SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Leecie Henson is a retired teacher who taught for 16 years at Springdale High School. She, along with a group of retired teachers, has asked for donations from graduates of the school. Henson believes it's important to show teachers that they have support, especially after the pandemic caused changes to the district.
"We're continuing to see repercussions from teaching through the pandemic. Last year was very difficult for teachers," said Henson. "We're hoping that this year is a new start with the students all being back in school, all being present in classes."
"Their workload was tough, but I keep hearing that as they come out of the pandemic, there are different challenges," said Melinn Burlingame.
Burlingame graduated from Springdale High School and later returned to her alma mater to teach for 37 years. Both Burlingame and Henson say 2022 is even more difficult amid rising prices from inflation.
"Unfortunately, we are seeing inflation we're seeing a lot of high prices that are happening," said Henson. "Although Springdale has been very generous to give the teachers a raise recently, it's still difficult at this time to make ends meet, to do what they need to do at home, and also provide the supplies for their students that their students really need."
According to the National Retail Federation, back-to-school shoppers can expect a 40% increase from 2019 in the cost of school supplies this year.
"We still remember what the first of the year was like and we remember just wanting so badly to give our students everything that we could," said Henson. "That's difficult right now and so we're hoping to help out with that as much as we can."
The group says that something as small as a breakfast or even a gift card could make a bigger impact on their fellow teachers.
"How the community acknowledges your hard work, the effort that you put in, the hours that are put in, that's what keeps you going," said Burlingame.
For more information on how to donate, look at the graphic below.
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