Education

Teachers Paying For Class Supplies

Posted: 12/3/2010

Teachers spend an average of $500 a year out of their own pockets for classroom supplies, according to the American Federation of Teachers. Now, help may be at hand.

(NAPSI) - Public school teachers spend about $3.5 billion of their own money on educational products a year, according to a National School Supply and Equipment Association study.

Study Discoveries

The study also found:

• Fifty-seven percent of respondents indicated that classroom funding decreased at least in part due to the down economy.

• To make up the shortfall in their classrooms, teachers say they have spent more of their own money, altered their lesson plans and asked for more from parents.

• Teachers’ personal money is the most common source of money for classroom educational products.

• Ninety-two percent of teachers surveyed report spending their own money for school supplies and 85 percent on instructional materials for their classrooms.

School Suppliers

Now, teachers, parents and pupils are getting help from a corporate citizen. To help offset rising expenses for classroom supplies, a new privately funded program will provide more than $4.5 million to 45,000 teachers. Focusing on public schools with the highest level of need, each Walmart store and Sam’s Club location across the nation is eligible to select one kindergarten through eighth grade school to participate in the company’s Teacher Rewards program. Ten teachers per school are randomly selected to each receive a $100 Teacher Rewards card to purchase classroom supplies.

“Teachers are the single most important factor in preparing students to be the next generation of leaders and to succeed in the workforce,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “With budgets tightening, we want to support teachers who are purchasing supplies for their classrooms out of their own pockets.”

This is the second year that Walmart has supported educators through the Teacher Rewards program. Last year, educators used the rewards to purchase 25,000 report folders; 24,000 packs of pens, pencils and crayons; 14,000 packs of paper; 13,000 markers; and 10,000 binders and clipboards. This clearly demonstrates that teachers need basic supplies to help support their classrooms.

In 2009, Walmart and its Foundation gave more than $53 million to fund educational programs across the country.

Learn More

For more information about the Teacher Rewards program, visit www.walmartfoundation.org and www.nssea.org.

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