This Educator Didn’t Punish Troublesome Kids. She Gave Them a Closet Full of Stuff.

Posted in: Impact Stories

The following post his blog post was written by Amanda Pell at Upworthy & first published on Upworthy.com in November 2017. This time last year, the top three most misbehaved boys at Equetta Jones’ elementary school were from the same family. As assistant principal, it fell to Jones to figure... Read more

First Book and AFT Equip Highest-need Schools in Puerto Rico With Basic Needs Closets

Posted in: Press Room

Organizations partner to deliver essential resources to support students’ basic needs as part of ongoing disaster relief WASHINGTON and SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (May 11, 2018) – This week, First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise focused on equal access to quality education, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are... Read more

Gov. Carney, First Book Announce $50,000 Grant from Highmark Delaware for Re-stock of Basic Needs Closets

Posted in: Press Room

HARRINGTON, Del. (March 4, 2018) — Governor John Carney on Wednesday and First Book President, Co-founder and CEO Kyle Zimmer, visited Lake Forest South Elementary School to announce a $50,000 grant from Highmark Delaware’s BluePrints for the Community fund to support basic needs closets in schools throughout Delaware. The funds... Read more

The Number One Barrier to Learning: Basic Needs

Posted in: First Book Research & Insights

Seeing a child coming to school every day and not having what they need… it’s heartbreaking. A lot of the kids didn’t realize what they didn’t have cause they were so used to not having. When I decided to become an educator, I knew that that was one of the... Read more