Walmart surprises DPS teachers with $1,000 donation and gift baskets filled with back-to-school supplies

Detroit Public Library & Detroit Public Schools to work together to ensure that every DPS student has a library card

DETROIT - In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Walmart paid a surprise visit to teachers at Bagley Elementary School to present a dozen baskets filled with back-to-school supplies to teachers working during the summer.

Walmart Store Manager Tracy Simon also provided a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card to help the entire school purchase supplies for the upcoming school year. The donation is part of a nation-wide movement to celebrate teachers where Walmart executives are visiting schools across the country to surprise teachers with much-needed classroom items.

More than 50 students and parents were able to witness the surprise donation, which took place during the school’s LitFest.

To combat the “Summer Learning Slide,” the learning loss that happens when children are not engaged in reading during pivotal out-of-school time, Detroit Public Schools, in conjunction with the non-profit LitWorld, are holding a first-ever LitFest, a community celebration of literacy at 37 summer school sites.



The LitFest, is being held throughout the DPS system. This is part of a new district-wide summer reading initiative called Everything Literacy! to keep kids engaged with learning throughout the summer.

There will be 5 learning/reading stations, including Site Word Fishing with “ponds” of duct tape; Librarian Read Aloud; and Bookmark Station/ Post-it Mosaic and “About Me” charts in English and Spanish.