Educational Dealer June 2022

June 2022

FOR PEOPLE WHO SELL TO TEACHERS, PARENTS AND SCHOOLS

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THE ISSUE

Brick House

by Kevin Fahy

Ever since I started to see online commerce eroding sales for physical retailers, about 15 years ago, I have been a sort of cheerleader for brickand-mortar stores. There have been three basic reasons behind my support of traditional stores.

The first is that I’m an old-school guy.

I have an enduring appreciation for old books, old movies and old music, and by “old” I mean the majority of the content was produced prior to my own lifetime.

I have no particular objection to the digitization of that content, although I get the appeal of leather bindings, film reels and vinyl platters as well.

I also like old cars with piston engines and old wristwatches with mechanical movements. I like sports that are played on grass, with a ball.

Okay, you get the point, but I am not just giving you a list of my favorite things. All those preferences are shared with a fair number of people.

The second reason I support brick-and-mortar retailers is, quite frankly, self-serving. This company was founded, 38 years ago, in order to publish a magazine for retailers (that would be the magazine you are reading, Educational Dealer). We now publish a dozen magazines in a variety of fields, but most of them depend

in some way on the health of small, traditional retailers.

It hasn’t been an easy four decades for these stores, and many of them are no longer with us. On the other hand, many of them remain standing, as do we.

Which brings me to my third, and most important reason for supporting physical stores. Put simply, I’m a true believer.

Commerce exists in a state of continuous evolution, in which merchants survive to the extent that they serve consumers better than the competition does. That does not mean, however, that there will only be one successful retail model going forward.

The retail sector is huge and it is not monolithic; different models work better for different products and different consumers.

I have never predicted that online retail would fail to thrive, only that it would not be the sole survivor. It’s quite likely that all three retail types, online, offline and hybrid, will remain viable throughout the 21st century. The question is what share of the total pie each type is going to carve out.

The obvious betting favorite these days is the hybrid, but as in the case of automobiles, that term covers a lot

The idea of opening physical stores is no longer seen as a vanity project, or a marketing gimmick, but as a viable growth opportunity.

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June 2022

FOR PEOPLE WHO SELL TO TEACHERS, PARENTS AND SCHOOLS

Features 3 7

Departments

The Issue

by Kevin Fahy

Seven Tips Toward a Flexible Classroom

The ideal classroom setup today is one that changes constantly.

Here are some considerations when you help a school plan one.

20

Cool & Hot

22

New & True

innovations in the furniture and equipment category

the best in instructional materials

8

A Watershed Moment for School Security

The implications of the Uvalde shooting, from Security Info Watch.

26

Eye on Education

12

What Next?

30

Industry News

32

Business Notes

36

Advertiser Index

16

Predictions for the 2022-2023 school year.

The Metaverse is Coming to Education A new study from Spain explores how evolving technology impacts the way we teach.

38 Endcap

Hertz President David Mocton discusses growth strategies and a new acquisition.

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THE ISSUE

(continued from page 3)

NEW! of ground. Some cars have plug-in hybrid systems that can power the vehicle without the gasoline engine for some significant distance while others may just have a small electric motor that assists with a specific function.

In the retail world, that mild-hybrid version might be a store that simply takes orders online, or a large internet merchant that has a one-off showroom someplace in the country. Increasingly, though, we’re seeing retailers who are really embracing the concept, with fully integrated operations and a seamless interface with consumers.

As I scan through the newspaper each morning, one of the things I’m looking for is any sort of clue regarding the current status of this ongoing evolution in retail. A couple of weeks ago, for example, The Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled, How Bricks Might Save Clicks, by Jinjoo Lee. The point of the piece was that a number of prominent online merchants have been experiencing a sharp decline in their growth rate, and even in some cases a reversal. The idea of opening physical stores is no longer seen as a vanity project, or a marketing gimmick, but as a viable growth opportunity.

Over the past two years, of course, it’s been very difficult to get a reliable sense of where retail is going.

Online ordering shot up during the pandemic lockdown, causing electronic market share to hit a peak of 15.7 percent during the second quarter of 2020. At that point everyone expected that brick-and-mortar would bounce back to some extent, but when and how much was anyone’s guess.

The jury is still out, but right now it looks as though the comeback was relatively quick and robust. Online retail declined to 12.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, and shows signs of further weakening. Meanwhile, traffic at malls was up 16.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to a year ago.

Online sellers have responded by acquiring real estate.

The furniture merchant Wayfair will open three physical stores in Massachusetts this year, while eyewear maker Warby Parker will open 40 nationwide. Footwear seller Allbirds will add 17.

Some analysts think that the trend will accelerate, because the cost of obtaining new customers online has been increasing steadily over the past several years. As the Internet matures, and most of the online-friendly shoppers are already onboard, the remaining target customers are more and more difficult to convert.

According to Google, organic search visits to shopping sites fell by 14 percent in the last quarter of 2021. Combine that with news from Facebook that the average ad price has

(continued on page 6)

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THE ISSUE

(continued from page 5)

increased by 30 percent in one year, and you have a real problem for online retail.

Take the case of Chewy, the internet pet-supply retailer. Three years ago, its net cost for obtaining a new customer was $148. Over just the following two years, that cost rose to a daunting $424. This year it is projected to hit $505.

Now look at Chewy’s brick-andmortar competitor, Petco. In 2019, Petco spent $170 in advertising for every new customer it obtained. By the following year, though, that cost had dropped to $64, and last year it fell to $60.

Due to its wide network of physical stores, Petco claims that it

can now offer same-day home delivery that is quicker and cheaper than any online retailer. It is also expanding services such as pet grooming and veterinary care that can not be offered on the internet.

Another advantage going to physical stores right now is that those physical spaces have gotten cheaper, partly due to the fact that so many stores have closed. Even in New York City, prime retail locations’ rental expense has dropped this year by an average of 11 percent.

That space may start to fill up, because retailers on both sides are finding that the presence of a physical store greatly increases that company’s online business in the area. Warby

Parker says it has seen ecommerce increase by 250 percent around a physical store. Macy’s has delayed further store closings for that same reason.

In short, the future of retail in America is still up for grabs, but if I were a betting man I know where I would put my money.

You can e-mail Kevin at kfahy@fwpi.com.

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Seven Tips Toward

b i l e x e C l F lassroom A Story and photo by Hertz Furniture

The Innovation Center at Mound Fort Junior High School in Utah, furnished by Hertz Furniture, features flexible areas to support project-based learning.

A

flexible classroom is a dynamic learning space. Its setup is constantly changing to create the ideal learning environment – and the venue for a variety of different activities – on any given day. Teachers who want a flexible classroom have discovered that setting one up is a lot more involved than arranging a traditional classroom.

They’ll need help, and as the local school supplies distributor and/or teacher store owner, you are the perfect person to supply it, even if you don’t sell classroom tables, desks, and other furniture. Here are seven tips from Hertz Furniture to help you help them create the kind of classroom flexibility that accommodates different learning styles, provides more room for physical activities, and encourages collaboration while also offering independent learning opportunities.

Let curriculum drive the plans Determine whether the curriculum activities will be around for the long term or short term. That way, you can help the teacher decide to what extent the classroom planning should reflect a particular

educational design. Some of the questions to consider include, Will the students be working alone or in groups based on the curriculum? and Does the classroom need quiet spaces where students can relax or calm down? It makes a big difference which

activities the whole class will be doing together at the same time, and which will be done in smaller groups.

Make room for well-organized storage What kinds of activities are planned for the space and how often will they occur?

Supplies should be organized in the most accessible and efficient way, so it is best to decide in advance what will be needed so that you can plan for proper storage. The less classroom space you use for organizing supplies, the more room you will have for activities.

Rethink the teacher’s desk In a flexible classroom, a mobile teacher’s desk can become part of the daily learning. To keep it lightweight and maneuverable, it may be best for teachers to store their supplies and papers in a different place. The teacher’s work area can be an additional group-learning space in and of itself, or it can be integrated into a collaborative learning setup. (continued on page 34) June 2022 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 7

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A Watershed Moment for

School

SECURITY

by Joel Griffin, Editor-in-Chief, SecurityInfoWatch.com

S

chool security experts say it’s time to start holding school administrators responsible for safety on their campuses, among other recommendations, in the wake of the mass

shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In the May 25 edition of Security Info Watch, they discussed the implications of the tragedy for the larger industry moving forward. Educational Dealer

has permission to use excerpts from the article here.

The usual refrain from both sides of the political spectrum has begun, with calls for increased gun control on one end and arming teachers and staff members on the other. However, those who eat, sleep, and breathe school security know that neither of these proposed solutions will truly eliminate the threat of mass shootings. Despite a plethora of federal- and state-funded studies and vows to address the problem from lawmakers, the fact is that very little has been done to address the deficiencies that exist in the industry.

Patrick Fiel, founder of PVF Security Consulting and the former

executive director of security for the Washington, D.C., Public School System, lays blame for this inaction on school boards and administrators. “It is a lack of funding, a lack of knowledge and a lack of empathy where they don’t care,” he says, adding that they need to be “held accountable” – whether through federal mandates or some other type of monitoring instrument.”

Access control breached

While details surrounding the shooting are scarce, school security experts agree that there was clearly a

breach of access control on the campus, and that authorities are going to have to determine how the gunman was initially able to enter the building. “It’s like putting a fox into a hen house,” Fiel adds. “It can’t happen.”

“Security should, especially in an elementary school, have a single point of entry and every other exterior door is closed and locked,” adds Paul Timm, vice president of Facility Engineering Associates and author of the book, School Security: How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Program.

“And, in every school, we should be teaching with the classroom door closed and locked. Both the Sandy Hook and Stoneman Douglas after-action reports said the bad guys never breached a locked classroom door.”

Timm says he has yet to encounter an incident of this type that did not involve some failure of access control.

While many will point to a lack of budget or training, Timm says it is the security culture within schools – or lack thereof – that is one of the biggest contributing factors to mass shootings and other incidents of violence.

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“I’m not saying schools couldn’t use more funds or pieces of equipment, but let’s face it: the value of the security systems and products we have depends on the people that are utilizing them,” he says. “If we’ve spent $10,000 on an electronic access control system, but somebody is allowing tailgating – or worse, propping a door open and leaving it unmonitored – we just rendered the value to zero.

“I generally find that in May, schools have cabin fever.

Everybody is kind of just making it until the end of the year and maybe are not as sharp as what we would have been in the middle of the semester. I hope that’s not the case. I hope they weren’t leaving everything accessible, but again I wonder how, if the elementary school has a single point of entry and a secured vestibule, how that bad guy gets in.”

Kenneth Trump, president of consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services, agrees and says that even the best security technology is only as good as the people behind it. Lawmakers cannot continue to just throw money at the problem and hope it goes away.

“The limited investments of resources that have been thrown out by state legislatures or governors have been nearly 100-percent, or very heavily skewed towards hardware and technology,” Trump says. “Superintendents and principals are struggling because it is easy to beef up physical security and point to something tangible, but we are not seeing investment in training school staff.”

Though schools now largely do a much better job of developing emergency plans and improving response protocols, Trump believes the training needs to be shifted June 2022 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 9

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More gun control?

Even if tighter gun-control measures were implemented immediately, Security Consultant Patrick Fiel says it would do little to solve the immediate challenges facing schools in terms of active shooters.

“The issue we are having is weapons are coming onto school campuses; so how do you stop that?” he says. “If you go into an airport, you have that checkpoint.

We haven’t had any shootings since 9/11 in the sterile areas at an airport because they have metal detectors, X-ray machines and security.”

to emphasize heightened situational awareness. “Educators [must be aware] that everything is not going to come on a checklist, and that by having physical security measures or even a police officer or a security officer on campus doesn’t exclude the responsibility of everyone else. Security is everybody’s job.”

Immediate steps

Among the first things that all schools can do in the wake of this incident, according to experts, is to evaluate access control and visitor management systems to ensure that they are not only working properly, but that all internal policies are being strictly followed.

Beyond the budgetary issues Kenneth Trump says that time is actually a rarer commodity these

®

days, as security must compete with academic considerations. “Right now, I’m having conversations with school administrators who will tell me they want to bring me in for training, but I am in competition with the academic side of the house just to get on the agenda.”

Fiel says that there needs to be a school resource officer (SRO) always stationed on school property, and that they need to take a more proactive approach to security overall. “At a lot of schools, security is on patrol in the vicinity,” he says. “That is a little bit too late when seconds count.”

Additionally, schools should be able to implement a lockdown on a moment’s notice. “When I say lockdown, that means a working PA system where you can announce ‘code red’ (or whatever they decide to call it) and create a

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Arming teachers? secured environment,” Fiel says. “A shooter is not going to waste time kicking in doors, they are just going to look for open areas where people are located.”

An integrator’s perspective

The shooting really hits home for Shaun Castillo, president of Texasbased Preferred Technologies LLC. His company does a lot of work in the K-12 market, and many of his employees have children in local school districts.

And while funding may not play a role in ensuring schools follow security protocols, he says it is very much a factor in what solutions they are able to deploy.

“Unfortunately, there is a very wide

One possible solution to shootings, like the one at Robb Elementary is to arm teachers or other faculty members.

However, experts say this type of action is littered with potential pitfalls.

According to school security expert Timm, there are number of questions that schools should ask themselves when they consider a policy of this sort, like • when will armed personnel officially be on duty? Is it when they arrive in the parking lot? In the building?

In their classroom? When are they off duty?

• can we agree on what type of firearm they are going to be carrying?

• is everyone in agreement about what type of psychological background screening must take place?

• What will armed personnel have to wear so that they are not mistaken for the shooter if police arrive on campus?

• Where will weapons be stored?

• What kind of firearms proficiency must armed personnel demonstrate on the range?

“Once we start to arm people who are not law enforcement, we introduce more risks than we address,” Timm says.

(continued on page 29)

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s ’ t a Wh t?

Nex Predictions for the 2022-’23 School Year After more than two years of upheaval, schools are back on course – but where are they going?

And how will they get there? Here, a variety of education experts give us their thoughts on the future of education and schools, everything from grading to marketing. (Hint: tech has the power to change everything.)

Education policy will be influenced by the substance and rhetoric in the electoral process across states. Affected

will be the selection of state superintendents, the use of American Rescue Plan funds, the integration of racial justice and diversity into curriculum, and the growth of charter schools. 2

Social emotional learning (SEL) has exploded in popularity and use in K-16 education.

SEL strategies and activities will be integrated into instruction throughout the day in many classrooms. 3

Many districts have eliminated D and F grades

Traditional public schools and districts will invest more in marketing to attract students. Public schools lost 1.1

and are moving towards skill-based competency grading scales. “While this is still not completely mainstream, this movement that has been on the fringes of education is becoming more front and center than before the pandemic.” 3

million students during the 2020-’21 school year. Private school enrollment saw major gains, and parent interest in homeschooling and charter schools increased. Parent surveys indicate that consideration for traditional public schools is declining. 1

Parents will ask districts for more options.

Families and communities have become more deeply involved in education since the pandemic because of the direct impact it has had on them. 6

Students need more personalized learning, but technology might not be the only – and not even main – vehicle through which to provide it. Smaller class sizes, listening,

connecting to student interests, and building relationships can lead to better learning. 5

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President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan – or some version of it – will eventually pass. 5

Use of technology has become more widespread

… so yes: technology skills for both teachers and students are critical, but a drawback of more digital learning is less interpersonal communication and interaction. Look for a renewed emphasis on soft skills – communication, teamwork, problem-solving, etc. 4

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… and teachers will notice a decrease in students’ attention span resulting from tech’s fast pace. It will challenge them, especially those who use traditional classroom instruction or a lecture format. 4 … making it possible for teachers to incorporate a wider array of interactive activities into their lessons. They can easily invite students to use devices and participate in interactive polls, to respond to questions and take part in learning games. 4 … so equity gaps in this area have begun to be bridged. 3 … so teachers can deliver personalized instruction using digital tools organized in a learning management system. Students can complete readings, assignments and activities at a pace that suits them. 4 … so educators are beginning to imagine and see that instruction can be delivered within any classroom setting.

Instruction without boundaries will continue to gain steam as more teachers and schools gain the skills and capacity to do it effectively as education continues to move into the future. 3 1 Angela Brown for Niche, a company that connects colleges and schools with students and families; 2 Kenneth Wong, “What education policy experts are watching for in 2022,” Brown Center Chalkboard, The Brookings Institute; 3 Matthew Rhoads, “Reflecting on education challenges and opportunities of 2021 to help us navigate in 2022 and beyond,” SchoolRubric; 4 Sarah O’Rourke, “9 predictions for the education sector in 2022, RingCentral; 5 Valerie Strauss with Larry Ferlazzo, “9 mostly pessimistic education predictions for 2022 – from a teacher” The Washington Post; 6 Anthony Kim, “5 Major Predictions for 2022,” EdElements.com June 2022 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 13

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Will There be a Teacher Shortage Crisis?

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Many experts say “Yes.” “There will be a big increase in teacher retirements in the spring/ summer this year, leading to a teacher shortage that will make this school year look like a picnic,” wrote Larry Ferlazzo, an Education Week contributor, author of 12 books on education, and a full-time teacher himself. “Then, in an advance prediction for 2023, the stress created by that staff shortage will result in an equal number of departures the following year.”

For the past decade, Ferlazzo has made annual education predictions for The Washington Post. His most recent column was aptly dubbed “pessimistic.”

“This year’s teacher losses, combined with a similarly alarming drop in numbers of students enrolling in teacher-preparation programs, will result in an awful downward spiral.”

Michael Hanson, senior fellow in the Brown Center on Education wrote about the shortage of substitute teachers. “The pandemic has stretched school resources and personnel in many ways,” he wrote on the Brown Center/Brookings Institute blog, “but the biggest and most concerning hole has been in the substitute teacher force – and the ripple effects on school communities have been broad and deep.

“The pandemic is exacerbating several problematic trends that have been quietly simmering for years,” he continued. They include • a growing reliance on long-term substitutes to fill permanent teacher positions; • a shrinking supply of qualified individuals willing to fill short-term substitute vacancies; and • steadily declining fill rates for schools’ substitute requests.

“Many schools in high-need settings have long faced challenges with adequate, reliable substitutes, and the pandemic has turned these localized trouble spots into a widespread catastrophe.”

Federal pandemic-relief funds could be used to meet the short-term weakness in the substitute labor market,

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but a long-term fix is needed, said Hanson.

Author Matthew Rhoads also spotted troubling teacher trends before the pandemic, “but they are now manifesting into major teacher shortages,” he wrote.

Ferlazzo, in his Washington Post article, notes that school districts with skilled leadership will have already developed “grow your own” and “teacher-residency” programs by next year to recruit new teachers and retain current ones. Rhoads offers additional solutions.

For instance, he suggests that schools systematically increase planning time, increase pay, decrease meetings, personalize professional development, eliminate extra duties, and add support and administration pushback to parents

and students.

Teachers should consider other options to reduce stress he adds, like not taking work home, creating a NOT-to-do list, focusing on only three top priorities, mitigating multitasking, and minimizing the time spent on grading.

Getting ahead of ourselves

An article in EDweek recently cautioned everyone to just slow down a minute. “Typically, 8 percent of teachers leave the profession every year,” it said. “There’s no national data yet to say whether teachers have left the profession in the past two years at a higher volume, even though multiple recent surveys have sounded the alarm that teachers are preparing to head for the exit.”

While federal teacher turnover data from during the pandemic isn’t available yet, early indicators suggest that teachers are not quitting in droves.

“We had this fear in 2020 – it didn’t pan out,” Chad Aldeman told EDweek.

The policy director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University noted that some state-level reports showed that teacher turnover may have actually fallen in the fall of 2020. While turnover was a bit higher going into the 2021-’22 school year, it was still in line with historical trends. Aldeman said, “It’s hard to characterize that as a mass exodus.”

EDweek added: “While some onlookers are worried that the real exodus will happen this school year and summer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data is not showing significantly higher than normal turnover rates in public education.”

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Metaverse

The

is Coming to Education

The arrival of this technological innovation opens the door to changing the way we learn.

T

he metaverse is one of the most keenly debated aspects of the digital world. To provide clues on the ways it will affect education, the eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC) at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) in Spain, commissioned a report prepared by digital transformation analyst Marc Cortés. The in-depth study presents the possibilities that are emerging as this technological innovation is applied to education.

Recent initiatives linked to metaverse exploration by companies like Facebook and Microsoft highlight their interest in controlling the new technological realm, especially given its appeal among young people. A study in 2021

by The New Consumer revealed that 45 percent of individuals in Gen Z feel most comfortable in an online environment.

Companies that produce video games – the most significant precedent for the current state of the metaverse – have been crucial in laying the foundation, and the dynamic has become apparent in educational technology. To show its potential disruption – and to put its influence on education into context – the eLinC report offers the following list.

1. Transition of content and environments The digitalization of the learning process is evolving as the metaverse emerges. The pandemic paved the way

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e

for the transition to hybrid educational environments. This new era is a paradigm shift that entails moving from a hybrid or digital in-person process to a fully immersive one.

2. Improving the quality of learning: personalization and matching the student’s pace The metaverse will influence the process because the students themselves will be able to explore immersive environments on their own. The analysis of the information generated in these environments, combined with artificial intelligence, has the potential to help redefine the learning process to make it more personalized.

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“W

elcome to the metaverse, a place where our digital and physical lives converge; creativity is limitless; and location-defying worlds bring people together,” writes Emma Chiu, global director, Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, as she introduced the 2021 report from the global marketing agency entitled “Into the Metaverse.”

At the time, interest in the metaverse was climbing – the number of searches for the word increased more than tenfold from 2020 to 2021, according to Google Analytics. “Media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian have all published extensive articles probing its implications,” Emma reports.

Why the sudden attention? “In 2020, one thing became very obvious, very quickly, as COVID-19 began to spread around the world: we leapfrogged five to seven years in the digital revolution,” noted Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon, during his keynote at CES 2021.

As COVID-19 restrictions ease, the acceleration of tech and its prominence in many lives will continue, Emma said. And, as “Into the Metaverse” revealed, • 93 percent of global consumers agree that technology is our future; • 76 percent say their everyday lives and activities depend on tech; and • Over half say their happiness depends on it.

3. Leveraging the new proven possibilities of virtual worlds More than 200 million unique monthly users of videogame platforms such as Roblox relate and engage with digital environments. Roblox, a popular metaverse gaming platform, has built a learning pathway for students under age 18 that shows them how to use the internet safely. Teachers are beginning to use it in their own learning pathways.

4. From lecturing to gamification Gamification as a tool in the educational process increases with the metaverse. Immersive technologies make the user’s experience more profound.

5. Reaching a greater number of students The larger the potential market, the greater the potential for a business to grow in the field. The metaverse will offer the opportunity to expand within the existing market, generate a new market, or create adjacent markets.

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6. The gap between educational supply and the demand for talent.

The metaverse and virtual reality technology are already being applied in training programs by companies that want to equip their workers with new skills. Bank of America, with about 50,000 employees, was one of the first to use it.

7. The access challenge: digital and generational divides The development of the metaverse requires significant investments in technological infrastructure. It also entails an understanding of immersive reality and a virtual world – a challenge for any educational institution planning to include participants of a certain age.

8. Redesigning educational environments Introducing the metaverse into education means replicating the physical infrastructure in the digital environment.

Currently, they’re being replicated with digital graphics of physical structures.

9. Transforming the role of student and teacher The role of students will no longer be defined as recipients of content. They instead will play a leading role in the digital environment. Teachers will adopt the role of facilitator.

10. Understanding new ways to capture attention In 2003, Stanford University founded the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, which studies the psychological effects of augmented-reality use on behavior.

Since then, it has discovered and highlighted factors that trigger a participant’s attention in the learning process.

11. Assessment and monitoring challenges The metaverse will have a major impact here as it redefines assessment criteria and the ways a participant’s learning evolution can be measured and monitored. Other considerations include issues of privacy, and how to measure the progress of group work. (continued on page 25)

Is the metaverse here yet?

It’s still evolving, explains the Wunderman Thompson research.

The study defers to Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist and essayist, who suggests that the metaverse the next iteration of the internet – “a sucMatthew Ball’s new book is scheduled for release in July. cessor state to the mobile internet.”

In Matthew’s nine-part primer on the metaverse, he explains that instead of a “before metaverse” and “after metaverse,” it will slowly emerge over time as different products, services and capabilities integrate and meld together. Indications that it is emerging already include accelerated innovation in VR and AR technologies, the proliferation of gaming platforms as social and cultural destinations; and the race for companies to stake a claim on their corner of the metaverse.

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1 innovations in the furniture and equipment category 1. The Midtown Classroom Chair from One-up Innovations is comfy enough for long study sessions and easily cleanable. It appeals to students and teachers alike! Round edges and soft, high-density foam keep kids safe while the ergonomic design provides perfect support. Say goodbye to hard seating and hello to the Midtown! jaxxbeanbags.com 2. Monsam Portable Sinks’ mini kitchen (portable ADA kitchen with self-contained sink Model PK-2020) is designed for students with special needs. It comes with everything students need to enjoy a healthy cooking experience, plus hot/cold running water. portablesink.com 3. Angeles As We Grow Adjustable Tables (AB6504BLK seen here) modernize any classroom or play space. They have an oak-look laminate top with sleek chrome and black legs that adjust to seven heights. childrensfactory.com 4. Flexible Apex Series Stacking Chairs from Marco Group offer multiple seating positions. A perfect solution for fidgety students!

1-888-627-2601 marcogroupinc.com 5. With The Self-Regulation Classroom Cruiser by Copernicus, students can self-regulate through movement without having to disrupt the class. Ideal for inclusive environments, it helps kinesthetic learners and others “get the wiggles out” so they can refocus and engage in learning. In just10 minutes, students can become more engaged and ready to learn. hertzfurniture.com/cruiser

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7. Screenflex Room Dividers easily roll into a classroom and set up in seconds to create separate spaces. They are an attractive, economical, and efficient way for schools to make optimum use of their floor space. dealersf.com 8. The Tabletop Four-Section Book Browser from Jonti-Craft keeps books within arms’ reach. Teachers can set it on their desk, a tabletop, on a storage unit, or even on the floor. jonti-craft.com

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9. FootFidget 2.0 for classroom desks – with a new snap-on design for all four desk legs – was designed by physical therapists. Students can fidget with their legs and feet while their hands are free for learning. It’s the only ergonomicallycorrect device with the foot in the middle of the desk space for good posture! footfidget.com info@footfidget.com 10. Teachers can preserve valuable classroom space with Wood Designs’ space-saving cot design. Children will rest comfortably with strong, anti-sagging, vinyl mesh fabric and extra strong ABS plastic for all corners for excellent impact resistance, strength, and toughness. wooddesigns.com/cots

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In Reading Above the Fray from Scholastic, Dr. Julia B. Lindsey’s evidence-based routines help young readers decode words efficiently so they can spend more energy on comprehending – and enjoying – what they read. scholastic.com/ tsmarketing

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Metaverse (continued from page 19)

12. New partners in education Within the field of education, the metaverse can take two forms: • an adaptation model, in which the content and methodology of educational models are adapted to metaverse technology, or • a transformation model, involving the creation of ecosystems made up of universities and educational institutions, businesses and technology companies.

13. Setting standards Several major technology companies have made a commitment to metaverse technology. It is essential to know whether their commitment is based on uniform standards or if each company is creating its own standards.

14. Interoperability, blockchain and non-fungible tokens Ensuring that the digital assets created in one metaverse can be used in another will undoubtedly be one of the key factors in its adoption. ________________ “The potential of the metaverse in the field of education is considerable,” points out Sílvia Sivera, director of eLinC at UOC. “That’s why the eLinC commissioned this initial study. It remains to be seen how this world of alternative virtual reality brings added value to the learning processes of the future, and how it fits in with on-site, blended and fully online educational models.”

Dallas Hybrid Prep, which opened at the start of the 2021-’22 school year, is one of the first schools in the U.S. to implement a metaverse platform, reports EdTech magazine. Students access the STEMuli metaverse – a learning management system that builds asynchronous work within an enhanced virtual learning environment – on their tablets or computers. “Our model is not for everyone,” said Olga Romero, founding principal, “but it does work for students who need a more personalized instructional experience.”

“T

oday’s children carry the world in their pockets and enjoy instant access to all types of content,” wrote children’s media professional David Kleeman. In the article “Kids have Kickstarted the Metaverse” for Techonomy Media Inc. last June he noted, “They don’t just choose among channels, they think in terms of what exactly they want to do right now – a game, video or app? Alone or with friends?

Consuming or creating?

“Could any development disrupt such vast choices?”

David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox, says ‘yes.’ He believes the metaverse is ‘arguably as big a shift in online communications as was the telephone or the internet.’”

Roblox is an online platform and storefront where users go to play games. It is not a game, but a place where people play games by other developers (thus the nickname, the “YouTube of gaming”). Its growth exploded during the pandemic when so many kids were at home full time. In the first quarter of 2021, they invested 9.7 billion hours on the platform. “Children and teens respond well to the metaverse, with its boundless but coherent space for active engagement with brands, stories and characters,” David notes.

“The metaverse makes complete sense to kids,” he adds. “Content discovery for them otherwise is incredibly challenging now. I work at Dubit, a research and strategy consultancy and digital studio, focused on young people.

In Dubit’s Trends studies, upwards of 60 percent of 2- to 15-year-olds say they have trouble finding their next ‘favorite thing.’”

Among U.S. children, a stunning 56 percent play on Roblox at least weekly.

The UOC was created in Barcelona in 1994 – the first university in the world to run exclusively online. The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and open knowledge serve as strategic pillars for the UOC’s teaching, research and innovation. By studying interactions between technology and human and social sciences – with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health – the UOC is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century. More than 500 researchers and 51 research groups work among the university’s seven faculties and two research centers.

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EYE ON EDUCATION More Threats, More Security After Texas Incident

In the week following the Uvalde shooting on May 24, stories of additional violent threats in schools quickly surfaced, reports the K-12 Dive e-newsletter. Those accused of threatening school shootings ranged from men to teenagers and young boys.

In Cape Coral, Florida, a 10-year-old student in 5th grade was charged with making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting.

According to the report, “The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective,” copycat behavior is common. “School shootings and other violent incidents that receive intense media attention can generate threats or copycat violence elsewhere,” it says.

While many schools take additional security measures after a shooting, studies show that some of the measures make students feel unsafe. “There is research to support that the presence of police, school resource officers, metal detectors, random locker checks, and clear backpacks are directly linked to the psychological trauma response,” Addison Duane, Ph.D. told K-12 Dive.

Holding additional active-shooter drills at schools after a shooting has been criticized for causing student trauma. In some cases, starter pistols are fired in school hallways to mimic

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the sound of gunfire, reports Gerard Lawson in the K-12 Dive article. The licensed professional counselor, who helped coordinate the response to the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, feels that there are more humane ways to conduct drills, and “there should be a grace period for kids to be able to decompress from a shooting situation.”

Book Advises Students to Advocate for Phys Ed

“In her delightful new book, You Are Your Own Best Teacher!: Sparking the Curiosity, Imagination, and Intellect of Tweens, social scientist Claire Nader offers startling statistics,” writes Jay Mathews, education columnist for The Washington Post.

“Decades ago, daily P.E. was the norm.

These days, she said, only 4 percent of elementary schools, 7 percent of middle schools and 2 percent of high schools have daily P.E. the entire school year. Twenty-two percent of schools have no P.E. at all.”

The decrease is due, in part, to the fact that Americans “have never been that keen on exercise,” he says. Sharing the blame is the push to raise academic achievement, which allowed school districts to reduce or eliminate gym classes and save money by hiring fewer phys ed teachers.

Nader’s book offers suggestions to kids ages 9 to 12 on what they can do to improve their own education, Mathews reports. On the P.E. issue, for instance, Nader urges them to gather their friends and lobby teachers and principals. Letters to school officials and the media can also work.

Suggestions from other sources, like Powering the Future of Physical Education (plt4m.com) are aimed directly at schools to make simple but impactful changes. They include requiring P.E. every year and every semester, coordinating the approach to P.E. across junior and senior high schools “so it’s a continued experience of quality physical education,” removing the ability to opt out, increasing the budget for physical education, and investing in fitness facilities.

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In June, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona laid out his vision for how the nation can elevate the teaching profession and support teachers across the country. He also released a fact sheet on how American Rescue Plan (ARP) fund investments in our nation’s educators can be sustained for the

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long-term using other existing sources of federal funds.

Even before the pandemic, many states and communities experienced shortages in qualified teachers, including in critical areas such as special education, bilingual education, career and technical education, and science, technology, engineering, and math education. The pandemic has only served to make these shortages worse – falling hardest on students in underserved communities.”

Here are Secretary Cardona’s strategies for recruiting, developing, and retaining high-qualified teachers.

• Investing in a strong and diverse teacher pipeline, including increasing access to affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based preparation programs, such as teacher residencies, Grow Your Own programs including those that begin in high school, and apprenticeship programs.

• Supporting teachers in earning initial or additional certification in highdemand areas such as special education and bilingual education or advanced certifications to better meet the needs of their students.

• Helping teachers pay off their student loans, including through loan forgiveness and service scholarship program.

• Supporting teachers by providing them and students with the resources they need to succeed, including mentoring for early career teachers, high-quality curricular materials, and providing students with access to guidance counselors, social workers, nurses, mental health professionals, and other specialists.

• Creating opportunities for teacher advancement and leadership, including participating in distributive leadership models, and serving as instructional coaches and mentors.

To advance these efforts, the Department’s fiscal year 2023 budget request includes nearly $600 million in new funds – over funds included in the FY22 Omnibus – for a total of almost $3 billion.

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EYE ON EDUCATION

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During the 2020-21 school year, nearly half of publicschool teachers in the U.S. reported at least one student who was enrolled but never showed up for class, said an April 2022 article in U.S News and World Report. The information comes from data released in March – and updated in April – by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The data was pulled from a national representative survey of public-school teachers conducted by Gallup.

High school teachers were the most affected, compared to less than half of teachers in kindergarten to grade eight. Teachers in urban schools were significantly more likely to report having students who never showed up compared to those in rural and suburban schools, as were teachers who taught in schools where most students enrolled are students of color, compared to those who taught in majority-white schools.

“While teachers reported a range of obstacles that interfered with their students’ attendance, the challenges mostly fell into two big buckets – limited or no adult assistance or support at home, and difficulty learning in or adapting to the virtual environment,” said the article. For older students especially, competing demands on time – including providing care to a family member or work commitments that interfered with school – were common reasons for their absence.

The GAO report marks the first big-picture look at the obstacles that kept students locked out – even those enrolled in schools that provided support, like internet-connected devices and free Wi-Fi – and what it might take to bring them back.

“A handful of states and school districts have begun to report their own chronic absentee data on students who missed 20 percent or more of a school year, or roughly 18 days,” according to the U.S. News article.

Hedy Nai-Lin Chang, founder and executive director of Attendance Works, a national- and state-level initiative that addresses chronic absence, bets that most states and districts are underestimating the actual crisis. “The problem with the ‘20-21 data is that so much of it was remote and our attendance-taking practices during remote varied hugely,” she says. “You do see some increases, but my sense is that it’s probably, in most states, much higher.”

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School

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(continued from page 11)

variance in funding for school districts,” he says. “Some can afford top-of-the-line security solutions, which can include general construction of entry vestibules and that sort of thing.

Obviously, security technologies can get expensive across a whole district. And not everyone can afford a high level of security. With the limited amount of funding available today, unfortunately school districts have to make tough choices.

Sometimes that means not having an ideal security solution or posture.”

One thing that integrators, consultants, architects and engineers can do, according to Castillo, is help design campuses to deploy security technology in a more costeffective manner. “We can help design spaces that enhance security for as minimal an amount of money as possible,” he says. “Beyond physical security barriers, there are policies, procedures and other things we can do besides adding more cameras and card readers.”

Holding administrators responsible

“I just got done talking to a school board that had technology and other security measures implemented, but there were no checks and balances,” notes Fiel. “If they say all of their doors are locked and secured, but I can walk in the cafeteria door, I should be able to write them up and report it to the superintendent. We have to hold the administrators accountable.”

Timm says he would make school safety part of the overall evaluation for administrators, as it varies so much from one campus to the next, even within the same district. “I could be in a district where we are all supposed to be wearing IDs and the principal will say, ‘Yeah, it is just too hard to do that,’” he says.

“I can walk into another building in the same district and the principal will say, ‘Everyone wears an ID here. I require it.’”

Despite the tragedy in Uvalde, Timm believes that the security posture of U.S. public schools today is much better than it was two decades ago. “In general, schools have secured vestibules at the main entrance and, in general, schools are required to practice drills more than just for fire.

The number of incidents that have been averted because we were successful with threat assessment or by running a closed campus – we couldn’t possibly keep an accurate count.”

SecurityInfoWatch.com is the leading online news portal for the physical and cybersecurity industries featuring articles on the latest technology, risk mitigation and business trends impacting end users, systems integrators, and product manufacturers. Joel Griffin is the Editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist.

You can reach him at joel@securityinfowatch.com.

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INDUSTRY NEWS Worthington Direct has named Jason

Miles company president. Jason joined the company in 2016 as director of operations and has played an integral role in the company’s continued success within the school furniture market.

Today, Worthington Direct is still relatively small with fewer than 25 employees. The company still prints an annual school-furniture catalog that features a curated selection of top sellers. However, the product offering on worthingtondirect.com is greatly expanded, allowing other markets to find specialty and commercial furniture products with ease.

The Education Market Association has added two new

Jason Miles and Kevin Worthington

He succeeds founder Kevin Worthington, who has been active in the school supply chain for more than 44 years. Kevin spent 15 years at Hoover Brothers Inc. and five years with JL Hammett Co., before starting his own educational furniture dealership in 1997.

Jason previously worked for Lockton Companies as a vice president within its transportation division. The role gave him insight into the logistic challenges that can surface when shipping furniture, especially in the current climate. At Worthington Direct, he has made many improvements in freight procedures and other internal processes. Investing in customer service continues to be his top priority.

team members to meet the needs of the organization as it expands its influence and member services.

Heather Tuley has joined the staff in the newly created position of program & content manager. Her role is key to the successful implementation of EDmarket’s membership programs and thought leadership within the educational products space.

In addition to 13 years as a classroom teacher, Heather brings extensive experience working with education associations, most recently as certification manager at the Texas Association of School Business Officials. She has a master’s degree in education leadership from Texas State University and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Texas A&M University.

Kelly Fisher has been hired as director of marketing, charged with creating integrated marketing plans that support the growth of the association and its programs, events, and membership outreach efforts. Kelly joins EDmarket after spending 13 years with Diversified

Spaces, most recently as their marketing & brand manager.

Kelly has extensive experience as a creative and art director for companies of all sizes, both on a freelance and corporate basis. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in graphic design from the University of Wisconsin.

A study published in May by EdReports, a nonprofit that provides free reviews of instructional materials, found that the availability of standardsaligned instructional materials continues to increase, but the majority of teachers are not using or have access to highquality curricula.

“The State of the Instructional Materials Market 2021: The Availability and Use of Aligned Materials” draws on data from the RAND Corporation American Instructional Resources Survey on curriculum use, teacher perception, and school context. Released annually, the study focuses on the availability of year-long instructional materials that are aligned to college and career-ready standards, how regularly these materials are used, and how often teachers are modifying or supplementing their lessons.

Additionally, this year’s study explores the extent to which materials provide culturally relevant content and support a diversity of student needs, including those of multilingual learners.

“Because of the critical role materials play in supporting teachers and students, it is vital for all stakeholders to have a better understanding of the materials market,” said Eric Hirsch, executive director of EdReports. “The 2020-21 school year was unlike any other, and while teachers’ use of standards-aligned materials remained consistent from 2020 into 2021, they were also supplementing with resources found on places such as Google and Pinterest at higher rates. In watching this trend, and assessing the impact of the pandemic, we should all be asking: are all students receiving access to the grade-level content and supports they need to learn and grow?”

The 2021 study offers five key findings that capture the evolving

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nature of the multi-billion-dollar annual materials market and how teachers are experiencing instructional materials in their classrooms.

• The availability of standards-aligned instructional materials continues to increase.

• Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, the use of aligned materials has remained consistent to previous years.

• Regardless of alignment, teachers are modifying their instructional materials at similar rates.

• Teachers want materials that are aligned to state standards, offer support for multilingual learners, and provide culturally relevant content and approaches, but few believe their materials meet these needs.

• Research shows that implementing high-quality instructional materials in an environment with supportive leadership, along with ongoing coaching, and professional development is most likely to lead to success. This is not the experience teachers report having.

A new addition to this year’s report is information about teacher perceptions on whether or not materials help engage

all students in high-level learning and ensure access to gradelevel content. Seventy-two percent of teachers say materials that include support for multilingual learners are somewhat or extremely important to them. A still higher 82 percent of teachers cite “content and approaches that are culturally relevant” as somewhat or extremely important to them.

However, when it comes to the materials teachers are using, less than 25 percent of teachers describe their curriculum as adequate or completely adequate in meeting the needs of multilingual learners or in supporting them to provide culturally relevant instruction.

“Along with being standards aligned, I’m looking for a curriculum that is truly student centered, where students can engage in the mathematical practices and be challenged to think critically,” said Neven Holland, a fourth-grade teacher and EdReports Klawe Fellow. “If the materials don’t connect, the kids are not going to pay attention. We deserve materials that offer guidance for how to support different learners and that give us ways to bring in a variety of communities while still meeting the standards.”

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BUSINESS NOTES Customer Experience Scores Took a Dive

According to Forrester’s U.S. Customer Experience Index rankings, customer service quality fell for 19 percent of brands in 2022, the highest proportion of brands to drop in one year since the inception of the survey seven years ago.

Forrester’s Customer Experience Benchmark Survey, which collects data to calculate CX Index scores, is based on more than 96,000 U.S. customers across 221 brands and 13 industries. The investment industry is the only industry to see customer-service improvement in 2022.

Emotion continues to be a key driver for delivering high levels of customer experience performance. Fifty-four percent of customers who report positive emotions (feeling happy, valued, and appreciated) are willing to forgive brands that make mistakes. Also, the quality of brand interactions is integral to building customer trust. In 2022, an average of 59 percent of customers trust the brands they interact with; 2 percentage points higher than the 57 percent of customers who trusted brands in 2020.

Congress Calls for Swipe Fee Reform Swipe fees, a retailer’s highest cost after labor, have more than doubled over the past decade, says the National Retail Federation.

They rose 24 percent last year alone to reach to an all-time high of $137.8 billion. And, since swipe fees are a percentage of the transaction, they automatically go up when prices increase, acting as a multiplier that drives inflation even higher.

Visa and Mastercard centrally price-fix the swipe fees charged by the banks that issue their cards. They have been criticized in the past year for a growing string of anticompetitive practices that allows them control of 80 percent of the credit-card market.

Seeking badly needed relief for small businesses and consumers, a bipartisan group of lawmakers this spring asked Visa and Mastercard to withdraw plans for a $1.2 billion increase scheduled for April. They refused.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin promised to continue the conversation. Potential swipe-fee solutions could include transparency to show consumers the now-hidden fees on their monthly credit card bills, he said, and noted that credit card companies should not be allowed to charge swipe fees on sales tax. Senator Durbin also called for elimination of exclusivity rules that keep Visa and Mastercard credit cards from being processed over independent networks – networks that charge less and offer better security – and said central price fixing of fees by Visa and Mastercard should end.

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Four Things Retailers Need to Know About Inflation Members of the National Retail Federation discussed the following at a recent members-only webinar.

has generated hundreds of messages to the Biden administration and Congress. For more information, visit nrf.com/topics/ economy/inflation.

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1. How we got here American consumers spent $1 trillion more on retail goods in 2021 than they did in 2020. They are spending at an even higher rate so far in 2022.

During the pandemic, consumers saved money because they couldn’t spend it on services, and they also received government stimulus funds. As the economy resumed to a more normal pace, they just started spending. Retail sales grew a record 14.1 percent in 2021, the highest growth rate in more than 20 years.

2. The impact on consumers U.S. households had $4.2 trillion more in cash in their checking and savings accounts in the fourth quarter of 2021 than the same period in 2019, reports the Federal Reserve. Lower-income households did not see the same growth in savings or earnings and are particularly vulnerable to the effects of inflation today. More than two-thirds of those earning less than $50,000 a year are having to borrow money, go into debt or use their savings to cover everyday expenses, according to an NRF survey.

3. Shoppers’ response Those with more of a financial cushion are looking for coupons and sales, they’re buying in bulk, or switching to cheaper alternatives. Lower-income shoppers are frequenting discount stores more, cutting back in other areas to afford necessities, or buying less frequently.

4. What retailers can do Over the past several months, NRF’s Lower Inflation Now grassroots campaign

New data from global market tracking firm NPD Groups reveals that sales of lipstick and other lip makeup grew 48 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year. That’s more than twice as fast as other products in the beauty category.

The “lipstick effect,” also called the lipstick index, is considered by many to be an economic indicator, reports Forbes. “In times of a recession and other economic stresses, women will indulge in discretionary purchases that provide an emotional uplift without breaking the budget. Lipstick fits the bill,” says the article.

In 2001, the chairman of Estee Lauder reported that his company saw a spike in lipstick sales after 9/11. He doubled down on the message when the same thing occurred after the recession of 2008.

An academic study – “Boosting beauty in an economic decline: mating, spending and the lipstick effect” – lent further credence to the theory, reports Forbes. It also presented something new – that women wanted to appear more beautiful to attract a mate, particularly one with financial resources. “Although the lipstick effect has garnered some anecdotal lore, the present research suggests that women’s spending on beauty products may be the third indicator of economic recession – an indicator that may be rooted in psychology,” they concluded.

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Flexible Clasrooms (continued from page 7)

Consider fixed versus mobile If the classroom is large enough, it can be divided into learning zones. If there is not enough room to have dedicated spaces for certain activities, mobile furniture can be used to create them as needed, and the furniture can be moved back to its original position afterward. Determine the maximum number of students expected to be in each area at any given time and plan out the learning zones to accommodate them.

Tables, and how many students make a learning cluster?

Selecting the ideal desk shape depends upon how many students will be in a learning cluster. Will the students need space for individual work? For working in pairs? For working in groups of four or more? are some of the questions to ask.

Many desk and table shapes allow for all of these possibilities. Consider how each configuration and each table shape the

teacher is considering will fit inside the learning space.

Use existing furniture in creative ways Existing furniture – including the way the desks are configured – can be used to divide the classroom into zones. Mobile whiteboards, file cabinets, and easels can be arranged in between different learning areas. The back of a white laminate bookcase may be the perfect place to hang artwork. It can also be used as a whiteboard work surface for brainstorming, planning, and instruction.

Make connecting and charging easy Teachers will want to ensure that the devices they use in their classrooms – no matter what they are – can be hooked up to charge. Think about how many outlets are needed, and where they should be placed in the room. Plenty of furniture offers built-in

hookups, including HDMI and USB ports.

Making smart decisions about the location of technology workspaces helps reduce clutter and prevents trip hazards.

Creating a long benching work surface along the classroom wall is an option that uses the space efficiently, provides open sight lines, and keeps computers properly connected.

Final thought Flexible classrooms are our present and our future. Teachers will tell you that they don’t want a single fixed plan that works for the space and the students, but rather an arrangement that makes them ready for the unpredictable; a space that easily transforms to whatever the educators’ and students’ creativity calls for at the time.

To read more about Hertz Furniture, see page 38.

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ENDCAP (continued from page 38)

The first school-furniture catalog

helps the school librarian, principal or business manager we are working with feel comfortable with our Founded in 1966, Hertz Furniture recommendations.” supplies furniture for education, A big part of gaining expertise in business, government and religious the school market was understanding institutions across the U.S. It was the the future of education; really all first company to distribute a school aspects of school life, David adds. “That furniture catalog, notes David. “The led us to some of the specialty spaces hard-plastic chairs featured in it are still we furnish today, including outdoor being sold today. You should see some cafeterias, maker spaces, sensory of the pricing. It’s incredible.” classrooms, and other classrooms in Selling products out of a printed which specialized learning takes place.” catalog was Hertz Furniture’s go-to ELAPSED TIME DICE What has not changed is the business model for many years, “but in Double Set of Dice, company’s commitment to One Pair Yellow and One its customers. “We pride Pair White for Calculating Elapsed Time ourselves on productivity, (Item #18848) accountability, and Grade 3+. integrity,” says David.

A SingleYellow Pair “Who we are as a company for Daytime Time Telling (Item# 18847) can be explained in those Grade 2+ three words.” koplowgames.com Those words compelled David to make sure this 1-800-899-0711 year’s busy season would be different from last year’s.

“Twelve months ago, I was Koplow_EDL_03_20_FWopt.indd 1 5/8/20 10:47 AM absolutely petrified about how we were going to deal with the summer season. At School Furnishings President Kevin Crump remains that time, the distribution onboard as vice president of sales at the rebranded Trusted names in channel issues were just School Furnishings Powered by Hertz Furniture.

DRYING & STORAGE RACKS coming into play. We for over 30 years! weren’t aware of the enormity of the 2000, we realized that in order to thrive, problem. We had no idea so we couldn’t we had to become more than a mailprepare for it. We are in much better order company. We had to understand Mid-Range Racks shape now than we were this time last what schools were looking for so that year; better, even, than six months ago.” we could become experts at meeting In addition to superior customer those needs.” service, the company is known for Theoretically, to match each Specialty Racks personal attention, lifetime warranties, school’s need with an effective solution, complimentary interior design and Hertz Furniture’s sales reps had to project management, and quick-ship understand all the products available products. from the 300 or so manufacturers the company works with. It’s a lot, David Rack Carts What’s next? admits, and probably not realistic. “So Being acquisitive is a new growth instead, we have specialists in specific strategy for Hertz Furniture. “We’ve school furniture categories, like outdoor Heavy-Duty Racks always grown by expanding our ‘focus furniture, science lab furniture, and markets’ as we call them.

They include environmentally friendly furniture. We the Northeast, Florida, the Midwest, turn to them when we have specific Texas, and the West Coast, specifically questions and they, in turn, recommend California and Arizona. As they products that fit the need.

773.777.7100 expanded, we brought in more sales “Knowledge like that gives us sales@awtworldtrade.com dryingandstorageracks.com credibility in the marketplace and (continued on page 37) June 2022 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 35

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ENDCAP (continued from page 35)

reps,” David explains. “Our other option for growth was to look for a company in an area in which we did not focus. In the case of School Furnishings, it was New England. There is a lot of opportunity for us there.

“For the past 56 years, we’ve grown steadily and naturally on our own, servicing the K-12 market, but we felt the time had come for a shift in strategy: to initiate growth in terms of reach and offering,” he added.

School Furnishings was a competitor, “but I always respected them. When we finally got to speak, I realized why: their go-to-market strategy was so similar to ours. It was a perfect fit. Six months down the road, I’ll look at the decision again and see if it was the right one. If so, we can look for opportunities in other areas we’re interested in.”

David bases his market outlook for the company on what he sees happening two years down the road, then five years, and then 10. “All the signs are there for a strong market through to the end of 2023,” he reports. “I can say that with some confidence because the projects we’re currently working on will take us anywhere from 18 months to four years to complete.

“Between 2023 and 2026 or ’27, I think the market will flatten out. There will still be growth, but not like the kind we’ve seen in the last 18 months.”

He attributes that growth to confidence in the economy and the return to school from COVID. “There was a need for schools to create the classrooms they always dreamed about.

And those dreams could be fulfilled because there was a lot of federal money.”

In addition to the school market, Hertz Furniture also services the church and office markets, but they are not the company’s main focus. “Schools are,” concludes David. “All our efforts and time are spent on the educational side of our business. Our expertise is in educational furniture.”

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link.jonti-craft.com/green June 2022 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 37

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ENDCAP

The Media Center is the heart of Great Bridge Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia. Hertz Furniture sourced the furnishings, including soft seating from Academia Furniture and curvy bookcases from Russwood Library Furniture.

Hertz Furniture Branches Out

President David Mocton discusses growth strategies and a recent acquisition

by Tina Manzer, photos by Hertz Furniture

At the conclusion of their 2021 back-to-school season, the team at Hertz Furniture in New Jersey barely had enough time to catch their breath before the 2022 back-to-school season began, reports David Mocton, company president. “One of my VPs said to me, ‘David, I don’t think last year’s ever ended.’”

Hertz Furniture has been on an upward sales trend since 2012, but in both 2019 and 2021 the school furniture distributor experienced double-digit growth. This year, the heavy ordering cycle that traditionally begins in May got started in January and was fully underway by March. To accommodate all the orders, the company’s installation schedule now stretches into December.

Fortunately, Hertz Furniture was prepared for the onslaught. “By late February, I could see the writing on the wall,” David explained. “There was already a lot of activity in our sales department; I could see that there was tremendous interest. I had to make sure that we were ready for what was coming our way.”

To that end, Hertz opened a new warehouse

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in California, the company’s fourth. The others are strategically placed in New Jersey (two) and Texas.

Hertz Furniture also hired a summer crew in April that will remain with the company through October.

“In addition, we’re getting orders to our manufacturers early to ensure they have the components they need down the supply chain to assemble product in time,” David says. “We need timely deliveries to our warehouses so that we can consolidate orders and install them on the date we promised our customers.”

Recently, in a move that speaks more to growth than preparedness, Hertz Furniture acquired School Furnishings, a company whose business model is similar to Hertz’s. School Furnishings served all of New England from its base in Hudson, New Hampshire.

David said, “It’s the first time in our nearly 60year history that we have looked outside our house for a complementary entity in a region that, for us, was mostly untapped.” (continued on page 35)

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