School supplies are typically a source of frustration for both parents and teachers.
Parents can sometimes spend an entire day going from store to store looking for that one item that is on the school supply list that no stores seem to keep stocked. For teachers taking inventory, finding a place to keep supplies and sometimes just getting the supplies can take several days.
In August 2010, school supplies will not be an issue for Alvarado school district parents and teachers.
The school district has decided to use some of its federal stimulus money to provide school supplies for the upcoming school year.
“When we received the stimulus funds, we wanted to use it to impact the greatest number of people in our community that we possibly could,” said Ellen Cooper, AISD assistant superintendent of instruction. “When the first day of school comes around, the only thing our students will need to bring are themselves. School supplies will already be in the classroom.
“There might be a need for something for a special project or unit a couple times throughout the year, but I don’t anticipate it being very much.”
Along with supplies, the district is looking to provide backpacks for every student through a recently formed partnership with Academy Sports and Outdoors.
To date, AISD has 1,863 backpacks ready to go out on the first day of school. That leaves the district less than 1,800 short of what is needs.
“Being able to provide not only supplies but backpacks for our students will be incredible,” Cooper said. “A lot of our families have trouble buying school supplies so they certainly wouldn’t be able to afford a backpack. So this is just another way of us trying to provide for our students and help their parents at the same time.”
Several local organizations like churches and businesses that typically have school supply drives will be having backpack drives instead. AISD teachers are also able to donate toward backpacks and those that participate receive a free ‘jean day’ on the last day of school.
Making sure all supplies and backpacks get to the appropriate classrooms in August will be a giant task, but one that the school district’s student organizations are excited to help with.
“There will be a lot of school supplies and backpacks to be separated and delivered in a short amount of time in August,” Cooper said. “Several of our student organizations have taken it upon themselves to help, and I think that says a lot about the type of students we have here in AISD.”
Although the school district would like to continue providing supplies for each student every year, the reality is that federal stimulus money will not always be around.
“We would love to do this each year,” Cooper said, “but I can’t guarantee that. This is something we are able to do through stimulus funds, and there is no way to know if those funds will be available at this time next year.”
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