The school supply lists are out on the Worcester County BOE website. http://www.worcester.k12.md.us/
After looking at these lists a couple of things are obvious to me. First is that budget cuts have definitely come to the BOE. Second is that some of these grades/teachers are INSANE.
At Buckingham Elementary the list specifies what brand of scissors the children are "requested" to bring in and asks for (I kid you not) 24 glue sticks for all Kindergarden and First Grade students. I'm kind of hoping that's a typo and should be 2-4 glue sticks because if each class has 20 kids that's 480 glue sticks per CLASSROOM!!! At Ocean City Elementary the Third Grade children are asked to bring in paper towels (Bounty) as well as their own band aids. At Pocomoke Elementary the Second Graders are asked to bring in 40 pencils each. That's 800 pencils. And 10 glue sticks each. Which is a bit more reasonable than Buckingham but still. Showell Elementary requests that each Third Grade student bring in 15 wooden pencils. Snow Hill Elementary requests that their Third Grade pulls in 3 purple ball point pens and 20 pencils each. (Purple?)
On to the middle schools we go. Fourth Graders at Berlin Intermediate are requested to bring in 24 sharpened #2 pencils. Seventh Graders at Pocomoke Middle need a 3"-4" binder with inside front and back pockets. Like those will last beyond the first week of school. At Snow Hill Middle the Eighth Graders are NOT allowed to have gel pens, fluorescent pens, pencil boxes, scissors, or white out. So clearly no running with scissors for the preteens. Stephen Decatur Middle did not have a list out.
There are some schools that are requesting no rolling back packs. Almost all of the schools are requesting no Trapper Keepers or mechanical pencils. You’d think someone lost money on Mead® or maybe had a bad experience where a mechanical pencil attacked them. Personally I prefer mechanical pencils (no sharpening) and Trappers are better capable of dealing with the messes that having boys create.
Yes, I understand that some of this is to cover children who don’t have enough for the school year. Truly I don’t have a problem helping kids learn. But 6 pencils per kid is more than capable of covering that. As is 2 glue sticks. It’s not like the kids even get the chance to cut and paste anymore with all the focus on testing. But that’s a rant for another day.
Please remember that the ONE thing that guarantees greater success in school is greater parental involvement with children. Ask questions, read homework, go to school events and read to your kids. That’s more important than any amount of pencils or glue sticks.
This article was submitted to the Pocomoke Tattler by one of our readers who identifies them self as 'Mom About Town'.
Thanks for the tip Mom!
30 comments:
Most of the items requested on school supply lists are for "classroom consumption" (it even requests on the list that you not label materials, as all supplies are for classroom use) My children have been in Wicomico Co. Schools for 8 years and every year I have purchased - tissues, ziploc bags, dry erase markers, glue sticks, this year - multiplication flash cards, hand soap/sanitizer, etc. Wonder what would happen if I sent my kids to school without these items? I wonder how the teachers I had 20+ years ago managed?
I realize there are kids out there who can't afford school supplies and we're helping them in getting their supplies but this still doesn't stop them from stealing things out of kids' desks at school. I had to buy like 10 boxes of crayons last year because they kept getting stolen and the school/teacher would not do anything about it. I don't mind helping the children but if they are going to steal then why should i help them???
your materials are used for all the kids who come with nothing.
Last year my Son was in Kindergarten at Buckingham. All the supplies like pencils, crayons, glue sticks and scissors were in carousel thing in the middle of the big round desks that seated 4 kids. They all shared with the exception of scissors which did have their names. We bought 24 glue sticks and by February the teacher sent home a note asking for donations of glue sticks. Obviously, the person who wrote this doesn't know how much glue a 5/6 year old can use. They don't smear it on lightly and they don't press lightly. My Son can go through a lot of glue sticks if I would let him. This year for 1st grade I was kinda aggravated when they specified what kind of pencils to buy. What is the difference? Why do they need to have this Ticonderoga brand of pencil and why 2 packs of 12?
All our school supplies are purchased and the total wasn't as bad as when my Son was at Seaside Christian for PreK3 or PreK4. That school can give you a list of school supplies.
I especially liked it when my kid was in Kindergarden and I had to by 2 cans of Clorox Cleanups and 2 boxes of baby butt wipes. That was $16.00 at Sam's, and we haven't gotten any paper for him yet. I have also had disposable camera's on the list for two years.
What happens if your kid doesn't bring them???? Nothing!!!
Many parents don't send the stuff...but don't despair, if you come to Pocomoke for Back to School Day you can get all your supplies for free courtesy of the Police Dept. and the Chiefs savvy for applying for Federal Grants.
Anyway you cut it...it's gonna cost ya!
My kids go to Buckingham. NO, it's NOT A TYPO!!!
The Ticonderoga pencils are slightly thicker. Better for little hands to grip. Plus they don't break as easily.
You would be shocked how many pencils a middle school student can go through in a year. As a teacher, I have students who get a new pencil at least 3 times a week, and I am only one teacher of four!
Also, the mechanical pencils break and the kids spend too much time messing with them, or they run out of lead and do not have refills.
Oh come on don't make me repeat myself AGAIN! It is not my responsiblity to buy ANYTHING for your kids. I can barely afford my own. Where can I get all this shit for free?
I have already supplied those things for the County out of my paycheck. Want to see it?
OMG..I have to tell you all this story. My son wrote on the side of this English Book while it was closed so the writing was on the edge of the pages. O.K. Bad kid, shouldn't have done it, however when I went to pick up his report card, anylize it and beat his ass, I was told I had to pay 79.99 for the English Book that he damaged. I said okay...can I see the book and they did! So...I wrote them a check and as I was leaving with the book, the secretary asked me where I was going with the book. I told her I paid for the book twice and I was taking it home. She said "TWICE"? I said yup..once when I paid my taxes and again with the check I just gave you. Have A Nice Day! I still have the book.
i went to buckingham first grade, my teacher big and round and her name was mrs square. of course that was 1968.
i really dont mind spending a little extra if some other kid needs some supplies that his or her parents cant or wont get for them. its a small price to pay to make a kid not feel bad in front of all the other kids.
FOLKS GET REAL THE WORCESTER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SPENDS OVER $10,000 PER STUDENT PER YEAR
The biggest line item for your property tax dollars is education.
BUT 80% of the money goes to salaries and overhead.
We homeschooled two of our children, while paying property taxes and guess what. If we had $20,000 a year to spend they would have gotten the best education on the planet.
Asking for $50 worth of "supplies" that should be provided by the schools is a complete crock of manure.
Ten Thousand Dollars Per Child per Year and they are asking for butt wipes and paper towels???
What wrong with this picture Dr. Andes?
My wife and I used to "adopt" a child through Worcester County G.O.L.D. to buy school supplies for, but we got tired of having the parents pulll up to meet us in cars and trucks much nicer than ours, with nails and hair done up "right". or, when we call them to set up a meeting, having to listen to jungle music on their ringback tones (which run them about what it would cost to buy their kids school supplies).
No kid should be without what they need in school-unfortunately some will.
My list for my child included stuff I would send anyway, like hand sanitizer gel and tissues.
Its a shame that some people abuse programs like GOLD when there are kids truly in need.
Parents please get your kids out of the government schools. Look at all the post talking about how supplies are “community”. In other words the first day of kindergarten the authority figure, the teacher is taking their personal property for the “good” of the community. So when these children grow up the communist can take their land for the “good of the community”.
1:33 - Your teachers 20+ years ago didn't have dry erase boards for one. Have you bought dry erase markers? They are expensive and each child has a board and a board needs markers. A classroom is only given a small amount of money per school year to spend. That is per school year, not per quarter. I wonder what you could get for an average of $150.00 per school year to spend on an average of 20 students in the classroom??? That's $7.50 per student. I challenge you to go to Walmart/Kmart/Staples, where ever you wish and try to spend just $7.50 on your child and have everything they need for an entire school year. As a teacher, I thank each and every one of my parents/guardians through out the year and I thank you for suppling your children with the things they/the classroom needs. If we didn't ask parents to bring in these items, most children would be without and everyone would be complaining that their child didn't have a tissue to wipe their nose. As a teacher I usually spend anywhere from $200.00-500.00 per school year on my students/classroom. Most teachers I know do this. I'm not complaining, because if I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't. But, a lot of the time, it has to be done. How do you think I feel writing a letter to my parent's asking them to send in more tissues, more crayons, more baggies - after they have already sent in their fair share? It's not rocket science to know we are not the highest paid in MD, but we do what we need to do because we love our job and our students. 2:21 - I am not a police officer. I can not keep your students box of crayons under my nose all day every day. There is a such thing as student responsibility.
If you all want to complain about what schools need, just don't send the stuff in. If your child needs it, buy it. Simple as that. But, if your child needs it and the teacher can not supply it for them, do not write sbynews.com to complain about how insufficent your child's school is. 5:53 - You shouldn't have had children. 7:25 - Why wouldn't you want your child's education to be one of these top priorities? So what you are saying is that because I finished college, I work where most people would tell you straight forward they couldn't/wouldn't do, I help raise your children, and I get paid around $45,000.00 a year...and that is too much? You must be out of your mind? 7:25 citizenm - I agree 100% nothing bothers me more than this, but that is not my (other teachers) fault. I can not make parent's take care of their children. How do you think I feel seeing it happen and not being able to do anything about it. Our hands are tied. As long as the child is bathed, wears clothes and doens't come to school beaten up, I can not do much.
A classroom is only given a small amount of money per school year to spend.
This is the problem, where is the $10,000.00 per student per year going?
SICK OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS???
I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers. Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do...baby sit!! We can get that for less than minimum wage. That's right...I would give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked, not any that silly planning time. That would be $15.00 a day. Each parent should pay $15.00 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now, how many do they teach in a day...maybe 25? Then that's 15 x 25 = $375.00 a day. But, remember they only work 180 days a year!! I'm not going to to pay them for any vacations. Let's see...that's 375 x 180 = $67,500.00 (Hold on...my calculator must need batteries!) What about those special teachers or the ones with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Let's round it off to $6.00 an hour. What would be 6 x 5 hours x 25 children x 180 days = $135,000.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!!
We were given this 'joke' - more like a wake-up call, at the beginning of the school year. Think about it.
bosshogg - The money goes to buy new text books (to keep up with the times), to buy new desks (to replace the ones the children destroy), to buy paint the walls (because the students decided to take a pencil tip down the side when walking in the halls), to buy the special paper that changes color when you draw on it (usually around 25 cents per sheet) - it's exposing your children to new, different options in the world. If you don't like it, don't send your child to public school. Again, don't buy what your child doesn't need, but do not compalain when your child does need something you didn't think they 'really need'.
I don't have a problem giving my children what they need for school. I don't even mind sending a few extras. But at PES the second grade has 6 classrooms of about 20 kids each. At 40 pencils per child that's 4800 pencils just for that grade. I personally believe that to be excessive.
I think if we taught (as a nation) our kids to be frugal, conservative and responsible we'd be a lot better off.
11:30 AM - You're right, 20+ years ago, we didn't have dry erase boards - there were chalk boards and I don't ever remember my parents having to supply chalk or erasers for the classroom. Nor, do I remember my parents being asked to buy supplies for anyone else that I went to school with.
I realize as a parent, how expensive school supplies are and this, in my opinion, is every parent's chief complaint when they are requested to purchase supplies for other students and/or the classroom.
"If we didn't ask parents to bring in these items, most children would be without . . . " - 20+ years ago, when I was in school - this was called being unprepared for class - that meant, if you didn't have what you needed to participated you got a zero. This would fall under what your comment referred to as "student responsibility".
Here we go with yhese poor underpaid teachers again! If you don't like your already excessive paycheck I will be glad to give you directions across the bridge.
1:15 - 20+ years ago, there weren't 20-35 kids in 1 classroom. Times change, teaching resources have changed also. We still use chalkboards and chalk; however, we have to worry about chldren's allergies now.
Again, if you do not wish to buy the supplies listed by individual schools, don't! That is your option to do so. It is a request.
If you would like for us to give each child a zero for not having supplies, we could; however, we get funds from the state on how many students take and pass standardized tests and how many students are failed and how many move on. Therefore, giving zero's to students for not having proper tools is not an option. As parent's, it is your responsibility to supply your child with what they need for everyday living...since it is required by law for your child to attend school until at least the age of 16, they need proper utensils there too.
I really can not believe parent's are complaining about spending money on their child's education when they are spending hundreds of dollars on clothes and shoes and cell phones.
The biggest thing parents can do to change public education: get involved (be it volunteer in the class, PTA, etc...)... but above all else... PARENT!!! (A concept that seems lost among many)...
Anon 4:55
You have it absolutely right if they would just parent, then all of these costs would plummet. Needing 4800 pencils for one grade is execessive, but we aren't parenting (teaching responsibilty, courtesty, and respect for our selves, each other and the property of others.
JUST PARENT!!!
In response to 1204 I would RATHER send my child to a Christian-affiliated school, but it is pretty pricey.
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