AIR DATE AUGUST 4, 2022
Title: Back to School
Discover local support available to teachers in need of school supplies and ways caregivers can set their children up for a successful, new school year.
Guests and Locations
A Gift for Teaching, Executive Director – Jane Thompson
Orange County Public Schools, Chief Communications Officer – Scott Howat
School Supplies Help Students Transition Back to a Learning Routine
The new school year is always a time of mixed feelings. You are excited about getting back to learning and spending time with friends while missing the freedom that summer offers.
I know parents have challenges with getting back into the school routine. From early morning bus schedules to afterschool athletics, a lot gets put back on your schedule.
Scott Howat is the Chief Communications Officer for Orange County Public Schools. He recently talked with me about how everyone can transition back to school routines.
“I think it’s important for parents to talk [to their kids] about routine and what’s going to be happening,” Howat said. “Have them prepared, visit the school, and make sure that you sign up to meet your teacher.”
Howat also recommends double-checking that you have your kids registered for school.
Jane Thompson, President of A Gift For Teaching, agrees that transitioning into a school routine is crucial for student success. That process includes teachers.
“[Teachers] don’t get budgets for buying their own office supplies and things,” Thompson said. “We are constantly trying to fill all that… and teachers are telling us that 70% of their students will show up on the first day without any of what they need.”
Hygiene Items Are as Important as Pencils and Pens Today
When I looked around A Gift For Teaching, I saw all the typical school supplies you’d expect to see on back-to-school lists. There were pencils, pens, Crayons, and notebooks. When I asked Thompson what she saw as the top three needs for students in our community, her response surprised me.
“We have hygiene items,” she said. “We have incentive items that come from where we live here in Orlando. We have clothing.”
Teachers often buy educational essentials and incentive items because families still deal with schedule transition issues.
Howat says they emphasize maximizing collaboration between parents and teachers to reduce routine-based concerns. “I think communication is the key to ensuring parents speak with their teachers regularly. Teachers send progress reports home. They’re contacting parents when their children are doing excellent things within the classroom.”
For Howat, he’d like to see those efforts be a two-way process. “If teachers can engage with their parents, and parents with their teachers, it’s going to make a better learning environment.”
Free School Supplies Make the Planning Process Easier
Thompson says her organization’s “teacher free store” hosts about 1,000 professional shopping visits monthly.
They also have a mobile popup called the “Pencil Boy Free Store,” providing a miniature version of the services they offer.
Thompson told me that most of the supplies are donated from the community. “We’re part of a couple of national networks that work with manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. We get a lot of products through the Kids in Need Foundation.”
She also said that national brands, such as Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, 3M, and Target participate in the program.
Anyone wanting to donate or volunteer can do so by visiting AGiftForTeaching.org. If you’d like to check on the supplies list for your district, please visit OCPS.net.
