The PledgeCents Roundup: June 2017
The temperature isn't the only thing that is on the rise. June was a record setting month for our team. Take a look at what we have been up to this summer.
Sunshine. Vacations. Relaxation. That’s what comes to mind for many of us when we think of summer break. But each year, for a group of recent college graduates and career changers who join Teach for America, the summer is actually when the school year gets started. This year, the 2017 Teach For America Corps Members have spent the past month at Institute in different locations across the country. Institute is Teach For America’s summer teacher preparation program that educates incoming corps members in a variety of different teaching methods before they take ownership of their own classroom in the fall. Through our partnership with Teach For America, our goal is to ensure this group of new teachers welcomes their students this fall to a classroom that is full of materials, without the teachers spending any money out of pocket. In just over four weeks, new Corps Members (CMs) have already raised close to $125,000 for startup school supplies.
This summer, our team traveled to nine different Institute registration days to welcome incoming CMs with swag and to help them begin fundraising for school supplies. We made it easier than ever to set up a fundraiser in less than 30 seconds by CMs inputting only a few pieces of information (first name, last name, email, and password). Once CMs provide this information, a fundraiser for $500 worth of school supplies is immediately created with a unique link sent directly to the email used to register. This expedition of the fundraiser creation process allows CMs to focus on sharing with friends, family, and community members via email and social media. Here is a breakdown in how much has been raised so far at some of the Institutes we have visited:
- Phoenix National Institute - $32,051
- Tulsa National Institute - $23,720
- Atlanta National Institute - $15,153
- Delta Regional Institute - $12,872
CMs fundraise for a list of supplies that includes 25 different items ranging from boxes of copy paper to thermal laminators to student journals. All funds raised over the course of the summer are sent in the form of an Amazon eGift Card to make purchasing as seamless as possible before the start of school. The best part, other than knowing that students are going to enter welcoming classrooms full of learning materials, is the countless number of supportive comments left on the fundraiser pages for teachers from friends and family across the country.
You are now able to take advantage of a similar opportunity regardless of whether you are a veteran teacher, TFA Alum, or second year CM. We will automatically create a fundraiser for $500 in back to school supplies for you, that way you can beat the back to school rush and enjoy the rest of the summer knowing you have all the materials you need. If you are interested, email info@pledgecents.com to get started today.
ISTE 2017
Andy and Ricky, our two founders, packed up and headed to San Antonio for ISTE 2017. With the opportunity to meet and learn alongside 15,000 educators and innovators, it is definitely one of the most exciting times of the year. Over the course of the three days, much of the time was spent viewing live demonstrations, attending on-floor presentations, and interacting with latest edtech solutions available for teachers. It is a great way to ensure that the products and services that we provide in our marketplace are worth fundraising for.
The best part of ISTE is that provides an opportunity for us to meet with many of the teachers and thought leaders that we work with throughout the year. We are able to sit down and share a meal to discuss trends in the edtech space and what teachers need most for their students. As seen below, Andy and Ricky were able to meet up with the infamous @mr_isaacs and @iwearthecrowns of #EdTechBridge (& their kiddos) for some delicious tex mex!
Andy also got the chance to sit down with Brian Smith, host of #PassTheScopeEDU, to discuss all things PledgeCents. You can watch the interview here.
This sums up ISTE 2017 pretty nicely!
And Another Ten
As always, we continuously looked to our amazing community of teachers and administrators for feedback and recommendations. We hone in on the most urgent needs in your schools and classrooms and focus on how we can make the purchasing process more streamlined and affordable. In June we added another amazing group of 10 partners that can be fundraised for through our marketplace.
Noteflight (Music Software)
Noteflight is the world's first online music creation software, allowing you to compose, record, print, and share your music on any device. Noteflight Learn is designed specifically for music education and makes teaching, learning, and composing music easy. In addition, teachers and students have access to thousands of digital scores.
Music First (Music Software)
MusicFirst is a complete online classroom for K-12 music education, with engaging content and integrated software that provides you with everything you need to teach music in a connected world. Our optional integrated software tools cover music theory, ear training, notation, composition, and more.
Tiggly (Digital Manipulatives)
At Tiggly, we believe in the power of combining physical play with digital learning. Tiggly offers physical manipulatives that interact with literacy, math, and creative thinking learning apps for students in nursery school through 2nd grade.
PlayPiper (STEM Kit)
The Piper Computer Kit is a STEM product, for kids 8 - 14 to learn how to build and program electronics with the Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft at home or at school. With Piper, teaching engineering and programming is easy. In no time, you'll have your students building a computer, creating electronics and learning computer programming skills.
Makey Makey (Invention Kit)
Makey Makey is a STEM invention kit for the 21st century. Turn everyday objects into touch pads and combine them with the internet. Our products provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, art, engineering and tinkering. Diversity and cross-pollination of activities are critical to the design, making an exploration process.
Brain Hive (eBooks)
Brain Hive is your integrated print and digital K-12 classroom solution for leveled paperbacks and eBooks. We offer 17,000+ titles from leading educational publishers on an innovative digital platform. Let us meet your literacy and technology needs.
LearnED Notebooks (Science Notebooks)
LearnEd Notebooks provides teachers and students with an innovative notebooking solution. Our 5th-8th grade science and biology programs improve organization and increase student engagement with a focused and streamlined approach to instruction.
Applied Educational Systems (CTE & Electives)
Applied Educational Systems helps CTE and elective teachers save time, increase engagement, and meet diverse student needs with a continually updated library of 1,100+ hours of eLearning content, supplemental resources, and built-in activity tracking & grading.
Edcite (Assesment)
Edcite Schools empowers schools and districts to effectively distribute and leverage common assessments to drive growth. From collaborative workflows to actionable reports, Edcite Schools offers a robust formative and summative assessment solution.
Sibme (Video Coaching)
Sibme is a video coaching, collaboration, and assessment platform designed to improve teaching practice and other performance-based skills. Give and receive time-stamp video feedback with your students and colleagues. Over 1500 schools, districts, teacher preparation programs, and education-related organizations use Sibme to improve teaching practice and performance-based skills with video.
