Classroom Purchases- Part 2

*Sorry, I couldn’t find any illustrations depicting teachers buying things for their classroom. Draw your own conclusions.

Like most teachers I knew, I spent quite a bit of my own money on equipping and supplying my classroom. There was just so much money from the district to go around and most ordering had to be done at a deadline so I made many purchases during the school year as needs arose or items went on sale. Most educators did this and didn’t receive, or desire, any funds in return, but I do believe that teachers simply wanted there to be an acknowledgement of our generosity. We wanted parents and students to know what we had done and hoped they were appreciative.

AC Moore was one of my favorite stores to visit when I was teaching. There, I said it. I probably spent more time there than any sporting goods or electronics store and I pretty much knew every aisle by heart. When I needed supplies for projects, materials for my students to use in constructing gifts for family members, or for special holiday activities, AC Moore was the place to go. Best of all, since I was “creatively challenged”, the sales people there were both able and willing to offer advice or assistance in any way I needed. In other words, they explained how to do something one step at a time.

I don’t like having garage sales at my house, but I enjoyed going to other people’s garage sales because they were a great source for classroom materials. I had a terrific classroom library of several hundred books, the majority of which came from garage sales. I also maintained a pretty nice reading area for kids, which was where they got to enjoy my big beanbag chair from Pottery Barn (courtesy of a garage sale), and my cane rocker that also came from a garage sale (until Ashley broke it, that is). Other garage sale items in my classroom included my vacuum and my microwave.

Each summer I would go to the Parent Teacher store to buy my plan book, literature units, bulletin board materials, stickers, and quite a few other things I hadn’t been able to order or find before. I loved this visit, saw so many things for my classroom, and realized what a boring life I evidently led.

Tales From My Classroom

Among the many books from home I brought in to my classroom was my collection of old “Peanuts” books I had from my childhood. Over time, they all disappeared except one, which I still have, but it’s in pretty bad shape.

I bought a microwave for my classroom from a garage sale one spring. There were quite a few instances where I thought it would come in handy for projects, party items, etc. and was much more convenient than using the one in the faculty room myself or sending students down with a parent or other faculty member if I wasn’t free. The very day I brought it in I received a memo sent to all faculty stating that microwaves were no longer allowed in teacher’s classrooms.

Another garage sale purchase was of a bentley rocker with a cane seat. My students loved it for when they were reading silently, and often curled up in it with a friend. One day, one of my girls, who was quite small for third grade, was climbing up in it and her knee went through the seat. By the way, that little girl is now in a Doctoral program.

Each year in December, I went to AC Moore to buy supplies for the holiday projects I’d be making with my students. My favorite project began with me purchasing a few dozen glass balls that would be made into ornaments by pouring different paint colors in to the ball and turning it so the colors would blend. No matter how much guidance my parent volunteers and I gave, kids still put too much paint in and their ornaments weren’t able to drain the excess and would be ruined. Although many ornaments never made it home, regardless of how careful we were, it was a fun project and a holiday tradition in my classroom.

Can you guess which items in a classroom were purchased by teachers with their own money?

Classroom Purchases- Part 1

 

Not to brag, but most years I had a pretty good looking classroom. I had posters and bulletin boards set up, student desks and chairs arranged the way I wanted them, an excellent classroom library, and supplies for projects stored at the ready. The reason that this isn’t bragging is because most of the items in my classroom were purchased with tax payer dollars.

Each year, in my experience, teachers are given a specific sum that they may then use to order supplies and equipment for their classroom. There are many differences between districts, not only in the amounts available to each teacher, but also in the methods used to purchase certain items. “Big ticket” items related to technology, for example, may be purchased in bulk, possibly through a bidding process. Administrators also order student desks and chairs, instead of individual teachers placing these orders. I remember purchasing twenty area rugs for classrooms as a principal so teachers would have a place to meet with their students informally. Other than these more expensive items, though, teachers ordered supplies for their classrooms from the many catalogues available during budget time. That is, of course, unless budgetary concerns lead to the elimination of purchases, but that’s another story.

Tales From My Classroom…

I worked in a district where teachers were expected to put together their order for the following school year in January. I thought that was crazy for a lot of reasons. First, you’ve only gone through half of the school year, so you don’t really know what you’re going to need or want for the following year. Second, teachers change grade levels, curriculum areas change, and teachers retire to be replaced by new teachers. Third, the number of sections in each grade level isn’t known at this time so there isn’t a clear understanding of needs for the following year. Finally, it’s just too weird to be ordering in January for the following September.

My first year as a principal, I encouraged teachers to be realistic in putting their orders together and aim for somewhere around $200-$300, but I don’t believe I put an exact limit on their spending. One teacher submitted an order of $1,700.  I learned my lesson and she learned that a small rural district doesn’t have that kind of money.

My very first year teaching, a colleague took me into the teacher’s storeroom where supplies were kept for teachers to take as needs arose. I remember picking up a pack of pens or a roll of tape when he interrupted me and handed me a handful of the item. When I left that district twelve years later, there were some items I still hadn’t run out of.

I would agonize for many hours as I went through catalogues and prioritized my needs. In the end, like most teachers, I spent every cent I was allowed and sometimes went over a little, hoping the principal wouldn’t notice. By the way, also like most teachers, I hated it when told to figure 10% would be for shipping so orders could only total 90% of the assigned amount.

One district I worked in had two methods for ordering. One was to go through catalogues and find things you wanted to list on your regular order. The second was to look at a typed list of standard supplies that the district purchased in bulk, such as a particular pack of pencils, a certain model of stapler, etc. and order from that list, with the assumption that my items ordered this way would be stored for me. I made use of that list my first year  until about half way through the school year when I asked for another of the three rolls of masking tape I had ordered. I was told the remaining rolls of tape had been given to other teachers who needed them. From that moment on, I made sure never to order an item that was on that list of standard supplies.

How is the ordering done in your school? What amount, if any, is allocated for teachers to supply their classroom?

As a parent or student, what items in a classroom do you think are ordered by teachers or administrators as part of the school budget?