鈥淚 feel like the most expensive thing is literally clothing, new backpacks and lunchboxes,鈥� Agui茫o said of her search for supplies this month.

Agui茫o is not alone in feeling the pinch.  

As prices have surged on everything from technology to clothing to backpacks, parents and teachers nationwide are scrambling to afford classroom necessities for kids.

A found 57% of back-to-school shoppers are concerned about inflation anticipating spending surges to reach a new high of $661 per student 鈥� an increase of $53, or 8%, from the 2021-22 school year.

The Deloitte survey also found K-12 spending is expected to focus on clothing and accessories compared to last year鈥檚 pandemic-fueled technology spree.

According to the , clothing prices are expected to grow 2.9% for girls鈥� apparel and 3.4% for boys鈥� apparel compared to 2019. In addition, technology-related items will grow 2.2% and educational books and supplies will grow 4.5%.

But experts say parents are willing to spend the extra funds for their children.

鈥淓ven as economic and inflationary pressures sit top of mind, parents seem resilient and determined to ensure their children get the school supplies needed to succeed this coming year,鈥� said Nick Handrinos, Deloitte vice chair and U.S. retail and consumer products leader.聽

To ease costs, many parents plan to reuse school supplies, skip travel plans or dip into savings, according to .

鈥淕enerally speaking, American shoppers are still spending a lot on back-to-school supplies 鈥� certainly more than before the pandemic,鈥� NPR found. 鈥淏ut financial anxiety is now a common part of the experience.鈥� 

This rings true for Sabrina Ortiz-Santos, an incoming 1st grade Spanish and math teacher at Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C., who, like many teachers across the country, has often drawn from her own salary to purchase classroom essentials.

The bulk of Ortiz-Santos鈥檚 back-to-school spending has been cleaning supplies and other COVID-19- related items.

鈥淭he school I was previously at was very helpful in the beginning, but as the weeks went on I found myself having to repurchase a lot of the things that were running out,鈥� Ortiz-Santos said. 鈥淭o get the classroom ready and prepared for the first day, I鈥檝e definitely spent more than $500.鈥�

However, this experience does not always resonate with families in her community.

Ortiz-Santos also works as a teacher at D.C.’s Theodore Roosevelt High School and often supports newcomer students.

鈥淚t gets progressively harder each year for these families to provide the resources their kids need,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut schools like [Theodore Roosevelt High School] are mindful of the economic circumstances their students face and go to great lengths to provide them with things like a hotspot and a tablet.鈥�

Agui茫o said parents in her community are not always eager to accept help from their school.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of embarrassing,鈥� Agui茫o said. 鈥淪o I always tell my son鈥檚 friends that if they can’t get supplies let me know and I鈥檒l get supplies for them too.鈥�

Although the Deloitte survey found technology-related purchases have reached a saturation point, , a project-based website for teachers, technology-related items continue to be a high priority request, said organization spokesman Juan Brizuela. 

According to Brizuela, DonorsChoose fully funded 342,108 projects in the 2021-22 school year 鈥� a significant hike compared to the 261,282 projects in the 2020-21 school year and the 262,959 projects in the 2019-20 school year.

鈥淪ince the pandemic hit, we saw quite a big jump in instructional technology,鈥� Brizuela said, adding that included requests for items such as digital software for the classroom, and headphones for students while they’re at home doing school work and hoping to avoid distractions.

Founded in 2000 and historically utilized for instructional materials that teachers would either have to pay for out of pocket or go without, like auxiliary books, kits, games, and technology, the platform and its district partnership model have enabled teachers to raise over $670,000 in funds for warmth, care, and hunger needs for students since January 2020, according to DonorsChoose鈥檚 public relations team.

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New York elementary teacher Laurie Gurdal at P.S. 245 in Brooklyn, for example, wrote a project to for her low-income students. 鈥淥ur families are facing food shortages at this time,鈥� the project reads, 鈥渋t is hard to learn when you are hungry.鈥� Two donors donated $1,108 between March 8 and April 5, 2021, fully funding the pantry in under a month.

The New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, and Philadelphia City School District joined DonorChoose鈥檚 in 2020, which more than 180 districts now participate in, representing over 10,000 schools nationally.

Though individual LAUSD teachers have utilized the platform since about 2005, district partners are offered added support and communication. Principals are notified whenever a new project is started at their school to get a better sense of community need, and when companies offer donation matches for projects. Partners are also provided resources for training teachers to use the platform and data for district leadership.

Austin Buetner, who ended his three-year tenure as superintendent of the country鈥檚 second-largest district this June, told 社区黑料 that LAUSD鈥檚 participation is part of an effort to engage the broader community in schools, particularly as housing and food insecurity becomes more widespread.

鈥淲e have to expand the scope of support for public education. There are philanthropists who can write large checks, there are active and engaged individuals who can bring intellectual capital to a school or volunteer their time. And there are others who say well actually I have limited means, but I really want to know what that classroom needs 鈥� it turns out, a $10, $20 or $30 donation can make a difference.鈥�

Since March 2020, 34 percent of all projects in have funded technology needed for virtual learning, food, clothing, and hygiene, up from their all-time average of 28 percent. The trend is similar in , where about 32 percent of pandemic-era projects have requested technology, food, clothing, and hygiene resources, up from their 25 percent all-time average.

This month, Philadelphia鈥檚 returning teachers will attend DonorsChoose hands-on classes as a part of their professional development training. 鈥嬧�婱ichael Sonkowsky, the district鈥檚 deputy chief of the Office of Grant Development, says teachers have been requesting support for fundraising platforms for years.

As their small office adapted to a surge of pandemic-related needs 鈥� including preparing school buildings for students鈥� safe return 鈥� the formal partnership enabled them to streamline communications with teachers, particularly about company-match opportunities.

鈥淲e who work in development have seen a truly inspiring surge in philanthropy 鈥� both via crowdfunding platforms and via more traditional avenues 鈥� during the pandemic,鈥� Sonkowsky said in an email to 社区黑料.

Currently, there are 976 projects on the site within the warmth, care, and hunger category that support classes with majority low-income students. The push to provide young learners with basic needs, from workable laptops to hot meals, was one felt across the country as districts rushed to adapt to hybrid and virtual learning environments and families experienced unemployment and uncertainty.

Economists now refer to the pandemic-era recession as K-shaped: high income families bounced back and, in many cases, have become more wealthy, while low-income families, typically involved in the hard-hit service industry and in-person labor, have experienced devastating economic losses. Teachers like LAUSD鈥檚 Diane Yokoyama, who serves predominantly low-income children, have witnessed the recession鈥檚 toll on students.

鈥淢any of my parents work two jobs just to make ends meet. My students come to school with the bare minimum,鈥� Yokoyama told 社区黑料 via email. 鈥淚 had projects funded for clothes, food, backpacks, umbrellas, shoes 鈥� things that I could never afford on my own.鈥�

With $120 billion in American Rescue Plan pandemic relief funding heading to schools to ameliorate some of these inequities, states are proposing major investments in mental health, well-being, tutoring and data systems.

With an influx of funds, California will begin the nation鈥檚 largest , regardless of family income. But in the months states and districts were planning how to allocate relief dollars, student needs were mounting.

For Yokoyama, DonorsChoose provided a path to meet urgent calls for meals, technology, and pandemic safety protections. In some cases, projects were fulfilled within weeks. Once funded, dry food, clothes, cleaning supplies, and PPE were mailed to her school, where she picked up items and delivered them to students’ homes.

鈥淚 wanted to reassure the parents and children that it would be OK to return to school,鈥� she said, reflecting on her efforts to get materials into students鈥� hands.

Yokoyama has , but the platform offered her 鈥渁 new way to teach鈥� during hybrid and virtual learning. Donors funded a second monitor and portable whiteboard for her home, making virtual lessons more accessible.

The projects and subsequent data given to district partners has also provided a gauge of where needs are left unmet by pre-existing budgets. Superintendent Buetner dubbed teachers鈥� projects, 鈥渢he voice of the classroom, which we can learn from.鈥�

鈥淭he best perspective of what students’ needs are comes from the front of the classroom,鈥� he said, 鈥渘ot from some distant central office building.鈥�