Staples changes Teacher Discount policy!

samntha14

I know there are a lot of teachers out here, so I'm letting you all know if you don't know already, Staples is changing their Teacher discount policy for back to school shopping this year. You will not be able to buy a class set of 25 items at the extreme deal prices. NO MORE! Now you can only buy the same limit as the general public, and then all items at the regular price. However, Staples is offering to give you back your money as a "Staple's Reward certificate" that you will receive later and only good on Staples in store purchases.

Why is this a problem?

School budgets across the country have been slashed and burned. Meaning there is very little the school itself will be able to give teachers and students as far as supplies go. Teacher salaries have been cut across the country. This means we don't have the extra cash of our own this year to lay out for supplies. Also, teachers have lost their $250 income tax rebate for supply purchases, so we won't even get that back at the the end of the year either. I personally don't have $400 to spend on supplying my students this year. It is very sad but very true. I work in a Title I inner city school district. My students are as poor as they come with life circumstances most people can't even begin to understand. Sadly, most of those students come to school with NOTHING.

The previous teacher discount policies bread customer loyalty among the country's teachers. In the past it was the one store where I bought EVERYTHING I needed for school and home. They have just lost that loyalty.

Here is the link to the petition asking Staples to reconsider this policy change.
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/keep-2011-s-extended-limits-on-extreme-deals-teacher-policy-do-not-change-to-2012-policy-for-staples-rewards-check

In the mean time I will be looking for deals at Target, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aide, Office Max, and my local grocery stores. NOT WALMART! but that's a whole other kettle of fish.

nwhitley

Thanks for sharing. Until last school year, I worked in a Title 1 school and like you spent hundreds on school supplies b/c my students would show up with nothing or 1-2 items. Our district did not provide supplies for students so it fell on the teachers to buy the supplies or do without. The upcoming school year will be my 15th in the classroom. 5 years ago, I took a step back and added up all the money I spent on 25 students everyday for 180 days. And, it came out to over a $1000 dollars. It was so much that I lost track and actually cried and became angry and frustrated. So from that day on I stopped. If the students came to school with nothing. Oh well. I only purchased the items that I needed to teach them. If they didn't have pencils, crayons, glue, etc. Oh well- they just didn't have them. I let them borrow from each other or just do without. The only time I provided a pencil or paper was for student assessments.

It sounds mean, but it worked after a couple of months. I had parents, students, and even the admin complain to me b/c I wasn't buying supplies for the students. My reply- I'm so sorry but I can't afford it either. I have a child in school who also needs supplies. Sorry, check the dollar stores. Some of the students missed out on crafts and the fun stuff b/c they didn't have glue, scissors, crayons, markers, and they had to borrow. So sorry. Ask your parents or borrow from someone. I teach 5th so the students were old enough to figure it out. I eventually started selling pencils and notebook paper for a dime a piece.

The students would find the money and bring it in. It wasn't about making money, but about making them realize that these items aren't free and they and their parents aren't entitled to them just b/c they show up. On the admin side, they started providing supplies- some of them were donated by businesses in the community. My message to them- I'm not an ATM and if you want cute bulletin boards, etc. then you'll find the supplies to make it happen. What ended up happening is that over 1/2 of the parents in my class started coughing up money to buy supplies for their child and they would send in extra. Then, complain about the other parents. lol Word started to get around that I didn't buy anything for the students so their parents and the students came prepared with supplies in the following school years.

This past year, I transferred to a non Title 1 school in my district that is very wealthy. So, I no longer have this problem. I definitely feel for other teachers. Sorry it's so long I could go on and on about this topic b/c this is one of those issues that non teachers complain about (supply lists) but they have no idea what teachers have to buy if parents don't.

samntha14

That's the thing, the Staples program made it possible for me to get those things. Now they may need to go without. I teach a second grade inclusion class. Having those materials makes it possible for me to reach and teach all of my special needs children who need a multi-sensory approach to learning.

teacherkatz

Thanks for sharing!! The teacher rewards really helped me provide for my students, as well as for my own kids. Now everyone will have to do with less.

nmb1983

When I was in school, my mom would watch for ads for BTS stuff from Wal-Mart, K-mart, staples...everywhere! It's not like the school year sneaks up on you...and we weren't rich but at some point between all those stores you can find pens/pencils, notebooks, crayons, and paper for spare change...of course we never had anything cool or fancy but we showed up ready to learn on the first day.

Then of course the teachers had a list of supplies we needed (most we would already have) and wed go to the dollar store or pic n save (biglots)...and what's wrong with using last years crayons? They don't go bad...

samntha14

The Staples penny sales or Extreme Deals as they are called allowed teachers to purchase batches of 25 at the penny prices. So I could buy enough pencils, notebooks, paper, glue, scissors, you name it for my entire class for the entire year for about $30 vs. Paying $300 dollars.

cobracars

The previous teacher discount policies bread customer loyalty among the country's teachers. In the past it was the one store where I bought EVERYTHING I needed for school and home. They have just lost that loyalty.

Sorry I just can't resist...after having teachers correcting me all through my school years, I believe you meant to say "discount polices BRED customer loyalty"


Conjugation of 'To Breed'
Base Form: Breed
Past Simple: Bred
Past Participle: Bred
3rd Person Singular: Breeds
Present Participle/Gerund: Breeding

perhaps a better choice would have been 'discount policies encouraged customer loyalty"

nmb1983

The Staples penny sales or Extreme Deals as they are called allowed teachers to purchase batches of 25 at the penny prices. So I could buy enough pencils, notebooks, paper, glue, scissors, you name it for my entire class for the entire year for about $30 vs. Paying $300 dollars.

Yes, I know this...I used to work at Staples. There were teachers that would take advantage and try to supply 150 students (probably middle school or high school)

What I was saying was simply that if you were able to supply you class forn$30, that's roughly $1/student....then there's no reason the parents cant afford to spend $1 on supplies.

nwhitley

The Staples penny sales or Extreme Deals as they are called allowed teachers to purchase batches of 25 at the penny prices. So I could buy enough pencils, notebooks, paper, glue, scissors, you name it for my entire class for the entire year for about $30 vs. Paying $300 dollars.

Yes, I know this...I used to work at Staples. There were teachers that would take advantage and try to supply 150 students (probably middle school or high school)

What I was saying was simply that if you were able to supply you class forn$30, that's roughly $1/student....then there's no reason the parents cant afford to spend $1 on supplies.

Exactly!! The more educators/gov't take on the parent's responsibility, the less they do. With a few exceptions, the majority of parents can afford to buy supplies. They buy what the want and beg for what they need.