okay as a teacher I am now drooling. I should preface this by saying I teach at a very affluent school, but we have a list of materials we ask each student to get for the year which they recieve when they register in the summer. the team (math, science, social studies and English) make these lists and are very specific about what the kids will need for the year. We try not to add anything to these and they are pretty basic, paper, pencils, dry erase markers, folders for all classes, a binder for English, red pens, and a box of tissues for the science classroom, we do include a statement that some non-core classes may vary but all students need folders, pencils and paper for all classes. All the school provides us with from their budget are staples, 4 dry erase markers per year, paper for copies, butcher block paper for our boards. All other expenses teachers have come from their own pockets or money that the team has set aside. All 4 core teachers get about 400$ a year to spend total.

The only wish lists that we have the option of are the ones we fill out for the PTO/ Renesance during book fair week and that is only for the English teachers.

My cousin just finished kindergarten and she had to purchase all of her supplies as well for the year...but also, this is a school where kindergarten students receive a Grade Point Average! I was shocked when my aunt was telling me about it.

But anyway, back on subject, the school that I worked at previously required their students to bring all supplies in the beginning of the school year...the administration supplied the teachers with two packs of paper but also each student (per grade - Kindergarten - 6th) was required to bring a pack of paper! It cut back on the amount of paper that was actually purchased throughout the school year .... talking about cutbacks!

Amen preach it!! LOL. I teach reading in middle schoolers and they are dirty! Just the dirt that comes off one desk, I don't think most people would allow in their own homes. I'm with you on the Clorox wipes and anti-bacterial hand gel. Anything that helps keep you and the kids possibly "germ free" and cut back on sicknesses I'm all for. Plus, I like to keep my work area (even if it happens to be a cart since I don't have an actual room) clean.

~Marissa

Yikes, what a hornet's nest.

I went to Pittsburgh Public School for every single grade. And strangely, I can't remember ever getting a "list" persay. We always knew to get the basics. But it seemed like we got a lot of stuff reused or community...meaning there were scissors in the classroom, calculators were assigned to each kid by number (and if you lost/broke it, you paid for it), pencils could be borrowed from classmates or bought from teachers (this was rather common...either that or you "rented" it for the class at 10 cents, which you got back when said pencil was returned). Our arts and theatre were essentially student funded through special community performances and selling advertisements in programmes. It wasn't affluent, it wasn't comfortable, but I'm educated and it worked for many others like me.

And for you Columbus teachers:

There is a project with Keep Franklin County Beautiful called the Resale Store, or something similar. Basically, they have this huge warehouse with just really random, leftover office supplies in an effort to be environmentally and socially friendly/aware. Left over promotional pencils, left over stacks of paper from close companies, left over pens from drug companies, paint, etc etc etc. I don't know if they still give it free, or if the fee is nominal, but it is something to check out.

ETA: If I remember correctly, our DECA (marketing/business club) team set up a "school store" with help from the PTA. They ordered supplies and what have you as well as tshirts and other little nicknacks, and the DECA kids ran the store as a project/business model. Seems like win-win to me. Maybe not as a DECA group, but perhaps Student Government or NHS.

I remember that in my school district as well...

We had something like that too. I think it was run by my school's Future Business Leaders of America club. The sold pens, pencils, erasers, notepads, folders, binders, t-shirts, and sweats with the school logo. If I remember correctly, the school store was FBLA's way of fundraising for their big trip to DC.

WTH do they need stickers for? To put on the kids' work? I know my teachers bought their own stars and stickers for us when I was in school. If the teacher can't afford it, then fine, my kid doesn't get stickers. But don't make me buy my own so YOU can put it on the paper?!?

And Whitedaisy, yes, I'd probably hate you if you were my kid's teacher! ;) But I would just be sure to buy the CVS brand of wipes in the worst smell I could find. Then you could hate me back and we'd be even. :cool:

As a first and second grade teacher, I am shocked to see that Clorox wipes, Ziploc bags, and anti-bacterial soap are on school supply lists. We are not allowed to ask for any of these items; the teacher must supply them for the class. I probably spend upwards of $300 per year just on cleaning supplies that actually clean but are not dangerous to students. This is in addition to the $200 that I have spent on basic school supplies (folders, pencils, crayons, scissors, glue sticks) that some of my students won't bring.

The one non-school supply item that we do ask for is one box of Kleenex from each student. Depending on the fall allergy season, I generally have to start supplying these for my classroom by Winter break.

My pet peeve is when parents buy items that are not on the school supply list and send them to school. A first or second grade student does not need to have 3" binders, graph paper, and boxes of 64 crayons. Please stick to the items on the list; we don't have room to store all of the extra stuff that is sent.

*I will now step off my soapbox. Sorry for the rant*

Seeing as I started this thread, I want to re-iterate that I don't think TEACHERS should have to spend a dime out of their own pockets. This is the stuff that our taxes should be paying for.

ETA: Since I won't know who my son's teacher will be until the day before school starts, there is no way to get a list of supplies in advance. in fact, I don't think they've hired a teacher for his grade yet.

Are school supply lists a public school thing? I went to a private elementary school and I don't remember ever getting supply lists. Parents just knew to get general stuff like pencils, notebooks for every class, etc. If a teacher wanted something in particular she would just usually tell us later on in the year. When I was in 5th grade, each kid had to bring in snacks for the cupboard that the teacher would store and then give out to the class later. Again, it was parents' choice. The only requirements were that it wasn't candy and that it was kosher.

Individual supply lists?
 

I have been very surprised to hear that supply lists are not made available to parents until last minute. Another surprising aspect (at least to me) is that it sounds like the lists can vary from teacher to teacher. Several years ago in my school district, the superintendent mandated that all elementary school buildings have the same supply list for each grade level. Our school supply list has remained unchanged since then.

Also, all parents are given a copy of the supply list with their registration materials for the upcoming year in May. I can't imagine giving a parent a list on the first day of school and expecting them to scramble all around that night to find the supplies. :eek: In fact, most of the large stores around here (e.g. Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart) have copies of all the surrounding school supply lists in their Back-to-School sections!

The middle schools don't give them out here until orientation a few days before school starts and of course, you don't know about high school supplies until the first day of school.

I teach Pre-School. Parents are always interested in what supplies thier children need & I'm low key about it all. I usually wait a few days till the chaos of the first week of school is over. Plus, with such young ones I'm more concerned with them adjusting to school then if they brought in baby wipes & a notebook!

One year when my sister was in Elem. school there was a big to do over using supplies as community supplies or keeping them for each individual child. Parents didn't want each table of students to have a community basket of crayons but rather each child with their own personal box. What a bunch of huey.

Amen as well! I teach 6th grade and I keep antibacterial hand stuff on my desk and let the kids use it (I do make them ask before taking it though, trying to teach some manners). Some of the girls keep little bottles of it on their purses (we don't allow backpacks to be in classrooms during the school day). You would be amazed the number of middle school kids who NEVER wash their hands in a day. I am lucky enough to have an amazing costodian in my area that gives me extra cleaning supplies and it's considered a special perk to clean desks once a week for the kids. Maybe that's why I like middle school kids, they consider it an honor to be responsible enough to spray orange cleaner and wipe it off!

Calculators are used in the rooms (we have classroom sets, but not enough for all 1200 students to have their own) but kids can't take them home. The school does not buy any scissors or markers or anything for the teachers, that all comes out of our own pockets. I will buy enough for a classroom, but when it's stolen or destroyed I can't afford to constantly replace it.

We have a bookstore in the building which stocks all the items kids need. The woman who runs it even orders special things if we are doing projects or anything, but you would be amazed the number of kids who refuse to bring pencils to class. I had over 500 pencils stolen last year. I lent them out at first for "collaterial" like shoes and such but even then kids just waited til I was out of my room on hall duty before class and stole them. By the end of the year I refused to buy the students anymore. There were some kids who would bring 1 pencil to school for the whole day and if it broke they expected someone to give them one. Sorry but I know these kids, 95% of them have lots of supplies at home but are too lazy to bring them.

Our lists go out with team letters normally about the middle of July, and as I said all this stuff can be purchased at school too. We even include a note that if your child is on the free/ reduced lunch list all they need to do is contact the bookkeeper (who also runs the bookstore) and she can supply the things required on the list. With the exception of Kleenex (we will take cheepie brands too!) everything is pretty much standard to each grade level. All the 6th grade teachers had to agree to the same rules and materials to make it easier for everyone.

My dad is a high school social studies teacher and has been for 40 years. I was well aware before going into education I was going to have to spend my own money on things, I expected it. I don't mind buying extra materials for the classroom, but I don't feel like I should have to provide paper and pencils for 120 students out of my own pocket. I hope that doesn't sound harsh, but it's not asking a lot. All my kids need are pencils, paper, 2 black 1" binders, 2 composition books, and a red pen for the whole school year.

I guess I am one of those evil teachers who doesn't give a supply list, but maybe that is because it's high school and this is my list:
-1 spiral notebook with at least 100 pages just for my class.
-pencils
-pens(blue/black for work, red or green for corrections)
-1 section of your binder (or a separate binder) just for my class
-loose leaf paper
-for students in French III or higher they need a dictionary as well- which they can order through me for $5.33 (I always collect the $$ first)

Beyond that, kids are on their own. As far as kleenex my students always want extra credit for bringing it in-I don't do that, in my class if you want extra credit you have to work for it.(and 9 times out of 10 it's the students with 100% already that do the work) I buy tissue when it's on sale, and hope that students will bring some in as well - which happens from time to time.

Cleaning supplies would be nice, but I've found 4 rolls of generic paper towels(per year) and generic cleaner works well on the desks. Custodians at our school are supposed to clean the desks once a week, but they barely do anything other than empty the trash. Detention = cleaning desks and scraping gum in my class. ;) I don't give out many detentions, you can probably guess why.

It would be great if our school actually bought us all the supplies I would really like to have, but I make do with the whopping $20-40 a semester for white board markers, paper clips,etc.... Class decorations, now that is a different story- all of my posters came out of my own pocket, as did the vast majority of films that I have shown (or clips), music, etc... as do incentives did you all know that H.S. students love stickers?- Well mine do..but anyhow...

Happy summer. ;) Summer school ends in a week for me. YES!

The great thing about your list is that most parents probably have all of those items on hand for the start of school. Our oldest's Latin teacher does the same thing with for a Latin dictionary, since they won't even use one outside of class until the end of Latin II.

HS students asking for extra credit for bringing in kleenex? Seriously?


A question for our GC teachers: do you have a page on your school's website? If so, do you post your class supply list, wish list and special project info on there (as in, your 6th graders have a science project and they'll need to have a display board, experiement samples and handouts, etc?) I've been hunting through the HS website to get an idea of what I should pick up now with very little luck!

Yes on the asking for extra credit (it's because some of the teachers do give it...which I think is lame, but not my decision.)

No, but I plan to have one soon...I just need to learn how to do Macromedia or have one of my students show me...between professional development and planning for French 1 through French AP Literature (5 classes), prepping for my comprehensive exams for my MA, etc...learning Macromedia isn't my priority right now. :)

Just a reminder... If your child is in a public school, you do not legally have to pay any fees nor do you have to furnish supplies for your child. They cannot punish you or your child for not being able/wanting to purchase Ziploc bags and Fiskar round point scissors.

All these things that teachers ask for SHOULD be paid out of public funds. It should not have to come from parents (IF they can't afford it), and it's NOT the place of the teacher, who all ready makes too little money, to provide these things.

All that being said, buy what you can afford. It can't can't afford 2 packs of $8.00 sharpies only buy one. If you can't find a yellow folder, buy another color and write the word yellow on it.

I too am a teacher and spend $1000 EASILY for my classroom. Then again, I don't teach in a well-to-do district. Actually, I was photocopying pages from a textbook for one of my classes last year, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH BOOKS.

Wendi - I don't know how much you can claim on your taxes for supplies, but I know that legally, I can only claim $250 for "Out of Pocket" School Supplies.

I wish more parents would help our and donate things - the truth is, unless you live in those "good" districts they DON'T. The truth is, most of my kids, and their parents are more concerned with when the next meal is coming, are they going to have enough money to pay the water bill, etc.

By no means am I whining or complaining, I LOVE MY SCHOOL and I love my Students.

I did offer my student 5 bonus points for bringing in tissues. My school doesn't supply tissues OR white-lined paper. I asked ALL 200 of my students to bring in a box of tissues and 2 packages of loose-leaf paper at the beginning of the year.

And still, but mid way through the semester, I was purchasing my own.


On a side rant:
People are constantly dumping on teachers "Oh... must be SO nice to have the summer off!" Yes, and during the summers, most of us have another job. Or, there are a LOT of us who have 2nd jobs DURING the school year.
My mom CONSTANTLY gets me with the comment "Teachers don't need to be paid more, really, they only work part time." :mad: PART-TIME? I am at school at 6:15 in the morning, classes end at 2pm, I coach - practice starts at 3 and ends at 8. THEN, I go home, take care of my husband and then grade or get ready for the next day.

Anyway - my point - I know it is a pain for you, as parents to spend extra money for things your child may not need, but I know for sure that teachers appreciate every bit of help you can offer. If you don't like the community chest idea, or whatever, maybe contact the teacher and see if there is something else you can do instead? I don't know. But I do know that I would LOVE it if I could have markers, or scissors (any brand, really!) donated to my class.

I don't know any teachers who stop being teachers when the bell rings. Last semester I taught 6:45-2:30, had play rehearsals until 4:30 (or meetings) taught a GED class two nights a week (6-9), took classes at a local college 2 nights a week to renew my teaching license (6-8:30) and when I got home at 9:00 I would start grading papers. Oh and that doesn't include the saturdays I spent coaching the Science Olympiad team or the weekends I took them to tournaments, or the dances and basketball games I chaperoned for free, or the three days I was in Chicago with my students on the clock 24 hours a day.

I also want to point something out, when you are a teacher you are never "off duty". I learned early on from my dad to be careful having a glass of wine at dinner when out in public because if a student or parent sees you drinking it can become gossip about you at school. Also I can be at the mall/ grocery store/ movie theater with friends and run into my students or their parents and they expect me to discuss school stuff right there. I have had parents call me at 11:00 at night expecting me to answer a question. I don't know many other professions where the client feels like they can call your house or see you at the grocery store and expect you to drop everything for them. If you politely say "This really isn't the time to discuss that, why don't you call me at school tomorrow?" they get offended. Not all parents are like that, many of my parents are wonderful, but I have had this happen to me on more then one occasion.

I don't know of any teacher who wants to bankrupt a parent, but the bottom line is that if the school district doesn't provide the supplies and the parent refuses to then the teacher has to choose between spending their own money or making the children do without. It's one thing if it's a hardship to purchase supplies because it means the difference between supplies or feeding you child, it is another when it means the difference between supplies or a Coach purse. Sorry if this sounds mean but I am frustrated. I love my students and I would never ask them to buy something I didn't feel was necessary for them to have. Students at my school can spend 20$ total on school supplies for the wholoe school year, that is less then some of us spend on dinner. Most teachers will tell you we ask for stuff all the time for our classrooms and are turned down all the time. If you really want to school system to supply more things then parents need to start asking adminstrators why teachers or parents are being asked to pay for scissors and markers? If I ask for it as a teacher I will not get it, if parents ask for it they have a better shot then me of getting it.

Maybe there are some schools that are asking a lot for parents to buy more then that, but instead of getting upset try talking to the teacher, why do they want you to buy certain brands or types of things? Did they find that buying Sharpies instead of another brand of markers made them last the whole year instead of drying up before Christmas? Most teachers aren't evil, they often have very good reasons for what they are asking, try talking to them about it or even asking other parents if their child who had the teacher last year needed XYZ for a reason? I know with 6th graders it is hard to get them organized so we asked for different color folder for each subject so we can help the students get organized, it cuts down on students bringing the wrong folder for class if they know everyday they need their yellow folder for English and their blue folder for math. Also I tell my students every year on the first day, if you can't afford or can't get a supply for some reason let me know in the next day or so because I often have extra supples left from students last year. Maybe not enough to get all 120 kids a new folder, but I normally have 5 or 6 folders left over when kids were cleaning out their locker.

Adelphean- being a public school law junkie (was my favorite class in college) I am interested to know what federal law you are talking about that says parents do not have to furnish supplies? I searched http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/#federal and didn't see anything so I was wondering if this is a state statute in your state or maybe district? (like I said this interests me so I am a geek about it :) ) In my state we can require parents to furnish supplies as long as we have an alternative to parents who this would be a fiscal hardship for. For example all students who are free/ reduced lunch in our district get free book rental and the bookstore will supply them with one set of supplies for the year. We also have people at registration to help parents with filling out forms for assistance for supplies and books.

The tax deduction here is 250$. I passed that before the end of last semester for the year. I already spend 175$ on supplies this summer for the coming school year and I still have to go buy bookcases because my school won't purchase extra ones and I need them for the bookks for kids to read that I talked a friends company into donating.

BTW, can anyone tell I spent the morning in my classroom. :)

Maybe your attornys are different from mine. Of course the only way I can afford an attorney is to use the one that I get through the teachers association allowing me up to 1000$ a year (j/k). I am not talking about emails left or voice mails, these are calls to my home phone number. Maybe I am a wuss, but as a female living alone calls to my home late at night from unfamiliar numbers are scary. I had a parent call and leave 3 messages on my home number (I was visiting a friend in the hopsitial and did not get home til late), when I tried to return them the next morning before school at 7am her exact words where "why didn't you call me last night? now I need to get ready for work instead of talking to you."

Don't get me wrong I love my job and I LOVE my students but I have had some situations that frankly are out of line in the way I have been treated. I may not be a Doctor or rich like some of my kids parents but I deserve respect as a human being. okay off the soapbox, I need to go look for shelves for my classroom.

Alas, this is where corporations like Coke, Pepsi and Dorito's are only too happy to step in to schools and "help" with funding, in exchange for being able to hawk their wares in our schools, of course (and thereby creating lifelong customers).

And most of that funding goes to athletic needs before classroom needs.

After students eat all that crappy, $hitty, calorie-laden junk "food" (and I use the term "food" very loosely), they are going to NEED to do the athletics to burn off all those empty calories.

When I said athletic needs, I was gearing it towards scoreboards, stands, basketball floors, etc, etc, etc. Not things that ALL students benefit from.

We can bicker all we want. The point is, EVERYONE who has anything vested in any public school should be outraged at how money is spent and not spent.

End of story.

I am all for PE classes - do not get me wrong.

I just came across this thread for the first time, as it was bumped up from a couple of years ago. First of all, for all of you that only needed to bring just a box of Kleenex to school and no other school supplies, I would like to say that you were lucky!! What school was that, and why didn’t I go there! ;) I went to a private school, but ALL the schools in my area, even public, had to buy their supplies for school. There were even stands inside the local Wal-Mart’s and Targets that had extra school supply lists for each local school and each grade in case you forgot them.

Secondly, I am a Kindergarten teacher at a private school, so you can imagine what my pay check is. I have very supportive parents that have never really complained about my class list.

One thing I would like to add about where funds are going is this. When all of you went to school did they have special classes for those students that ADD, ADHD, LD, etc.? Now a days it is not uncommon for a child to be pulled, in the middle of class, to go to reading resource class or math enrichment. Not to mention there are completely separate classes for students with special needs like down syndrome, autism, etc. In turn that means you have to higher more teachers and buy more books for your curriculum, plus furnish those classrooms too. Plus, now a days, a lot of schools (including El Ed Schools) have school psychologists, social workers, and speech pathologists. In turn you have to pay their salaries too. I don’t know exactly when all these things came into play, but this would totally effect the way that funds are spent now as opposed to before.

I had all of these things in my public elementary school when I was there in the 80s and never "had" to bring in supplies. My mother get me what I needed - surprisingly I could do my studies just fine with any color/brand folder I wanted - and if something special was needed, we were told and went from there.

I also never had to bring my own markers to art class which seems to be a trend, so when I'm on the PTA, you better believe I'll be finding out exactly what my 10K in taxes is funding (yes, you read that right).

Question - you don't have to coach a team, right? Nor do you have to take classes at night. I know plenty of 8am-6pm workers who do both of those things on top of their "normal" jobs as well. It's a choice you make. Doesn't make your life easy, but it certainly doesn't make you out of the ordinary. My husband fields calls night and day from his office. Everytime we go on vacation he calls in everyday and checks his blackberry all the time. He's not some high rolling investment banker - he's an HR guy. There are lots of professions that require an "on call" situation.

I'm not saying you don't work hard, I'm just saying a lot of other people do too and they don't get 2 months in the summer to do what they want (be it take classes, work another job, or sit on the beach). I have plenty of friends & family who are teachers and I've seen summers spent in various way. Mine have all been behind my desk in the office. ;)