First, until two or three years ago, all families purchased school supplies for their children from a teacher generated list. At some point, the school offered the service of purchasing school supplies. After experimenting with this system, it has been determined that it is inefficient and wastes time. Two years ago the administration, and then last year PIE, took on the responsibility of scouring San Antonio stores for the best prices on school supplies and then purchasing them in bulk, while adhering to the stores purchasing rules. It took days for all supplies to be gathered and organized; time away from school preparation and away from families.
Last summer, PIE and the administration came to the decision that each family will now take on the responsibility of back-to-school shopping.
This decision was not a cost-based decision. Truthfully, the back-to-school deals that start appearing in August makes the cost of the supplies nominal. The supply cost that is embedded in the cost of tuition is really geared towards the thousands of dollars spent on workbooks, new curriculum resources, classroom materials, etc... The time devotion for school supply shopping will probably be about 1-hour; however, for a small team from the school, the time devotion is hours over many days.
Looking towards next year, supply lists will be presented on one grade per one page. The list, as it is presented this year, appears overwhelming with all grades squeezed onto two pages.
In addition, after reviewing each list, it appears that some teachers took into account possible need for replacement over the school year and therefore asked for multiples of the same item, while others did not. Feel free to use your discretion in the need to purchase multiples of the same item (exceptions include reams of paper, pencils, and requests for folders in different colors).
I hope this clarifies the posted supply list. I apologize this letter did not accompany it.
