SFUSD Teachers Offered Gift of Second Screen to Support with Distance Teaching

San Francisco, CA (January 5, 2021) — Teachers from the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) are eligible to receive a free computer monitor to use as a second screen from nonprofit organization Two Screens for Teachers. During distance learning, the second screen would help teachers better manage work related to online instruction.

“As a special education teacher providing solely virtual instruction, a second screen has been such a game changer,” said teacher Katy Szatkwoski from the Tenderloin Community School, who recently received a second screen. “It’s so amazing to be able to see my kiddos’ reactions while we’re learning something new.”

Every SFUSD teacher is provided a district computer for working at home. This donation allows teachers to access an additional screen if they want one. According to The New York Times, working with a second computer screen can increase productivity by 20-30 percent.

Two Screens for Teachers has gifted 3,200 computer monitors for SFUSD teachers which is a $360,000 gift. “A second monitor helps teachers and students immediately during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s scalable and costs less than $5 per student,” said Matt Lerner, co-founder of Two Screens for Teachers. “We’re looking for leaders in the tech community to step up and help teachers start 2021 strong with the gift of a second monitor.” 

“We appreciate that teachers will now have access to additional resources to further connect with their students virtually. Thank you to Two Screens for Teachers,” said SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews.

SFUSD teachers can request a monitor through an online form on the Two Screens for Teachers website. The monitor will be ordered by Two Screens for Teachers, sent by the manufacturer, and delivered to the teacher’s home at no charge. 

In addition to providing this opportunity for SFUSD teachers to receive a second screen for free, the district has provided educators with a variety of resources to support digital learning, including ongoing professional development, on-call technology support, instructional resources, webinars, and more.

About Two Screens for Teachers

Two Screens for Teachers was founded by Seattle tech entrepreneurs Matt Lerner and Mike Mathieu to make an immediate impact on the quality of student-teacher interaction during the COVID online teaching crisis by providing teachers with second computer monitors. Since Two Screens for Teachers was founded in September, the organization has given more than 20,000 monitors to teachers -- but 165,000 teachers are still waiting for monitors across the country. Two Screens for Teachers is an independent, fiscally sponsored project of DonorsChoose, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity.

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