This is a guest post from Megan Walsh. It’s a common occurrence hear stories about school cutbacks, budget cuts, and underfunding. In fact, 31 of our 50 states have experienced ongoing cuts to education related expenditures since the great recession in 2008 . Schools are struggling to find the funds to give children a well-rounded education, teachers are compensating with their own pocketbooks, and children are the worse for it. A lack of music and art programs, fewer field trips, fewer hours of Physical Education; all of these cuts affect both academic and social outcomes for children.