Teacher here. I recently moved schools and the teacher who retired before I got there left gobs of supplies. So I’m set for a while and don’t need anything!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is interesting is that even though Somerset Elementary is similar to our home school, each teacher has an amazon wish list.

Amazon Wish List is not a bad idea. Why? Because parents sometimes only want to donate to specific teachers or classrooms. This way at least some donation is coming to the teachers.

MCPS gives $200 per teacher for supplies. I do not know if this comes to the teachers directly or it goes to the school? Also, MCPS has this rule that the teachers must only order stuff from MCPS approved suppliers, when they want to use their funds for supplies. The vendors charge an arm and a leg for even the basic supplies. Someone is making a lot of money from our tax payer money (which MCPS employee is getting kickbacks?)

This. Also, the quantities of each item are such that you typically have to pool with another teacher or pool as a department. It’s not that you have $200 and you get to buy whatever you want on this list. It’s that our department has $1000, who needs colored pencils? Okay, we’re buying 20 boxes. Who needs pink eraser caps? Ok, we’ll buy a gross.

If you are the only person who wants something, you need to buy it yourself. In the past, I sometimes saved materials I didn’t need and used them to bribe colleagues to help me get at least one item I wanted. I got two boxes of hanging folders that way. Traded four years of five packs of loose leaf reinforcements.

We are in Howard County. We went to BTSN and I gave each of the teachers for out kids a $50 Target gift card. We have many friends who are teachers and we know that they spend a lot out of pocket. We explained that the money could be used to buy supplies for some of the FARMS students in their classes who might not have all of the supplies or buying general supplies for the class instead of spending their own money. We also gave them each two big containers of wipes, two boxes of tissues and a stack of post-its, but those items were on a list the school sent out of supplies that "are always welcome."

Anonymous wrote:What is interesting is that even though Somerset Elementary is similar to our home school, each teacher has an amazon wish list.

Amazon Wish List is not a bad idea. Why? Because parents sometimes only want to donate to specific teachers or classrooms. This way at least some donation is coming to the teachers.

MCPS gives $200 per teacher for supplies. I do not know if this comes to the teachers directly or it goes to the school? Also, MCPS has this rule that the teachers must only order stuff from MCPS approved suppliers, when they want to use their funds for supplies. The vendors charge an arm and a leg for even the basic supplies. Someone is making a lot of money from our tax payer money (which MCPS employee is getting kickbacks?)

Anonymous wrote:There was a K teacher who used to request shaving foam cans. She would spray the foam on the desks and chairs of students and ask them to clean it up with a paper towel, The kids loved it because who does not like to play in shaving foam? The desks and chairs would be sparkling. She did it every couple of months but more during flu season. She was a real germ-phobe and would also lysol common use surfaces every day after school - door knobs, her desk, faucets, toys etc.

Shaving cream play used to be so fun. I heard at least for daycares it is no longer allowed.