When I was a child this was always my favorite time of year. The weather was warm and school was only a few weeks away. I loved going shopping with my mother for back to school supplies. Call me crazy, I love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils! We would always set aside a Saturday afternoon to gather up all the necessities... pencils, paper, crayons and a 3-ring binder. I'm certain my mother never spent more than ten dollars on supplies.
These days kids are required to bring a lot more than I did to school. The school supply list for my now fourth grade daughter, for example, asks for 2-reams of white copy paper, 2 boxes of Kleenex (I wonder if the no-name brand will suffice?), and 4 glue sticks (among many other things).
Budgets are tight everywhere. School districts can no longer supply what were once considered basic supplies - paper to make copies for homework, tissues to wipe a child's nose and glue to put together art projects. At the same time, unemployment is at its highest level in more than a decade. Not every parent is going to be able to come up with the money to provide their children with everything on their classrooms' school supply list... especially if they have more than one child. It could be the straw that breaks the back of the family budget.
Not having the necessary supplies can be the difference between success and failure for a child. If you're a carpenter, building a house is tough without a hammer. The same goes for a third grader who doesn't have a ruler at home or a 5th grader who doesn't have the paper he or she might need to finish their homework. The importance of starting school with the basic necessities is what prompted a few of us to form a group dedicated to raising and distributing school supplies to low income children in the Casino Road area of South Everett, Start Out Right. Last year, we gave away more than 15-hundred filled back-packs. This year - even in this economy - we're hoping to match or exceed that number.
Several other organizations are doing the same. The Northshore School District's Backpack for Kids program runs through August 10th. In Federal Way, the district has partnered with a local bank hoping to "Fill the Canoe" with school supplies through August 14th. In Lake Chelan, a community-wide school supply drive runs through the end of the month.
If you find yourself unable to provide your child with the basics heading back to school - contact your school guidance counselor. They'll likely know an organization in your area where you might get help. On the other hand, if you can afford to help - please contact your local school district. I'm sure they'd be happy to provide you with a wish list of supplies.
There is something about brand new school supplies. Maybe it's all the potential within those fresh, blank sheets of paper, newly sharpened pencils and new erasers. I love shopping for supplies, especially the bargains. I know new supplies can be a challenge for some families. It can also affect how a child feels about the new school year and school in general. In Shoreline, an organization called Back to School (http://www.btsconsortium.org/) distributes school supplies as well as clothing and free haircuts to children who need them. With so many back to school bargains in the stores, it's pretty easy to help fill those back packs. When pencil sharpeners are .10, packages of pencils are .25 and notebooks are 3/$1, who can't resist throwing in a few extra.
My only child graduated from high school in June. Now that I'm not buying supplies for my own child (well, I am, but they are much more expensive), I've decided to buy the supplies of three children of a friend of mine. Being a single mother, she has very little support and even less money for things like this. Her children have been through a lot, and if I can put a smile on their cute faces with new backpacks stuffed with every supply (and more) on their lists, I will. They will also be going back to school with at least one new outfit and new shoes. I feel is the very least I can do to boost their confidence and start a new school year off right. I challenge anyone to do the same. Talk to the school counselors in your district to find out how you can help. Thank you!
My 9 yr old daughter will be starting 4th grade this year (in the Seattle school district). I spent over $50 on her school supplies which was a stretch in our very tight family budget. I fear the day when my younger kids, now 3 1/2 and 2, are in school also. The media should do more to alert low income families like mine about organizations that can help. I had no idea help even existed, so I had to scale back on a few things just to make sure my daughter had the necessities for this upcoming school year.
I really feel for the families who aren't able to do that for their child(ren).
Why should thousands of parents have to purchase these supplies at retail, individually? If schools made bulk purchases, and billed the parents, the total cost would be much less, provided that the schools were honest about what was being purchased. Four glue sticks per school year? Two boxes of tissues? For each student? It seems a bit excessive.