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BACK to Grapevine HOME | Shen HOME SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Posted on June 13, 2011 I was under the impression that elementary school supply lists were to be kept under $30. Both of my children came home with order forms for School Supply Kits for their upcoming grade level, and they were more than $30. I have nephews in another building at Shen and their order forms quoted more than $30 as well. I was just looking for a little clarification- Thanks so much for your help.
Some elementary PTAs offer packaged school supply kits as a convenience to families and may elect to make a small profit on them depending on the company. If parents purchase items from the list at a local discount store the total cost should not exceed $30. The kits are optional and designed to assist parents that may not enjoy shopping for supplies and willingly choose to pay a little extra for the convenience of having all off the requested materials prepackaged and delivered to their child’s classroom for next year.
Posted on September 30, 2010 Why can teachers take off points for not having supplies in on time? My grade shouldn't be affected because I couldn't get to the store.
Posted on September 28, 2010 Can teachers require specific school supplies? My son chose to consolidate all his work into 1 large binder in order to save considerable expense and avoid having to carry 6 separate binders. Some teachers are threatening to penalize students' grades if they don't have a separate binder for their subject, even if the master binder is well-organized. What is the policy on this?
Posted on September 24, 2010 Why are we given supply lists for middle school and elementary to only come home the first day of school to a new list. Both of my children needed extra supplies not on the list. Are the schools really not coordinating what is needed?
Posted on September 15, 2010 If a student does not purchase the TI-84 calculator for $100+, is there another calculator they can purchase for less that will suffice? Do they even need a calculator at all in class? Can they just use Apple's "app" for an IPhone, IPod, IPad or similar computer app?
Posted on September 16, 2009 Why is my son told to buy binders and why does it count as a grade? As a high school senior, he should be allowed to organize his notes any way he sees fit. Also, binders are way more expensive than a notebook and folder.
Posted on September 16, 2009 Why are certain grades asking for 48 pencils PER student? I can't think of a single time that any of my children have ever completely gone through at least 1 pencil in a single week. For a class of 20, that's nearly 1000 pencils that are required.
Posted on September 1, 2009 What happens when a child's parents cannot afford the supplies suggested for the start of school??
Posted on May 30, 2008 Which school supplies does the district purchase?
In general, parents will be expected to purchase personal consumable items (paper, pens, pencils, folders, etc.). The district purchases reusable classroom supplies (i.e. scissors, rulers, textbooks, etc.)
Posted on May 30, 2008 I see a unified supply list posted on the elementary school web sites - this is great. However, I am still baffled as to why it is necessary to have several hundred parents out looking through multiple stores for the right kind of folder in red, green, blue, yellow, purple, etc. It is almost impossible to find good quality coated or plastic folders with pockets on the bottom (as teachers have required in the past) in solid colors. Also, wouldn't it be more cost effective for Shen to purchase the thousands of these folders that students across the district need in bulk? Obviously the same is true for pencils, crayons, and nearly everything else on the supply list except for backpacks, smocks, and sneakers.
While this could be considered in the future, the added tax impact would have to be considered as well as the possible impact on other program and service demands. Having the supply list now, gives parents plenty of time to shop around and take advantage of sales.
Posted on May 30, 2008 I understand that the district has re-examines what supplies teachers are allowed to ask for in elementary schools. My question is that the 5th grade supply list appears to have the exact same items on it that I was asked to supply this year. Where is the relief to me and what exactly will the district supply if I am supplying what seems like everything?
The focus was on consistency across the district and to develop a guideline for what was acceptable to request. In some cases the standardized list is significantly different from prior lists. The guideline now is that parents will provide personal, consumable supplies within reason and the district will supply reusable classroom supplies and cleaning supplies.
Posted on June 10, 2008 You said "The guideline now is that parents will provide personal, consumable supplies within reason and the district will supply reusable classroom supplies and cleaning supplies." So why do parents need to supply "2 large boxes of tissues for classroom sharing"? They are for classroom sharing (not personal supplies) and therefore should be supplied by the school. And previously you requested 1 box per student. Do you really need twice as many tissues?
Tissues are personal and consumable. They are for classroom sharing because a box of tissues would take up too much room on every student's desk. Storage wise it just makes sense to have one box open in a classroom at a time. The district master list regulates the maximum at two boxes. However, if you go to the individual school lists, some grade levels only request one and some request none.
Posted on January 9, 2009 Can technology teachers make you pay for your own wood for a project?
Yes, it a consumable item that the student will be taking home when the project is complete.
Posted on January 9, 2009 Can teachers make you pay for materials that you use in class for a project if there isn't enough of that material?
Generally, we asked parents to purchase only those items that are consumable - to be "used up" by the end of the school year or are of such personal use, (such as a camera in order to take a photography course) that we ask students/parents to provide. The district purchases items that will be used over more than one school year such as scissors and, of course, equipment.
Posted on June 17, 2008 While I personally have no problem with purchasing work books for my child I have to wonder why exactly do parents need to "purchase" workbooks? Why are necessary books not put into the budget? This past year I had to purchase a LOTE workbook, a Social Studies work book, and a vocabulary workbook. Clearly these books were a necessary part of the curriculum. Why are parents asked to purchase these items?
Textbooks are a book supplied to a student for a fixed period of time for his/her personal use and basic to the study of a subject. The Board of Education provides funds to be budgeted for the purchase of textbooks and related instructional materials. Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education designates the textbooks to be used. Workbooks refer to the type of book that provides spaces to write in and is consumed each year. It is usually paper-covered and designed to be used in connection with a textbook. The Board of Education must approve the expenditure of funds for the purchase of workbooks and manuals directly related to or required for a particular course. Typically, the district funds work books that are companion pieces to district authorized textbooks. Then there are Regents review books that are not funded by the district (see question below). If you have concerns about purchasing a particular workbook, contact your child’s teacher or principal.
Posted on June 17, 2008 If a review book such as the Regent Review books are used in the classroom why do the students have to pay for them? There are other options for review that might serve a particular student's learning style such as on line review sessions, on line flip cards and even the states Regent Review site. If it is required and being used in the classroom shouldn't the school provide it?
Regents review books are typically not funded by most school districts because they are not considered textbooks and they can change from year to year. And, by board policy, textbooks, once designated, cannot be superseded within a period of five (5) years except by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Board
Posted on March 5, 2008 Why should parents have to purchase classroom items such as Lysol wipes, facial tissue, paper towels and baggies?
District employees should not request that students bring in any type of cleaner or cleaning product. As for tissues, that is requested only because of the personal use and disposable nature of the product. As for the plastic bags, they are used directly by students to transport personal projects, papers, and paperback books between home and school, and serve as an organizing tool for students.
Posted on March 11, 2008 If residents pay school taxes why are some students required to buy workbooks or pay money to do certain projects? Why is the district spending money on a pool instead of eliminating these "hidden costs?"
The payment of school taxes by all property owners does not preclude parental responsibility for expenditures such as consumable supplies, special projects or even field trips or activities. The average tax bill does not cover the actual cost to educate one child at any grade level K-12. In general, public schools request that parents purchase items that cannot be re-used such as workbooks, pencils and tissues. In focus groups that we held in the fall, we heard a lot from parents about this topic. To address this concern, we developed a simplified, standard school supply list for elementary schools that will be put in to place for the next school year. As for the pool or any capital project, it was presented to voters with a full cost analysis and it was approved based on the benefits it provides to the students (physical education and athletics) and the community.
Posted on October 20, 2008 My High School West student in addition to required school supplies ($50), was REQUIRED to purchase a graphing calculator ($140), a Spanish workbook ($11), a Science Workbook ($17 + the cost of gas because it could only be purchased at Borders), a Chorus folder ($.50) and was required to bring in $12 for a all 9th-grade field trips, all within the first month of school. At the same time I just mailed my $2,000 school tax bill. With the hard economic times and the heating season upon us when will the District stop asking me to finance my student’s PUBLIC education?
Considering the economic times, it is understandable that people are concerned about taxes. The average taxpayer pays $3,500. For a family with a child in school that equates to $3.00 an hour to have a single child educated at Shen ($3,500/180days/6.5hours per day= $2.99). As a school district, we strive to balance the needs of our students and parents with the needs of our taxpayers who have no children in our schools. That is why parents are asked to supply personal and/or consumable items that their child will use during the school year.
Posted on September 30, 2008 Why do parents need to purchase language workbooks for middle school students? These do not appear to be optional and I would consider them a textbook. I know there are other workbooks at least at the elementary level, that are provided by the school (spelling/math, for example). With this, along with all the other supplies that we have to purchase, it seems like we are being nickeled and dimed to death.
The workbooks provide extended practice directed to specific topics on a variety of skills in the LOTE program. The MS workbooks are used in both grades 7 and 8 in several cases. The district is reviewing this practice as it did with school supplies to possibly include these in the budget.
CALCULATORS
Posted on September 9, 2008 My child is taking Geometry Honors this year and the teacher recommends the TI 84+ Silver. However last year in Algebra Enriched there was no recommendation other than to purchase the TI 84+. If it is necessary in 10th grade why isn't this addressed when originally purchasing it? Is the class going to be taught with the use of the Silver edition putting my child at a disadvantage?
The difference between the TI-84+ and the Silver Edition is memory capacity. Some students find the extra memory desirable. There are many TI downloads that can be placed on the calculator. The students also use the memory for loading games. The TI-84+ is sufficient for all math classes.
Posted on February 11, 2008 Why does the district require families to purchase scientific calculators that cost more than $100 when the NYS Education Department says the school district should be providing the calculators because they are required for the educational program?
The district has purchased sets of these calculators to be used in the classroom for all math classes. In addition, calculators are available for students to borrow in math classes that require the use of the calculator on the Regents exam (algebra I).
Posted on June 25, 2008 I have a question about the calculators. What should you do if you can't afford this very expensive calculator? I had spoken to a faculty member and I was told that he had to purchase it for his child. No help what so ever. There are a lot of lower income families that can't afford it. Is there enough to borrow and will it be able to come home for homework. Do I buy food and gas or the calculator?
For the graphing calculators required for the Regents exam (algebra I), students/families have a choice: they can purchase their own or the district will provide one for use.
Posted on June 12, 2008 I have reviewed the mandate that your subsequent response points to and it does not state that graphing calculators must be available for all MS and HS students - just that they must be available to all students when they are taking the Integrated Algebra Regents Exam. Can you further explain the interpretation of the mandate to warrant the purchase of calculators extended to all MS and HS students?
First and foremost, we are not purchasing calculators for use by all middle school and high school students, only enough for students to use when taking algebra. However, you are correct that the mandate only requires that we have graphing calculators available at the time of the exam. But, the guidelines also state that students may not share calculators at the time of the exam. Thus, we need a one-to-one correspondence of calculators to algebra one students at the time of the exam. Moreover, it would be imprudent to provide the students a calculator at the time of the exam that they have not used routinely during the school year. Our textbooks are selected with graphing calculator exercises woven throughout. When students have access to these calculators, they can use this tool daily in class, as well as, on homework problems. As students matriculate through the math sequence, the graphing calculator tool becomes indispensible. The algebra two course calls for calculator use daily.
Posted on June 11, 2008 Which calculators is Shen buying - TI83 or TI84? And I thought it was only for some high school math classes, not middle school. Can you please clarify?
Only students taking Enriched Algebra at the middle schools (an accelerated course) will be using the TI-84 calculators purchased by the district.
Posted on September 9, 2009 Why do we (parents) have to supply such things as tissues and baggies for the students? Why do they need to have (7) binders? These binders are $3 to $5 each. The dividers are easily $10. I don't understand what happened to 1-subject notebooks. These are .25 cents each. I believe you are going to give me one of your one word answers or advise me to contact my school. We have our pride. School supplies should not cost this much.
Both of those items you mention are personal, consumable items. Baggies are used by your child to carry work, books, etc. to and from school. We all know what tissues are used for and they have become increasingly important recently with the concerns over flu, MRSA, etc. A districtwide committee was able to standardize lists at the elementary level. As a district, we are looking at the cost of school supplies at the secondary level. |
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