I just got a job at a Title I school. We aren't allowed to send home a supply list because our families are low income. So question is, will the school provide the supplies? Should I wait and see what the kids show up with before I ask for things?
I don't understand why some schools don't allow you to ask the kids to bring supplies...I can understand LIMITING what you ask for, but, honestly, I think it's good to expect the parents to have a little buy-in, both financially and then emotionally. I teach in a high poverty school, and I make sure that the school supplies I request are minimal because of that...but I want the parents to provide something. Pencils and a composition book. That would do, and you could buy that, on sale, for 50 cents, total. In your case, I'd ask the school what is provided for student use. If I were you, I'd keep your eyes out for the penny sales at Staples and the weekly ads at Target and stock up, because you just never know what or if the school will give you. I'd stock up on things like pencils (they sometimes go on sale for a penny a pack), glue (you can usually get bottles of glue for 10 cents), crayons, colored pencils, and notebooks or comp paper.
I teach at a Title 1 school too. We're not allowed to ask for supplies either. We are given $200 each yr to order supplies but those orders are only turned in once/year and it can be hard to predict what you'll need. I buy a ton of stuff myself. I second scouting the ads at target, staples, office max etc.
Wow!!! I'm at a Title 1 school and we are allowed to send home a supply list. Now, what they actually bring in is a whole different story, but we are allowed to ask for supplies. I watch for school supplies to go on sale, and stock up on the basics and then buy what I need throughout the year.
We can ask for supplies, but they have to be basic. We cannot ask for specific brands, and we cannot ask for non-instructional items like tissues. We keep it really basic: pencils, paper, folders, binder, pencil pouch. We suggest they have colored pencils and calculators, but most kids don't have those. No, the school does not supply the items if the parents do not. However, we can refer students to the famiy resource center for assistance if the parents can't afford the supplies. I hit all of the sales and stock up on paper, folders, and pencils. That way I have them on hand for kids who don't have things. A lot of people make bad comments about the parents who won't go to the sales and get their children materials. Many don't understand that we are 20 miles from a Wal-Mart and 50 miles from Staples, Target, and many other stores. The often don't have transportation or gas money to get there.
Congrats on the job. I also teach at a title 1 school and my kids attend the school. However, every year we get a long list of items requested by the teacher. Some of the materials I agree with, some I don't. Teaching high school, it's not common to send home a list, but we have parents that will ask what we need (paper, pencils, folders, etc.) and will donate. :help: I think that's great. Maybe you could do a volunteer list and let parents that can afford to donate, do so, but don't make it a requirement. Also, their a few reputable sites that allows you to list the items you need, and volunteers across the country will donate items to your classroom. Here's the links the two sites we use http://www.donorschoose.org/ and http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/school-supplies.htm I was suprised at the response one math teacher got. She was in need of new calculators and the money we recieve at the beginning of the year for classroom purchases was just not enough. She listed the need for the calculators on both sites and recieved them in a matter of weeks. She was even able to give the extra calculators to another math teacher that was also in need. :wow:
ditto. My school is Title I with 100% free breakfast and lunch. We send a supply list home though our principal makes it very clear to us that it's a "suggested" list, not a requirement (even though our students get nintendo ds' confiscated and come in wearing Sean John clothes) My school does provide for SOME things but, we usually have to go to the Teacher Appreciation Day at Staples and Big Lots to get the rest. It's really not THAT big of a deal because their folders are usually a penny along with 5 cent crayons and such.
I agree that this may not be a big deal to some, but when you have teachers who request not one pack of Crayola crayons (they must be Crayola) but five, several packs of paper, four binders, plastic folders with and without prongs, paper towel, kleenex, diaper wipes, germ X, blackboard markers, pens, gallon and quart zipper ziploc bags, and the list goes on. We take bags of materials to school on "Meet your teacher day". Trust me, I'm a teacher and I know the state that we are in, but we have been told that the teachers that request ample supplies have so much left over at the end of the year that it's absolutely ridiculous and then they request the same materials next year. For the last six years, my husband and I spend about three to four hundred dollars on supplies and on top of that we pay a $25 dollar classroom fee! If it's needed, ask; if's it not don't. I wish our teachers would wise up on the TAD at Staples and Big Lots. Ok. I through venting.
Oh, I forgot construction paper (2 packs), white copy paper (3 packs), color copy paper (1) markers, colored pencils (these must be Crayola also), erasers, zipper bag, supply box........ (keep in mind, this list is not a complete list and it's only for one child; I still have to buy for the other two). Ok now I'm through.
We did have one well-dressed mom who had a GOOD job refuse to buy ANY supplies whatsoever. She told her child's teacher "I don't have to buy it, you buy it." Lucky kid, huh?
That's a different story, in my opinion. We serve one housing project, and it is in a highly urban area...there are buses and cabs galore, but aside from that, from that neighborhood, you can walk to a Target and a Staples both. They are about a quarter of a mile from the projects. There is a major mall about a half mile from the neighborhood, and there corner stores all over the palce. McDonalds is much further, about 2 miles, but the kids manage to find their way there!
I'm at a Title I school too and send home a list every year. Most of the parents provide what's on the list. The whole campus does a supply list, most kids bring their supplies. Why should parents have to buy stuff if the teachers will? I don't buy any supplies at all that I'm not reimbursed for by the district.
I have now taught at 2 Title I schools. Both had school supply lists. Because the lists are developed in March and I was hired for both schools in June, I had no input into the lists. Both schools were approx. 100% free breakfast and lunch. At school #1 - 1 student brought supplies. That's it. Her mom did supply things throughout the year, but she couldn't afford to do for the entire class. The school was VERY "stingy" about giving out supplies. For a class of 17 first graders, I was given 1 box of 12 pencils at a time, or 3 boxes of crayons, etc. We were "allotted" 100 copies per month, but our copier was down most of the time. (and we were required to send home weekly newsletters.) There was NO laminator at all. EVERYTHING else was up to us. :| At school #2 (where I am now): I began the year with 17 students as well, and TEN students brought supplies! :thumb: A few students brought "replacement" supplies, through the year, and a couple of moms/grandmoms were pretty good about asking what I needed (and supplying it when they could). We are allowed 300 copies per month (and have a good copier), and have a Title I aide who laminates basically whatever we want on Fridays. (The laminating material is VERY thin, so I tend to have some stuff laminated on my own, lol). This year, I actually had input on the supply list, and was surprised to learn that it hadn't been touched in six years! We did change it - a lot - to reflect what we felt was needed. Here is our list for this school year: 4 primary writing tablets, 4 packages glue sticks,2 packages of wide ruled notebook paper, 2 composition books,1 package of assorted construction paper, 4 boxes of 24 count crayons, 4 packages of #2 pencils, 3 large boxes of facial tissues, 1 pair of blunt Fiskar scissors, 1 package of manila paper, 6 folders (3 red, 3 blue), 2 packages of erasers I know it seems like a lot, but we will DEFINITELY go through it all, and more! I spend a fair amount of money each summer on back-up supplies. I purchase markers, dry-erase markers, and TONS of copy paper. When you consider that EVERYTHING first graders do is BIG, and very little fits on a single sheet of paper, the amount of paper I go through makes sense. Am I throwing worksheet after worksheet at my students? No, but again, very little goes on each of those copies I make. I purchased a laser printer for home and an all-in-one for my classroom to supplement the copies I am allowed at school. The saving grace? I can claim ALL of it on my taxes!
Oh, and I WAS a low-income mom when my daughter was in elementary school, and I still managed to: drive 20 miles to Walmart/Office Depot, etc. provide all supplies requested provide extra supplies as needed communicate with her teachers to see what things or help s/he needed!
I am at a Title I scholo and we send out a supply list. The parents send the supplies at the beginning of the school year and if we ask they replenish supplies throughout the year if they can.
I have been at two different Title 1 schools here in GA. The first (where I was for 6 years) and my new teaching assignment (going on year 2) parents were wonderful about making sure that their students brought in supplies for the most part. I always hoped that they would wait until after open house and buy supplies because there are several things on the list that I don't actually use (we have to send out a county supply list). I always ask if they have bought their supplies yet. If they say no then I always mark out the items that I won't use. I always have a "wish tree" also for open house. I list things that I need on apples on the tree (extra copy paper, hand sanitizer, dry erase markers, highlighters, ect.) I have been lucky that most of the time the parents are so appreciative that I have kept them from spending money for things that WON'T be used that they usually take one or two apples and send in the items. I had a couple of wonderful parents this year that a couple of times during the year they sent in a $10.00 gift card to Wal-Mart for me to use to buy things for the treat/treasure box and supplies.
I am glad to hear that we are not the only Title I school that sends out a supplu list. Most parents are good about sending in the supplies. We have a roomful of donated supplies for those who can't afford them. We do have an issue with consumables being replaced as needed. That box of crayons is usually gone by Christmas. Last year, I hit up the Walmart sale and bought enough boxes of Crayolas to give everyone a new box at for Christmas. I had collected the old, broken pieces from the table caddies, melted them down and made rainbow crayons for them as well.
I've been in Title I schools for about 12 years. Each school had a supply list and students brought them in. Not every student brought every item. I do usually stock up on crayons, notebook paper, folders, markers etc. My son has been in Title I schools and I would shop the sales ALL summer long. There were a few years where I sent a note that said he will have all the supplies by xxx date (was waiting on payday). What really got me was this past year. I got everything on the list that was on the website. When we went to "meet the teacher" it was a completely different list. THREE 3-subject notebooks! AHHHH!!! He's off to middle school this year and I have no idea the supplies he'll need. I'm hoping we have most of the supplies at home.
I'm getting that I should be grateful for whatever the kids bring in. I will be in a Title I school next year and I was hoping to ask for color-coded supplies. (IE: Red notebook and folder for spelling, blue notebook and folder for math, etc.) Do you think this is too much to ask? Maybe I'll just buy it all myself. :dunno:
Honestly, my : If you want color coded stuff, bite the bullet and buy it yourself. Then you know it will be done. Parents are well-meaning (even at title schools) but as a teacher and parent of 6 (5 in school) it's hard to always find things when the list is picky. Parents, including me, get very upset when they try to find a specific so and so and can't find it. There were teachers at my old school that had a checklist of school supplies and would literally check off each item for each kid and send home notes about stuff that was missing. I can't believe they would waste their time doing that AND think of the impression that well-meaning, but forgetful parent must have of the teacher. NOT WORTH IT> I am appreciative of the supplies I receive and supplement the rest. My experience is that the large majority of parents will bring in supplies and if they don't, there is nothing you can do about it anyway. If I had to choose, I'd rather have a parent sit down and read with their child than buy the supplies.
We did color coded last year-but we bought the folders ourselves. I wouldn't ask the parents for color coded materials. I teach at a Title 1 school, but everyone brings in supplies. There might be a few kids that don't bring in everything, but everyone brings in something. The problem I have is when we get new students-which happens a lot. The new students usually don't bring anything in. Then I have to supply everything, or at least the basics, for them.
That's really interesting because my school growing up always asked for very specific supplies. ("Single-spiral, Mead, wide-ruled notebook. - RED") There was a store in town that a lot of people shopped at for supplies, so the school partnered with the store and had class supplies lists hanging in the supplies section. The store had everything on the list, and sometimes grouped the items together for you. My teachers were spoiled! :haha: Question is - If I buy everything myself, what do I do with the kids who bring in supplies? Tell them to take it home? What if they feel like I'm going to give them everything?
Well I wouldn't buy "everything" but if you want certain colors or specifics then you might want to buy those things yourself. Many parents hit the penny sales too and they already bought most supplies by the time they get the list. Many either won't repurchase supplies or will be irritated that the teacher is going to be that picky. especially if they have more than one kid to buy for.
There are some things that I buy because I have very specific rules for its use. The supplies that I provide are mine that the kids use and they may NOT be taken home for any reason. Strict rules, but they aren't the students materials so I get to enforce those rules.
I have no experience with Title I. But, regardless of what goes on in other Title I schools, it sounds to me as though you CAN'T ask for things, now or later. Based on the way you phrased it, this is not something your boss has left open for interpretation. I would take that $200 and make incredibly good use of it over the summer. Hit the Target/Walmart/OfficeMax/Staples sales. Get crayons when they're a quarter, pencils when they're a penny, and so on. Let each of those schools know you're a teacher (in a high poverty school) and ask if they'll waive the limits. (You may be asked for proof that you're a teacher. Since you don't have an ID yet, bring along your contract if necessary. ) Scour the internet for freebies. See what you can play with from Vistaprint-- how you can make the most of their freebies. As far as color coding goes, here's an alternative. Hit Vistaprint and order color coded stickers, or make ones that say "Math", "ELA" and so on.
Part of the reason I wouldn't ask for color coded is because I live in a small town. It would be hard for everyone to get that particular color. I don't want parents to have to drive an hour to get supplies for their child. When we bought folders, we didn't put folders on the supply list. If kids brought some in, I just had them take the extra supplies home.
Great ideas, Alice. With careful planning, scouting around and hitting the sales, the OP could make good use of the $200. These are tough economic times for most families- asking 'Title 1' families for supplies (especially when your principal directs you not to) is not a good idea.
