JACKSON TWP — More and more teachers in the Seneca Valley School District are turning to online crowdfunding to fund special classroom projects and equipment.

Traditionally parent-teacher groups have worked with teachers to pay for extra projects, materials and equipment needed in the classroom, said Evans City Middle School Principal Marie Palano.

However, teachers are increasingly using small grants and websites like DonorsChoose.org for their extra needs, she said.

“There has been a lot of success in these programs and a lot of opportunity for students that they may not have otherwise had,” Palano said.

With DonorsChoose.org teachers can receive donations online from the public for specific projects. The website allows teachers to select materials they need for their project from online catalogs.

Teachers do not handle any money directly, and the donors know exactly what they are contributing to, as an itemized list on the project page shows the items requested and the cost for each.

Palano said teachers at her school have used the site to get funding for a hydroponics system, alternative seating for students and a 3-D printer.

There are currently nine projects waiting to be funded on DonorsChoose.org from teachers at Evans City Elementary, Connoquenessing Valley Elementary and Seneca Valley Middle schools. Some projects ask for a couple hundred dollars, while others need more than $1,000.

Teachers do not receive any items until the full cost of the project is funded. Once the project is fully funded, DonorsChoose.org buys the items and ships them directly to the school.

Erin Sypien, a music teacher at Evans City elementary and middle school, said she turned to the site after she’d heard about other teachers having luck with it. She also wanted to find a different source of funding after the PTO funded a large project for her a couple of years ago.

Sypien got two electric guitars and a bass guitar through DonorsChoose.org a week after she launched the project online, thanks to supportive parents, she said. Now her sixth-graders can have an authentic rock band experience in their modern band curriculum.

“They’re highly engaged, and they’re more in control of the learning,” Sypien said. “This is completely hands-on and creative. It’s been really fun.”

Seneca Valley Middle School English teacher Kasey Kraus recently received six tables and 28 chairs for alternate seating for her eighth-grade classroom through the site. Kraus often has students working in groups so they would push their desks together into pods. She thought tables and chairs would create a better collaboration space and make the classroom easier to navigate.

Kraus launched her project to raise $2,268 on Oct. 20, 2016, and had until Feb. 17 to complete it. She hit her mark right before Christmas, she said. Donations came from parents of current students, parents of past students and even from strangers.

“I really had no idea what to expect, but it was amazing,” Kraus said. “It was a lot of money to raise.”

Not only does it give classrooms tangible items, but Palano said DonorsChoose creates a connection with the community by allowing individuals to support a cause they are passionate about. It also gives the students ownership over their classrooms when they become involved with the project.

To explore Seneca Valley teachers’ projects, visit DonorsChoose.org.