusted magnesium in my year 1 chemistry class. The kids were so fascinated by the chemistry behind the reaction, and it inspired them to master all aspects of chemical reactions!

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

I probably put around $1,000 for students in my classes. This includes organization materials, colored paper/construction paper, lab equipment, and notebooks for students.

With so many fundraising options out there, why did you choose to work with the PledgeCents team?

The PledgeCents team was so welcoming and honest with me throughout the entire process. It was so nice to know I could call someone on the team and get a quick response at any time, and everything about the process was easy and efficient!

How did your students react when they received the resources PledgeCents helped you acquired?

My students were beyond words. They could not understand how people could be so generous and so invested in their learning. They were very grateful and truly appreciate what everyone did to get 17 iPad 2's for our classroom to enhance their learning on a daily basis.

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

I would provide a laptop for every student to be college ready, up to date lab equipment, and software licenses (like LoggerPro) that are necessary to be successful in upper level math and science.

What would be your advice to another teacher who is considering using PledgeCents?

Reach out to your friends and family!! The first time I posted my cause for 17 iPad 2's I got donations from so many different people, including colleagues, acquaintances from college, family and friends. It's amazing what people will give to support your students if you reach out to your network.

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

Any time there was an opportunity with PledgeCents (like matching dollar for dollar), I took advantage and marketed through email and social media to get donations and that worked really well!

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

I am definitely planning on incorporating my students in marketing for the cause. They are just as invested as I am, so they would definitely be able to spread the word well and to different people that I may not reach out to on my own.

And our very favorite question...If you were one school supply what would you be and why?

I would absolutely be one of those new color screen graphing calculators. I love being able to generate the best and right answer efficiently and 100% of the time (even though that is not always the case!) and the color coordination on the calculator adds just the right amount of "pizzazz." :) Also, math is the universal language so I love that you can use it to communicate with anyone!

Thanks so much to Anne Marie for sharing her experiences, and we look forward to seeing her next cause on the site!