Teachers Paying For Class Supplies (NAPSA)—Public school teachers spend about $3.5 billion of their own money on educational products a year, according to a National School Supply and EquipmentAssociation study. Study Discoveries Thestudy also found: Fifty-seven percent of respondents indicated that classroom funding decreased at least in part dueto the down economy. * To make up the shortfall in their classrooms, teachers say they have spent moreoftheir own money, altered their lesson plans and asked for more from parents. * Teachers’ personal moneyis the most common source of money for classroom educational products. Ninety-two percent of teachers surveyedreport spendingtheir own moneyfor school supplies and 85 percent on instructional mate- rials for their classrooms. School Suppliers Now, teachers, parents and pupils are getting help from a corporatecitizen. Tohelpoffsetrising expensesfor classroom supplies, a new privately funded program will provide more than $4.5 million to 45,000 teachers. Focusing on public schools with the highest level of need, each Walmart store and Sam’s Club location across the nationis eligible to select one kindergarten through eighth grade schoolto participate in the company’s Teacher Rewards program. Tenteachers per school are randomly selected to each receive a $100 Teacher Rewards card to purchaseclassroom supplies. “Teachers are the single most important factor in preparing Teachers spend an average of $500 a year out of their own pockets for classroom supplies, according to the American Federation of Teachers. Now, help may be at hand. studentsto be the next generation of leaders and to succeed in the workforce,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “With budgets tightening, we want to support teachers who are purchasing supplies for their classroomsout oftheir own pockets.” This is the second year that Walmart has supported educators through the Teacher Rewards program. Last year, educators used the rewards to purchase 25,000 report folders; 24,000 packs of pens, pencils and crayons; 14,000 packs of paper; 13,000 markers; and 10,000 binders and clipboards. This clearly demonstrates that teachers need basic supplies to help support their classrooms. In 2009, Walmart andits Foundation gave more than $53 million to fund educational programs across the country. Learn More For moreinformation about the Teacher Rewards program,visit www.walmartfoundation.org and www.nssea.org.
