US teachers gear up for school year amid pandemic

As y prepare to return to school, many teachers are finding mselves in desperate need of school supplies, even for teaching remotely.

y're flocking to a warehouse treasure trove of free supplies ranging from books and teps to musical instruments in Chicago suburb of dison, Illiis.

SCARCE (School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) was founded 30 years ago by Kay McKeen.

Her mission is to collect and keep supplies that might orwise end up in a landfill and get m into hands of teachers who need m.

It's a mission me more critical by impact of COVID-19.

"re's so many families struggling w with virus and out of work, re are more kids without supplies," says McKeen.

Chicago teacher Kyna Simpson says her second gre students will need extra help and supplies this year because attention span is always a challenge at that gre level, and "w we're forcing m to do three, four, five, six, seven, eight hours a day in front of computer."