Educational Dealer October 2022

at Tidewater Teacher Supply Dorothy Schwartzer, owner

ISSUE

Where Do You Think You’re Going?

by Kevin Fahy

Iknow I’ve said this before, but I think we’re about done with COVID. I’m not saying it’s done with us, and it’s beginning to look like it never will be, but I think Americans have simply moved on.

It all reminds me of our accustomed experience with hurricanes. People see the storm coming and take some hurried precautions like boarding up their windows and stocking up on canned goods. Then everybody finds shelter somewhere and waits for the thing to blow over.

So now we’re in that phase where the survivors emerge from the rubble, survey the damage and begin to rebuild their lives. The difference with this storm is that not everyone seems to have come back.

I heard on the news today that there are approximately two job openings for every person who is looking for work in the United States. In a September 2nd article for The Wall Street Journal, entitled “The Americans Who Never Went Back to Work After the Pandemic,” author Nicholas Eberstadt put it this way: “Never has work been so readily available in modern America; never have so many been uninterested in taking it.”

and partly for that reason we have a large number of local restaurants. This past summer we seemed to have more tourists than ever, but more often than not they had a hard time finding a place to get something to eat. It wasn’t that the restaurants were out of business, but they certainly weren’t

The whole process begs the question, “What happened to all the workers?”

fairways. It always makes me laugh, because I don’t know the membership that well but they don’t strike me as the sort of people who would be much help with recruitment.

Zephyr Lock is the leading locker lock manufacturer for virtually every industry. We offer the most diverse line of locker locks for the broadest range of applications. No matter what type of facility you service or operate, Zephyr Lock has the right locker lock solution for you.

The town where I live is very popular with tourists in the summer,

We’ve been shorthanded here in the office for years, but the combination of a tight labor market and a tight budget have kept us from

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3 The Issue

Where Do You Think You’re Going?

by Kevin Fahy

7 The One and Only School Supply Conference

We Connect by Catalog Solutions

In November, this invitation-only event will bring dealers and suppliers together over new products.

8 Making Waves

Like other entrepreneurs of her generation, Dorothy Schwartzer is finding creative ways to grow her teacher store.

14 EDspaces: Focused on School Structures

“Both an incubator of progressive ideas and a knowledge-sharing play ground,” this conference and trade show in November will showcase innovative learning environments.

26 On Board

Everything you always wanted to know about high-quality bleacher board from Rudy Bond, Gym and Sports Solutions.

30 Endcap

Thrive by MooreCo is a new philosophy in furniture design based on the six stages of human development.

Departments

Cool & Hot

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trying too hard to address the situation. Lately it has become more acute, and we have begun advertising for experienced publishing professionals.

I don’t know whether or not you’ve been through that process recently, but if so I’m guessing you found it to be frustrating at best (and maddening at worst). I have found that most applicants fall into one of three categories.

The first is people who have reasonably sufficient qualifications, but live a thousand miles away from our office. Most of them don’t say it explicitly, but I get the feeling they are assuming they could work remotely. If not I’m not sure why they would want to relocate when there are plenty of jobs available where they live now.

The second group is made up of people who have little to no relevant experience, but do live around here. They tend to stress their availability and willingness to learn new skills, but I have to wonder whether they simply don’t want to work in a restaurant, and apply for everything else in the area.

Finally there is the third group, who don’t live around here and have no background in publishing whatsoever. I have no idea what they’re thinking.

We really prefer that people work here in the office, although we have made exceptions in the past and may need to consider doing so again. For those of you who are brick-and-mortar retailers such an arrangement may not be possible, which would leave you to make the most of group number two.

At any rate, the whole process begs the question, “What happened to all the workers?” According to the Journal article, they left the labor market of their own volition.

Among men of prime working age (25-54), there has been a “flight from work” going on for the past 50 years. Even before the pandemic, for every unemployed primeage man looking for work, there were four who were neither working nor looking.

Emergency measures taken during the pandemic appear to have made that situation more pronounced. In an effort to avoid an economic collapse, the U.S. government in 2020 and 2021 handed out an additional $2.5 trillion in payments to individuals, over and above its customary transfers.

As a result, disposable income actually rose higher during those years that it had ever been. After the initial shock of the pandemic wore off, consumer demand also rose above previous levels, fueling a rapid rebound in the economy and our current bout with inflation.

Even with all that spending going on, however, there was so much money being dished out that the saving rate went up sharply as well. The saved money served to nearly double the net worth of the lower half of American households, triggering a phenomenon that economists refer to as the “wealth effect.”

THE ISSUE

from

Basically, that is the theory that people will behave differently when they perceive that their assets have increased significantly in value. A typical example would be that when the stock market goes up, people who own stocks tend to spend more money on other things.

In this case, it means that people who feel richer are more likely to make lifestyle changes. It turns out that the change many want to make is to quit working, resulting in what the media has been calling the “Great Resignation.” They have joined the approximately 38 percent of workingage Americans who are neither working nor seeking work.

My parents came of age during the Great Depression, and some of their most basic values were forged by that experience. One of those values was that there is nothing more important in life than having a job, any job, and that anyone who has one should be grateful for the opportunity to work.

For better or worse, I’m their son and I absorbed their sensibilities. In any case they were reinforced by my own experience, graduating from college during the worst job market in generations. I spent the following two years “kicking around,” taking whatever odd jobs I could find.

Even now, when I am well past the traditional retirement age, I have a hard time imagining life without some sort of work. Maybe all those absentees from the labor force know something I don’t.

Or maybe not. After a couple of years on the sidelines, perhaps people will decide to get back into the game.

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

The One and Only School Supply Conference

We Connect by Catalog Solutions

The invitation-only event in Orlando is the only traditional trade show focused on instructional materials and classroom resources for grades pre-k through 12. Since 2018, it has been the single opportunity each year for dealers who sell these products to come together to learn, network and re-establish friendships. The three-day conference begins Monday, November 14. We Connect takes place at The Rosen Centre Hotel & Convention Center on world-famous International Drive. Here’s this year’s schedule.

Monday, November 14

8:30 a.m. Registration desk opens

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Exhibitor setup

1 to 5 p.m. Dealer workshops conducted by The Learning Journey

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Cocktail reception

6:30 to 8 p.m. Dinner and entertainment

Tuesday, November 15

7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast

8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Exhibits open

12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Box lunch; exhibits closed

1:15 to 5:30 p.m. Exhibits open

6 to 10 p.m. The Main EdVent Dinner and Entertainment begins with a cocktail reception on the pool veranda followed by dinner and dancing inside. Live music, awesome food, and amazing door prizes

Wednesday, November 16

7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast 8:30 a.m. to noon Exhibits open 11:45 a.m. to noon Prize drawings

Visit Ed Dealer advertisers who are exhibiting!

Booth 206

Childbrite/Manta Ray (see their ad on page 11)

Booth 312 Educators Resource (see their ad on page 15)

Booth 403 Endless Possibilities/Boinks (see their ad on page 7)

Booth 210 Eureka (see their ad on page 21)

Booth 320 Flipside Products Inc. (see their ad on page 27)

Booth 413 Learning Advantage (see their ad on page 24)

Booth 505 Musgrave Pencil (see their ad on page 14)

Booth 315 Pro Tapes / UGlu (see their ads on pages 6 and 15)

Booth 610 Romanoff Products (see their ad on page 20)

Booth 402 Scholastic (see their ad on page 22)

Booth 306 Time Timer (see their ad on page 26)

MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON YOUR STUDENTS

Screen printing is the most popular applied arts subject because it offers students hands-on instruction and the experience of creating their own artwork.

AWT’s Seri-Glide™ One-Man Squeegee Unit is ideal for schools and built to last generations. Combine it with a Rack-It™ Drying and Storage Rack and go to the head of the class.

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MakingWAVES

Meet teacher store owner Dorothy Schwartzer, one of a new breed of independent merchants who are finding creative ways to start and sustain their specialty retail businesses. Dorothy taught second grade and kindergarten for 10 years before opening Tidewater Teacher Supply in Virginia Beach in 2014. Since then, the business has operated as an online ordering/local delivery service for teachers and parents. This year, it “graduated” from above the Schwartzer family’s garage to a 10-by-10-foot booth in a new retail concept space called Painted Tree Boutiques. Here’s Dorothy’s story.

Why did you start Tidewater Teacher Supply?

When I had children of my own, I felt torn between the hours needed for my job and being present for my own kids. With the support of my family and friends, I started the business and was able to work from home. Today, my son is 13 and my daughter is 10. They’ve been watching and helping me with the business since they were little and have great ideas for businesses of their own.

When I was teaching, I would look for the best price for supplies for my students, which sometimes took me to Walmart and The Dollar Tree. I also shopped the teacher/ parent store here in our city, but it went out of business right before I started Tidewater Teacher Supply. Teachers and parents were left without a local resource and I thought I could fill the void. There was never enough time in one day to accomplish all the tasks associated with being a teacher, so I designed my business to be both a time- and money-saver for teachers throughout the year.

“We are the teacher supply store that comes to you,” is Tidewater Teacher Supply’s motto. It began online, where people would shop products and place orders. For customers within a 30-mile radius, I deliver orders within 24 hours.

Surprisingly today, I get a significant number of orders from the West Coast. I pack them up, usually within 24 hours, and ship them through USPS.

Pop-up shops like Dorothy’s – set up here one day in a local school – are particularly effective for online stores because they create a connection with a target audience.

Didn’t you also do pop-ups?

Yes. A few years after the business opened, I started “popping up” at community events during the summer when teachers shop for new classroom supplies. Then I reached out to local schools and offered to do pop-ups during teacher workdays before the start of the school year. In return, I donated a portion of my profits to the P.T.A. or brought the teachers breakfast during the school year.

Where was the store’s home base?

I was working out of a room

remodeled it to add shelving and a workspace so I wouldn’t have to rent a warehouse.

When did you set up in Painted Tree Boutiques?

Just a few months ago in May, in an 8 by 10-foot booth. It will be open all year long, seven days a week. Having that space provides great exposure for the online store, too, but the in-person side of the business has become the bigger generator of sales.

What products do you carry?

The online store sells basic teacher supplies: bulletin board paper, border, cut-outs, posters, bulletin board sets, etc. I also offer a color printing, cutting and lamination service.

At Painted Tree, I sell classroom supplies plus teacher gifts, fidget toys, games and STEM kits. I also sell

Students fidget with their legs and feet which improves focus while they learn.

FootFidget® 2.0 for Classroom Desks Designed by Physical Therapists!

Designed and Manufactured in the USA by a Women-Owned Physical Therapy Company info@footfidget.com • www.footfidget.com

A Mart for Mini Stores Takes Root

Painted Tree Boutiques is a chain of marketplaces with shared spaces for small independent stores that sell gifts, home decor, and boutique clothing. In seven years, the Little Rock-based company has grown to 27 locations, mostly in the West and South. New ones continue to open across the country as the company works toward its goal of 200 locations.

Painted Tree has helped thousands of people live out their entrepreneurial dreams. Rates to rent booths like Dorothy’s range from a couple of hundred dollars to $1,000 – far less than a retailer would have to pay for a standalone store. The company also handles all the purchases, including sales tax collection, so individual vendors don’t have to. It does not set prices, nor dictate what merchandise is being sold, but it takes a 10-percent cut of all sales.

Dorothy’s Painted Tree in Virginia Beach opened this year in a shopping center’s vacant Stein Mart. Each local vendor – there are more than 200 of them – has a booth with unique products, reports The Virginian-Pilot, and in no way does it resemble a flea market. “The beautifully lit space presents like a stylish showroom.”

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I have so much fun selecting what I think teachers will like!

What was your best seller during back-to-school?

It was border, especially the Schoolgirl Style Industrial Chic Shiplap from Carson Dellosa Education. The black and white color combo in borders was a big trend this fall.

We keep a great selection of border in stock all year. Same for cut-outs.

I follow social media geared towards educators so I can stay current with trends and topics of interest to teachers. Teaching continues to evolve in terms of technology, trends, and strategies.

About how many SKUs do you carry?

There are about 225 different SKUs in my inventory. Managing them all was difficult at first until my husband, who has a degree in business administration, stepped in to help. Today, we track online sales through the WooCommerce website, and Painted Tree has a computerized system that keeps track of inventory and the sales I make there. I combine the monthly inventory sales data and track it on a spreadsheet.

What are your busiest times of the year?

The summer months for sure. Holiday time never was, but now that I have the booth at Painted Tree, I can promote fun and educational gift ideas to parents. I also promote gifts and cards for teachers because they need all the support, encouragement, and thanks they can get.

Where would you like to see Tidewater Teacher Supply in the future?

I am always dreaming of different possible ways to support teachers searching for great products for their classrooms. I would like my business to join more Painted Tree locations, especially in communities where there are no local teacher-supply stores.

Hand Hygiene Education is Important

Use code EDUCATION2022 and save 15% on your order.www.glogerm.com

Use Glo Germ so kids can SEE “germs” disappear with proper hand-washing.

innovations in the furniture and equipment category

1. The Akt Stacking Chair from Moore Co. is designed with a stacking wire base and glides. It’s outfitted with an injection molded polypropylene shell available in six sophisticated colors. moorecoinc.com

2. Adaptable Privacy Walls from Screenflex are a welcome addition to any space. By making these partitions, you can add meeting rooms, offer quiet workspaces, or block off unneeded areas. dealersf.com

3. The Illumi Mite Table from Childbrite helps children experience how the color of light interacts with other colored objects. The table can be set to white, in addition to several other colors. childbrite.com

4. The award-winning Time Timer Watch is new and improved! It’s in-style for on-the-go. Modes include clock, alarm, and visual timer. Make your own with colorful bands or FOB carrying accessories (sold separately). 513-561-4199 support@timetimer.com timetimerwholesale.com/watch

5. Finally, an easy and convenient way to store all those pesky little building pieces. Wood Designs’ Time-2-Play Table has a new 3.5-inch-deep storage trough on the tabletop for easier cleanup. Also available with a desk storage slot to store more toys or games. wooddesigns.com

6. For more than 30 years, AWT World Trade has offered the industry’s most comprehensive range of screen-printing supplies and quality screen-printing equipment and parts: from screen-making and safety products to fabrics and frames, frame adhesives, block-outs and sealants, drying and storage racks, scoop coaters, brushes, registration pins, and hundreds of other items. sales@awtworldtrade.com http://awt-gpi.com/supplies.php?menu=2

7. These definitively un-distractable Study Carrels from Academia Furniture improve students’ focus by minimizing disturbances. Close enough for supervision, separate enough for solo work, and test taking. In units of 1, 2 or 4, there are clean, sound-absorbing partitions between each amply-spaced desk. academiafurniture.com

8. FootFidget 2.0 for classroom desks have a new snap-on design for attaching to all four legs. FootFidget is designed by physical therapists to promote good posture and at the same time, channel energy through leg movement to improve focus, memory, attention and comfort. Manufactured in the USA by a women-owned physical therapy company. info@footfidget.com footfidget.com

9. Inspire young artists with the Young Time 2 Station Art Center from Jonti-Craft. It’s double sided – perfect for two children! It has storage space for supplies and ships flat-packed, saving you money! jonti-craft.com/youngtime

10. New for 2023 – Certwood’s StorSystem Wide Line Grid Divider Set. Slotted, adjustable and fully customizable to fit the storage needs of the everevolving learning environment. certwood.com

11. MyPosture Plus Chairs from Children’s Factory help offset muscle fatigue that can lead to slouching. This chair can hold up to 100 pounds and features 12-inch-high chrome legs. childrensfactory.com

12. This first-class first-aid couch with detachable pillow from USA Capitol is upholstered in antibacterial and bleach-cleanable heavy-duty vinyl over high-density foam. It has a continuous all-steel powder coated frame. Three upholstery colors are available, plus an optional paper dispenser. Perfect for CTE classrooms, medical training programs, athletic trainer’s room, nurse’s clinic, or as a cot in the office or classroom. usacapitol.com

PLAY BALL

Focused on SCHOOL STRUCTURES

The Robertson Life Science Building & Skourtes Tower at Oregon Health Sciences University is a stop on one of the four schoolfacility tours during EDspaces.

For the first time in its history, EDspaces will be held in the Pacific Northwest, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Emerald Exhibitions and the Education Market Association invite architects and designers, school administrators, dealers and distributors, independent reps, consultants, and suppliers to attend the event being held from Tuesday, November 1, through Friday, November 4.

To make sure attendees refresh their thinking, recharge their batteries, and then return to work to meet the challenges of the next generation of students, EDspaces offers best-in-class educational opportunities, knowledge experts, onsite school tours and exciting products. Here are just a few of the highlights.

The Educational Distribution Symposium During this half-day preconference on November 1, distributors, independent reps, and

manufacturers will gather to discuss the challenges of increasing sales and profitability in a hypercompetitive business landscape. The symposium includes four parts.

1. “THRIVE: Turn Uncertainty into Your Greatest Competitive Advantage”

The keynote presented by Meridith Elliott Powell, a leading expert on business growth, will provide innovative strategies for redefining disruption, techniques for predicting changes in the marketplace, and ways to build longevity and success in highly volatile times.

2. Small-group discussion Groups will work with members of the EDmarket Distribution Council to develop personal strategies for staying laser focused and flexible.

3. “Challenges & Opportunities in the Education Market”

A panel of industry leaders will

discuss the importance of initiating and maintaining relationships, addressing customer pain points, and positioning yourself as a key resource in the buying journey.

4. Networking Reception

Education sessions: themes of healthy schools, student wellness, and safety Sixty certified educational sessions will cover a wide variety of topics, from tech (“Creating NextGen Career & Technical Education Initiatives,” and the case study “A Bold Metaverse Vision, Chery Creek 2.0” to name a few) to design (“Why the Furniture in Your School will Never be the Same” and “StudentFocused Design to Inspire Personal Achievement,” for example). The sessions qualify for Learning Units and Health, Safety and Wellness Units from both the American Institute of Architects and the Interior Design Educators Council; and credits from

photo courtesy seradesign.com

Green Business Certification Inc.

Given the health concerns of the past few years – both physical and emotional – and the continued need for protection against random acts of violence, several sessions discuss the meaning of “healthy classrooms,” student wellness and safety. “Healthy Schools by Design” on Wednesday morning, for instance, will take participants through existing research that connects healthy, highperformance learning environments to improved learning outcomes and student success.

Later, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH) presents “Healthy School Design Elements and Maintenance Practices” covering the results of studies conducted by the University of California, Davis; the California Air Resources Board; and

the University of Oregon.

On Thursday morning, the discussion “Best Practices for Safer Schools,” sponsored by Campus Safety Magazine, features a panel of facilities, campus police, and design & security professionals who will offer safety considerations and suggested tools for emergency readiness.

“Building Out a Centralized Safety, Security & Emergency Preparedness Division,” scheduled later, will cover the milestones, deliverables and lessons learned from creating an emergency preparedness division for the sixth-largest publicschool district in the nation.

Alan Ricks presents the keynote

An architect rock star, Alan is a founding principal and the chief design officer of MASS Design

Group, a nonprofit that designs buildings intended to improve lives in more than 12 countries in Africa and the Americas, especially in resourcelimited areas. “By collaborating with the communities their buildings will serve, and looking at each project as a long-term investment in people and environments, MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society) creates spaces that are not only beautiful and affordable but also truly beneficial,” writes Mikenna Pierotti, in Green HVACR magazine.

Alan’s plenary session at EDspaces, “Reinvention by Design,” will lead participants through the innovative MASS process and its guiding strategy of One Health – a purposeful philosophy of practice that can inspire everyone to see what’s possible for the future.

In his interview with Green HVACR, Alan described MASS’s mission. “We are focused on having an impact on health, education, and issues of peace and justice. We are leveraging how the building process itself can be curated to expand that impact. In our design and in our advocacy, we are constantly thinking and talking about making decisions that have positive impacts on the economics, environments, and people actually involved in the project. Ultimately, we are investing in the dignity of the communities we serve.

Innovative school furniture products

More than 130 exhibitors will present vibrant, innovative, personalized solutions to address the

design needs of the built environment. Exhibit hours are on Wednesday and Thursday, November 2 and 3, from

10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Friday, November 4 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Make sure to visit the booths of Ed Dealer advertisers.

Arco Products Booth #1848

See ad on page 29

Academia Furniture Booth #2143 See ad on inside back cover

Certwood Ltd. Booth #919 See ad on inside front cover

Children’s Factory Booth #1935

Jonti-Craft Booth #819

See ad on page 16

See ad on page 25

Manta Ray Booth #950 See ad on page 11

Marco Group Booth #725 See ad on back cover

MooreCo Inc. Booth #1143 See ad on page 29

Screenflex Booth #1541 See ad on page 6

USA Capitol Booth #1225 See ad on page 20

Wood Designs Booth #1625 See ad on page 17

To see a full list of exhibitors, visit edspaces.com.

the best in instructional materials

Just add water to the Water Art Activity Book – Sea Life from Learning Advantage to discover six different ocean scenes! It features reusable activity boards, a handle, and water-pen storage for mess-free creativity on the go. 866-564-8251 info@learning advantage.com learningadvantage dealer.com

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Sandtastik Therapy

Play Sand is perfect for in-home, school, office sand trays and sand & water tables.

It’s great for kids, kids with special needs, and professionals who help develop fine motor skills, intellect, visualization and social conduct. Available in Natural White and Beach colors. Certified nontoxic for ages 4+. 905-734-7340 info@sandtastik.com

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Equity in the Classroom from Scholastic contains essays by education leaders from around the country who share their thoughts on equity in the classroom. Topics include achieving equity for all students, creating equity awareness in teachers, and working with families and communities to close the opportunity gap. scholastic.com/ tsmarketing

Tiny toys, makeup, and arts & crafts supplies have found a new home in the Vanity Case from Romanoff Products. Twelve inches long by 8 inches wide by 8.25 high. Comes in “Clear,” plus Turquoise with Lime accents and Hot Pink with Purple accents. The case pack is 6 items, #410. romanoffproducts.com

Reusable Arts & Crafts Activity Placements from Station America help get students excited for math. Side 1 features math concepts while side 2 includes a step-by-step, hands-on project – a great way to transfer math knowledge into real life! Size 12 by 18 inches; for students grades 3 through 12. store.stationamerica.com/ spa

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The Bob Ross Cross Stitch set contains 12 patterns featuring his famous quotes, plus materials (fabric, needle, floss, hoop, instructions) to make two designs. sales@quarto. com

Looking for a way to keep students calm and focused in the classroom? Look no further! Finger Fidgets from Musgrave Pencil are a great and simple way to keep even the most restless fingers and minds on task. They also can be transferred to other pencils and come in a tub of 36 or a pack of four! pencils.net

Right beside the pencil and eraser … every child can have their own Wikki Stix for handson learning activities!

The Personal Learning Pak contains 36 reusable Wikki Stix. MSRP $5.25. info@ wikkistix.com

Eureka scented bookmarks are a favorite among teachers and students! Check out our six new designs for 2022 - available NOW! Featured: “Star Student” with sugar-cookie scent! brian.roberts@ dgamericas.com eurekaschool.com

Dry-Erase

Learning Mats from Flipside Products are a lightweight and economical whiteboard solution.

The magnetic and non-magnetic mats feature a highquality, non-ghosting surface and rounded edges. flipsideproducts. ac-page.com/ learningmats

The Pro Pocket Spike Stack contains five rolls of 1/2-inch-wide matte cloth tape. It’s available in three color combinations. “Bright,” pictured, includes Red, Tan, Teal, White, and Yellow. This high-strength, highperformance tape conforms to irregular surfaces. It’s weatherand abrasion-resistant, tears by hand, and has a smooth, controlled unwind. protapes.com/products/propocket-spike-stack-bright

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EYE ON EDUCATION

ESSER Deadline Extended

The U.S. Department of Education has extended the spending deadline related to Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III school funding (ESSER III), which provides schools with $122 billion for COVID prevention and mitigation strategies aligned with CDC guidance, and to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, reports K-12 Dive. Before the extension, all funds had to be obligated by September 30, 2024, and spent within 120 days – by January 2025. The tight timelines, compounded by labor shortages and supply chain issues, put the completion of capital improvement projects at risk. Now, districts may extend the spending timelines up to 18 months, to April 2026, to complete a project.

Funds still had to be allocated by September 30, 2024, however. According to the article by energy management and automation company Schneider Electric, states needed to formally apply to the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of their school districts to receive the extension.

Over the last two years, ESSER has been a game changer for schools. Districts have invested ESSER dollars in a variety of near- and long-term priorities, ranging from academic interventions to staff retention to air quality and HVAC improvements.

More Fundraising Needed as Christian Schools Grow

More parents want their children in private Christian schools, but many Christian schools aren’t geared up for the influx of new students, according to a new research study by nonprofit consulting firm DickersonBakker. Christian schools – including many that were until recently struggling to fill classrooms – are seeing a surge in interest and enrollment, says the report, “A National Study on Christian School Growth and Sustainability.”

The surge is part of a national trend following COVID-19 public school closures when students had to switch to online classes at home. Public schools across the U.S. have seen an exodus of nearly 2 million students since the pandemic, according to a report in The Christian Post in August. A recent survey by EdChoice, a nonprofit that helps families choose a schooling environment that best fits their children’s needs, revealed four out of 10 parents say they’d prefer a private education for their children.

“For Christian schools, this represents an opportunity for growth,” said Derric Bakker, president of DickersonBakker, “but

it also presents challenges, particularly related to financial sustainability.”

They include balancing budgets amid soaring costs and making tuition fees affordable.

Three out of every four Christian school leaders say they’re struggling to hire qualified staff and a third say they don’t have enough room for more students. Even so, only three out of 10 schools have increased their fundraising activities.

Although a whopping 97 percent of Christian-school leaders say upping their fundraising efforts is vital to the future of their school, Christian schools “on the whole are not raising money effectively,” and most administrators lack training and guidance on the topic, the study concludes.

DickersonBakker estimates Christian schools, on average, invest less than 3 percent of their annual revenues into raising funds, and nearly six out of 10 of the school leaders involved in the study acknowledge their fundraising efforts need “substantial” improvement.

After Dobbs, Texas Middle Schools Adds Contraception to Sex Ed Curriculum

For the first time in more than 20 years, Texas has changed its minimum standards for sexual health education to go beyond focusing on abstinence to stop pregnancies. This fall, schools will be teaching middle school students about contraceptives and how to prevent sexually transmitted infections, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), according to NBC News.

Also new for Texas students is the requirement of a signed permission slip from their parents. Previously, parents had to “opt out” of the sex ed portions of their kids’ health classes, but now they have to “opt in” for their children to receive those lessons. Some fear this change could lead to kids missing out –not because of parental objects, but because of lost forms and language barriers.

The changes come as the state reduces abortion access following the Supreme Court decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade. “The question of how schools educate young people about their sexual health and development has taken on new urgency now that many state governments have enacted abortion bans,” says NBC.

While teen pregnancies have declined across the country in recent decades, Texas continues to have one of the highest

state rates of teens giving birth: 22.4 births per 1,000 girls and women ages 15-19, reports NBC. The lowest, in Massachusetts, is 6.1. In addition, Texas (along with Alabama) has the nation’s highest rate of repeat teen pregnancies.

A 2017 report showed 58 percent of Texas school districts offered “abstinence-only” sexual health education, while only 17 percent offered curriculums that expanded beyond that. A quarter of schools offered no sex ed. Today, each district may choose its own curriculum and teach more than the state requires, says the article.

Research shows that sex education programs that teach about contraception are effective at increasing contraceptive use and even delaying sexual activity among young people. Abstinence-focused education programs have not been shown to

be particularly effective at curbing sexual activity among teens.

Referencing the reproductive health research organization Guttmacher Institute, 39 states plus the District of Columbia mandate that sex ed classes provide information about abstinence; 29 of them require that it be “stressed.” Just 20 states and D.C. require that the classes provide information about contraception.

A Run of False Reports – “Swatting” –Keeps Schools, Law Enforcement on Edge

Dozens of schools in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia went into lockdown in September when local police received calls about school shootings that were false, reports Education Week. The disruption has renewed attention to school safety and communication protocols, and prompted the FBI and local law enforcement officials to investigate whether the incidents are connected.

The FBI labels the practice “swatting,” a term that refers to filing a false report with the aim of stoking chaos and provoking a large law enforcement response.

It isn’t the first time a wave of unsubstantiated threats has occurred at the start of a new school year, says the article. Callers

claim to be inside the affected building, and sometimes cite specific room numbers and mention injured students. Waves of copycat threats also tend to follow mass school shootings, like the May 24 attack in Uvalde, Texas. That’s because conversations about school safety and worst-case scenarios often follow such events, and some students see threats as a way to tap into that attention.

The current surge comes alongside a wave of more typical events that spark school lockdowns: students issuing threats as pranks, reports of suspicious people near school buildings, and other false alarms, says Ed Week. “It’s unclear whether the recent swatting calls have come from students or from outsiders. Many of the calls seem to be made to clusters of schools in the same state on the same day, local news reports show.”

“The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” the agency said in a statement to Education Week. “We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention.”

Repeated lockdowns that result from swatting can become routine to school staff, diminishing their sense of readiness in a real emergency, says Amy Klinger, co-founder of the consultancy Educator’s School Safety Network. In addition, “You have a lot of rapid response, anxiety and messages going out, people scrambling

to find their kids,” she told Ed Week. “It’s happening much more than we think, and it’s having a much bigger impact.”

Swatting calls and other prank reports are particularly difficult because the nature of the situation is so unclear, leaving time for rumors and fear to build up on social media, administrators, notes the article. “Schools should be specific when they direct a lockdown, telling adults as much as they can about the reason behind it, the nature of the threat, and what level of precautions to take with students.”

An investigation of the Uvalde shooting revealed that the app the district used to notify staff about lockdowns didn’t specify the reason for the precaution. The community, near the Mexico border, frequently locked down its schools in response to nearby police pursuits of vehicles with undocumented immigrants. Uvalde schools responded to “about 50” such incidents between February and May of 2022, says Ed Week, citing the investigation.

“While school threats and false alarms often fail to make national news if they don’t result in actual violence, they can be a huge deal to school administrators, who must help students and families regain a sense of normalcy after hours of thinking they may be experiencing an unthinkable event.”

BUSINESS NOTES

Credit Card Swipe-Fee Reform Picks Up Steam

On September 19, U.S. Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and Lance Gooden (R-Texas) introduced a bipartisan bill targeted toward the high swipe fees paid by businesses and passed on to customers, reports Convenience Store News.

“Credit card companies and mega banks keep finding new ways to squeeze our small retailers in Vermont,” Welch said. “In a well-functioning market there is competition and choice. That does not exist in our current credit card network market.

The new bill follows the U.S. Senate version introduced in July. If passed into law, the Credit Card Competition Act would require the largest U.S. banks that issue Visa or Mastercard credit cards to allow transactions to be processed over at least two unaffiliated card payment networks.

“The Credit Card Competition Act of 2022 is intended to inject true competition into the market by lowering the barrier to entry for new entrants, encouraging innovation, and exerting competitive pressure on Visa and Mastercard’s fee rates,” says Convenience Store News. Credit card routing competition would reduce swipe fees by $11 billion or more annually, noted the article, according to payments consulting firm CMSPI.

Around 83 percent of general-purpose credit cards are Visa or Mastercard.

Banks in the U.S. that issue Visa and Mastercard credit cards

charge a swipe fee averaging 2.25 percent of the purchase price when a transaction is processed over their networks. This means that Americans pay the highest swipe fees in the industrialized world.

When NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in May, he said: “Credit card fees are rising because they are a percentage of the total transaction amount. That means there have been many times during the past few months when retailers were paying more in swipe fees selling fuel to customers often about 10 cents per gallon – than they were ultimately making on those sales.”

Swamped

As merchandise continues to flood into the U.S. from across the Pacific, the busiest warehouse complexes in the country the “Inland Empire” located east of Los Angeles – are running out of room, reports Reuters. The situation is what experts call the “bullwhip effect.” It occurs when companies panic-order goods to keep shelves full but then get caught in a downturn in demand. Meanwhile, goods continue to arrive. “A consumer spending pullback threatens to swamp warehouses around the country with more goods than they can handle worsening supply-chain snarls that have stoked inflation,” says the article. “Retailers left holding unwanted goods are faced with the choice of paying more money to store them or denting profits by selling them at discount.”

The sprawl of Inland Empire is centered in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It’s visible from space. According to Reuters, the warehouses anchor an industrial corridor that encompasses 1.6 billion square feet of storage space that extends from the busiest U.S. seaport in Los Angeles to near the borders of Arizona and Nevada. It’s 44 times larger than New York City’s Central Park and 160 times bigger than Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Texas, says the article. Vacancies there are among the lowest in the nation, running at a record 0.6 percent versus the national average of 3.1 percent, according to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Trucking company yards and spare lots around the region have already been converted to makeshift container storage, “so entrepreneurs are marketing vacant stores as last-resort warehouses in waiting,” Reuters says. In addition, investors have almost 40 million square feet of space under construction in the Inland Empire, although 38 percent of it is already spoken for. Among the space is Amazon’s biggest-ever warehouse.

Five Trends in Office Design

From the summer edition of Commercial Investment Real Estate (CIRE), with insight from Steelcase.

Less drywall

A traditional office layout has a center core with private offices around the outside. It has, maybe, 51 staff members with 37 executives, notes the CIRE article. Sixty percent of the space is open, and 40 percent is behind doors.

A new idea keeps two sides of the floor plan as is but

eliminates the offices from the other two sides to allow light to come into the core. Cubicles can be used there for workers. The new configuration reduces the amount of space behind closed doors to 17 percent – instead of 40 – which translates into lower construction and tenant improvement costs.

Shared private enclaves

Reducing the standard work-station size from 8 by 9 feet to 8 by 8 feet creates enough leftover space for a private enclave – to be shared among, say, five people. The enclave can be equipped with two pieces of lounge furniture, a table, a laptop connection, a phone connection, plus a door for privacy.

“Touchdown spaces”

The first thing workers do today when they come in is check e-mail and voice mail. To do so, they only need a small desk and open space.

After they’ve “touched down,” they might have a meeting. If it’s not confidential, they can have it in the conference space. If it is confidential, they can use the private enclave. While the trend may be toward smaller spaces for each worker, there are more spaces available for their different functions or activities.

Whoever is in most often gets the biggest space

Basing the amount of space each worker occupies according to the amount of time they spend in the building is a big switch. It means that an engineer who is there working on a project more than 60 percent of the day will get a bigger space than management team members who are in the office only 10 percent of the day.

The walls will talk

“Eventually the shell of a building and its infrastructure will link together. The walls will have technology that talks to the furniture, which talks to the postand-beam system and the floor,” predicts CIRE. The floor will be underlaid with modular electrical, which the furniture plugs into, which also powers the lights. The walls will be personal property that defines private areas but can be taken down and moved.”

We offer a wide selection of Bleacher Boards in an assortment of finishes and dimensions.

We use B & B grade Southern Yellow Pine for our bleacher boards. Each board can be custom cut and finished to your specifications.

Rudy Bond from Gym and Sports Solutions knows gymnasium bleachers – specifically bleacher boards. For 30 years, varying lengths of 3/4- and 1-inch Southern Yellow Pine have been his bread and butter.

Today, wooden bleachers are more popular than ever, explains Rudy from his office in East Texas. “We did more business by the end of July this year than all of last year. And last year was a record breaker in the history of the company.”

He attributes the resurgence, in part, to disruption in the supply chain. Getting plastic seating – wood bleachers’ alternative – to the U.S. from overseas has been more difficult these days and takes longer. “Those delays probably help us,” he admits. “We’ve not had a delayed shipment in years.

“But people also appreciate wood’s longevity and durability,” Rudy continues. “We’ve refurbished gymnasium bleachers that were 40 or 50 years old and they’re like new. That’s appealing to everyone right now, as concern over plastic seating in our landfills grows. And honestly, nothing’s prettier than natural Grade B & Better solid wood with our ceramic coating on it. It’s almost indestructible.

“Gym and Sports Solutions offers the highest quality solid

by Tina Manzer

Southern Yellow pine bleacher board,” he adds. “We can provide custom cuts, custom inks, stains and/or clear finishes.”

Rudy has been a Southern Pine Inspection Bureau grader for many years, and his family is five generations in the timber/ lumber industry. “We owned sawmills in Illinois – me personally, and my father who at one time owned the largest hardwood lumber mill in the country. Also, for 21 years, we operated one of the biggest wood-preserving plants in the Midwest, where millions and millions of board feet of lumber came through.

“We started a moulding subsidiary and that’s how we got into the bleacher-board industry,” he continues. “We started supplying bleacher boards to Irwin Seating, just north of our plant in Illinois. Irwin is one of five major manufacturers of telescopic wood gymnasium seating in North America, along with Hussey, Sheridan, Royal Stewart, and Interkal Seating.”

Nailing it

When schools need bleachers, they contact Gym and Sports Solutions directly or work with bleacher installers who, in turn, call Rudy for material. “We do business with 400-plus installers across the country, so I am fairly certain there are no other

manufacturers of bleacher boards in the U.S. that do the kind of volume we do,” Rudy says.

The same holds true for meeting standards of high quality. “Our product – you can’t find it. Mills don’t do it anymore,” Rudy explains. “Everyone’s into volume production; they don’t want to do high quality. No one, out of all the hundreds of sawmills in the United States, does a B & Better, so I buy C & Better and upgrade it.”

The bulk of Rudy’s business is bleacher repairs large and small. From his 17,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville, Texas – equipped with a fire suppression system to protect inventory – he ships boards all over the country from three loading docks.

“I got a call just the other day from a contractor who said, ‘Mr. Bond, we need six boards for a gym in Topeka, Kansas. Here’s the stain color we want,’ so we shipped them out pronto. At the same time, we just shipped a huge order – 300 boards – to a school in Apple Valley, California.

“Schools are required to conduct annual maintenance on gymnasiums and if they’ve got broken or cracked boards, they have to replace them as quickly as they can. They can get in serious trouble if they don’t,” he says. “If they want to give their gym a total refresh, schools can have their bleacher-seat boards removed and shipped to me. I’ll run them through our doubleheaded sanders and take them down a 32nd or 16th of an inch, then finish them with our ceramic coating. They’ll look brand new at a fraction of the cost.”

The bleacher-board business is seasonal. “When schools shut down for summer vacation, it’s Katie bar the door,” explains Rudy. “Orders start pouring in late March and in April for sure. We start

shipping in late May and we ship daily all the way through Labor Day, practically. We slow down a little and then pick back up when schools shut down for the holidays.”

Solid

“From the stump of the tree all the way through the mill, I’ve done it all,” says Rudy, but there’s at least one wood product that he doesn’t handle – edgeglued finger-joint boards. Little strips of wood are attached up and down the boards using a glue that contains urea formaldehyde. It’s a Volatile Organic Compound that can cause respiratory irritation and other health effects.

“Our boards are solid wood, there’s no glue,” he explains. “Architects are aware of the dangers now, so they specify other materials for school use, including our boards.”

Bleachers are being specified more often today by architects and designers of schools and office space where presentations and casual meetings take place. “It’s an area we want to break into,” says Rudy. “We’re getting calls now from universities that want bench seating up to 16 feet long. We recently sent bleacher boards to a tennis-shoe conglomerate for a corporate display.”

When I asked him what he wanted readers of Ed Dealer to know about Gym and Sports Solutions, he said, “We pride ourselves on manufacturing and shipping the highest quality bleacher board available. We’ve been doing this for more than 30 years, and the company’s family owned and operated. We are committed to being a positive example to the bleacher board business community and industry and we adhere to the values of honesty, integrity, and professionalism.”

An installation at a boys’ high school in New Orleans.

ADVERTISER INDEX

Company

Aarco Products Inc. 29 aarcoproducts.com

Academia Furniture Industries IBC academiafurniture.com

AWT World Trade, Inc. 7 awt-gpi.com

Bob Ross Inc 5 bobross.com

Certwood Ltd IFC certwood.com

Childbrite by Manta-Ray 11 childbrite.com

Children’s Factory 16 childrensfactory.com

Classroom Seating Solutions 9 classroomseatingsolutions.com

Educators Resource 15 erdealer.com

Endless Possibilities, Inc - Boinks & Fidgets 7 boinks.com

Eureka / Css Industries 21 eurekaschool.com

Flipside Products/Hayes School Publ. 27 flipsideproducts.com

Glo Germ Company 11 glogerm.com

Gym & Sports Solutions 25 gymandsportsolutions.com

Jonti-Craft 25 jonti-craft.com

K ardwell International, Inc. 10 gameparts.net

Learning Advantage

24 learningadvantage.com

Marco Group Inc. BC marcogroupinc.com

Moore Co. Inc. / Balt Best Rite 29 moorecoinc.com

Musgrave Pencil 14 pencils.net

Pro Tapes & Specialties Inc. 6, 15 protapes.com

Romanoff Products Inc. 20 romanoffproducts.com

Sandtastik 4 sandtastik.com

Scholastic Teacher Solutions 22 scholastic.com

Screenflex Portable Partitions Inc. 6 dealersf.com

Station America 9 stationamerica.com

Time Timer LLC 26 timetimer.com

USA Capitol 20 usacapitol.com

Wikki Stix 23 wikkistix.com

Wood Designs 17 wooddesigns.org

Zephyr Lock 3 zephyrlock.com

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from page 30)

To facilitate this stage among schoolchildren, educators offer some freedoms, while maintaining boundaries, authority, and rules to follow. Community tables where students can communicate and engage support moral development, as do tiered seating and desks, which give every student eye contact (and the ability to engage) with the instructor. In the workplace, visual products that communicate corporate culture and values can help create a positive moral environment.

4. Psychological

When students are in tune with their emotional and mental state, they are better able to navigate the world around them. Psychological development is a time for identity formation as adolescents push themselves to take risks, develop perseverance, and discover independence.

To help encourage independence and self-reliance, where students can make mistakes and learn from them, spaces can be designed specifically for those who need to reorganize or catch up. In the workplace, designers can tap employee input into what best stimulates their mind to perform, including sounds, colors, and smells.

5. Physical

A healthy body is the key to a healthy mind. Physical development during adolescence lays the foundation for healthy habits surrounding fitness and nutrition in adulthood. Because of this, the physical well-being of the user is at the forefront of furniture design. Ergonomics, proper posture, circulation, and movement are integral components of active learning and working environments. Communal seating, sit and standup tables, wobble stools, and mobile furniture are flexible options to integrate movement into a classroom or workspace.

6. Spiritual

Spirituality is not bound to a religious practice or place of worship. Spiritual development refers to one’s connection with the human spirit and oneself as opposed to material or physical possessions.

Spaces designed for music, art, and meditation are essential to lifelong spiritual growth. Mindfulness is at the core of spirituality in today’s learning and working environments, where the pressures of work, study, hobbies, and family can be overwhelming. Mindful spaces for meditation and relaxation provide resources for individuals to cope with the stresses of daily life.

To learn more about MooreCo’s product offerings, see booth #1143 at EDspaces or visit moorecoinc.com.

The Porcelain Steel Difference

e Advantages of MooreCo’s EXCLUSIVE Porcelain Steel Top Surfaces vs Standard HPL learn more

Encapsulating Thoughtful Consideration of Every Space

In 2020, MooreCo, a designer and manufacturer of high-quality commercial and educational furniture, introduced a new design philosophy called Thrive, with “the mission of enabling everyone to thrive, despite limitations or circumstances,” says its Thrive by MooreCo catalog. The 64-page look book illustrates humanbehavior-based design solutions in offices, schools, and health facilities based on the six stages of human development – the backbone of MooreCo’s Thrive philosophy.

In addition, the company launched Thrive, a Blog by MooreCo (blog.moorecoinc.com) that offers industry-related discussions and insight, resources, trends, and case studies. The blog’s first post in 2020 featured here and edited for space, describes the six stages of human development that inspire MooreCo’s design strategies today.

and is crucial to productivity from adolescence to our senior years.

Cooperative learning activities and collaborative experiences encourage daily peer-to-peer interaction. In youth, that may be extracurricular activities such as service clubs or leadership groups to simulate real-world social situations. How young people learn to behave in these settings will guide their behavior later in life. It also sets the foundation for empathy and emotional intelligence.

Key to designing environments that support social-emotional development is creating spaces for people to connect. Furnishings, technology, and tools should integrate to facilitate communication, collaboration, and teamwork. For example, as much as people rely on devices, providing options for open spaces, flexible seating, and the “coffee shop effect” are great ways to stimulate dialogue and inperson interaction.

reason. In early adolescence, curiosity reaches new heights. Adolescents are eager to explore new interests and learn about new topics. Experience plays a central role in brain growth. Intellectual development favors active learning and peer-to-peer interactions, an ongoing process that continues through adulthood.

The key takeaway from this stage for designers is that everyone learns differently, and the most productive environments (whether at school or work) are those that offer multiple ways to learn, think, and grow.

3. Moral

1. Social-Emotional

This development stage is marked by peer relationships and positive interactions

2. Intellectual Intellectual development refers to the ability to understand and

Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and values that young adolescents develop remain with them into adulthood. During moral development, the brain transitions from a self-centered perspective to consideration toward others. Adolescents are encouraged to explore challenging, high-level concepts that allow them to define the virtues that will guide them throughout life. Moral development evolves with time, and as society changes, so do our moral values.