Feb 21 Supporting Students and Teachers: The Education Partnership
(February 21, 2025)
This Bold Voices blog post was written by one of Allies for Children’s partners about a subject that is relevant to their work as well as ours.
Today’s blog was written by:
Josh Whiteside, Executive Director of The Education Partnership
Every day, thousands of students in Southwestern Pennsylvania enter classrooms without access to basic supplies—pencils, notebooks, cleaning products, and even furniture. At the same time, companies and community partners have surplus materials ready for donation, but without an efficient system for collection and distribution, these resources go unused, often trashed even.
The Education Partnership serves as an intermediary to bridge this disconnect. By redistributing readily available, high-quality, free school supplies and classroom resources, we ensure that they reach the students and teachers who need them most. This year alone, over $15 million worth of supplies will be provided to more than 10,000 teachers and 75,000 students across 201 schools at no cost to schools, teachers, or families.
Through the free Teacher Resource Center, thousands of educators—including administrators, counselors, nurses, facilities staff, and social workers—obtain essential supplies each semester, with each visit equating to more than $1,000 in resources. Teachers can find anything from essential basics to classroom or breakroom snacks, to office chairs and whiteboards, to clothing and personal hygiene items, to air conditioners, space heaters, and everything in between. As one can imagine, this program directly enhances student learning environments, supports teacher retention, and transforms what education feels like for our teachers and their students.
Beyond the Teacher Resource Center, The Education Partnership also operates the Adopt-a-School program, which will provide 20,000 students with their own personal school supply kits this year, and the STEAM Hub, which offers access to high-tech classroom sets, hands-on maker materials, and accredited professional development for educators – all at no cost.
However, more than 100 additional schools in the region qualify for these programs, representing approximately 60,000 students—yet, due to physical capacity constraints, they remain unserved.
Despite strong support from corporate and community donors, storage and distribution limitations mean that millions of dollars in potential school supply donations are turned away annually. The challenge is not a lack of resources but rather the capacity to manage and distribute them effectively.
Expanding warehouse space would allow The Education Partnership to increase its reach, ensuring that every qualifying school in the eight-county region can access the supplies they need. Additional space would also create efficiencies in sorting and distribution, reducing waste and strengthening the broader nonprofit sector by serving as a logistics hub for partner organizations.
The demand for accessible, equitable school resources continues to grow, and so does the opportunity to meet it. With the right infrastructure in place, the full potential of available donations can be realized, directly benefiting students, educators, and the regional economy. The data shows that when students have the necessary tools for learning, educational outcomes improve, teacher retention stabilizes, and long-term economic benefits follow.
By addressing logistical constraints, organizations like The Education Partnership can play a pivotal role in ensuring that resources are not wasted and that every child, regardless of ZIP code, has the fundamental materials needed for academic success. The solution is clear: capacity determines impact. Expanding storage and distribution capabilities is a necessary step to align the region’s abundant generosity with the ongoing needs of students and schools.