Educational Dealer OctNov 2018

October/November 2018 2018 EDspaces CONFERENCE & EXPO FOR PEOPLE WHO SELL TO TEACHERS, PARENTS AND SCHOOLS

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2018 WE CONNECT CONFERENCE

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THE ISSUE

Last Call

by Kevin Fahy

About eight years ago, I was interviewed by the Education Market Association for an article in its member publication, Essentials. I was given a list of questions that were designed to give readers a more personal glimpse into my life, like what was my favorite movie, what book was I reading and what kind of car did I drive.

One question asked who my hero was, and my answer was John McCain.

I wasn’t asked to elaborate and I didn’t, which probably left many people with the impression that it was some sort of political statement. It was not.

By now I’m sure everyone knows that McCain endured five-and-a-half years of torture and abuse in a North Vietnamese prison, and that he refused release until all others were released as well. That’s not the reason he’s a hero to me either, or at least it’s not the whole reason.

Few people survive a catastrophe on an airplane, but McCain survived a number of them. As a young pilot practicing landing on an aircraft carrier, for example, his plane suffered engine failure and crashed into Corpus Christi Bay. He was knocked unconscious when the aircraft hit the water, and only awakened when it hit the bottom of the bay. McCain managed to get the canopy open and swim to the surface, where he was plucked from the sea by a helicopter.

In 1967, McCain was involved in the worst accident in the history of the U.S. Navy. He was in the cockpit of his A4 Skyhawk on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Forrestal when an electrical malfunction caused another aircraft to fire a missile. The missile struck the fuel tank of McCain’s plane, which

erupted in a fireball that quickly rolled across the deck. Somehow McCain escaped from the burning wreckage and went about trying to fight the fire and rescue other pilots, until he was struck by shrapnel from exploding ordinance. The disaster took 134 lives.

Later that same year, on his 23rd combat mission, McCain’s airplane was struck by a surface-to-air missile and crashed into a lake in Hanoi.

That was only the beginning of a harrowing experience that most of us cannot even imagine.

That a person could endure all that, and laugh about it, was astonishing. I went to hear him speak, and found a man of barely contained energy and enthusiasm, a man intensely interested in everything and everyone. He had an acerbic wit that was most often directed at himself, and in general he just seemed to be having a great time.

After he spoke, I went up to the stage and shook his hand, something I have never felt inclined to do with any other speaker. My wife did not shake his hand, but simply put her hand on his back as he passed by. She told me that she had somehow felt compelled to touch him.

During his funeral services, one of the TV commentators mentioned that this sort of compulsion always followed McCain. Wherever he spoke to a group, people just wanted to touch him, to feel connected to such an extraordinary life.

The same week that McCain passed away in August, another man died who had a major effect on my life. I met Tom Williams 46 years ago, (continued on page 5) October/November 2018 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com 3

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October/November 2018 Volume 44, No 5 FOR PEOPLE WHO SELL TO TEACHERS, PARENTS AND SCHOOLS

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The Issue Last Call

by Kevin Fahy

EDspaces Conference & Expo – The Future of Educational Facilities

If it’s important for your business to know what’s going on in today’s classrooms, discovering how they’re being designed, built, and furnished is a good place to start. Preconference events begin Tuesday, November 6, in Tampa.

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We Connect Keynote Speaker Shares Secrets to Success

Building for a Flood (and other natural disasters) (Re)Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (B.A.S.I.C.) reminds us of the role school buildings play in community emergency/incident management.

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Miss Pam’s Hub for Homeschool Families In Slidell, Louisiana, a tiny teacher store and tutoring center becomes a homeschool community hub.

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RETAILERS RECOMMEND Fabulous Products

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The Switch is On

November 13-16, 2018

With the addition of a luncheon and guest speaker Colin Sprake, Catalog Solutions presents its second annual school supply conference. Sprake, from Make Your Mark Training in Canada, provides practical tools and strategies that audience members can implement immediately.

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44

Teachers find that flexible seating enhances student learning. Here are some options.

Educational Dealer Welcomes Three New Advertisers

Hertz Furniture Talks About Multiuse Spaces

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Endcap

Departments

28 Cool & Hot

Innovations in the furniture and equipment category 31 New & True 34 Eye on Education

37 Industry News 40 Business Notes

44 Index of Advertisers

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THE ISSUE (continued from page 3) when both of us were transferring into a small liberal arts college in upstate New York.

These two guys could hardly have come from more different backgrounds. McCain was born to an old and distinguished military family, while Tom grew up in a very rural farmhouse with seven siblings and no indoor plumbing. Nonetheless, they had a great deal in common.

Both were Vietnam veterans who were known for a quick wit and a quick temper. Both were brash, irreverent, physically fearless party animals. In college, Tom and I went out carousing nearly every night for two years.

I could tell you a lot of stories from those nights, but I won’t. This is a family publication, and I’m not particularly proud of having been so irresponsible. It was a lot of fun though.

Tom also tended bar in a local night spot, where I frequently dropped in for a 25-cent draft beer. It was watching Tom at that job, where he remembered every customer’s name and what he drank, and kept everyone laughing, that made me think of him years later when I was looking for a salesman.

In 1979 I was put in charge of a company called Instructor Curriculum Materials, which was a subsidiary of Harcourt-Brace. I hired Tom to manage dealer sales, and together we got to know just about everyone in the school supply business. When Harcourt broke up ICM, Tom went to work for Beckley-Cardy and I went into the printing business.

A couple years later I heard that Educational Dealer magazine was for sale, and once again I called Tom. “Let’s buy it,” he said, and that’s how quickly we decided to start this company 35 years ago.

Tom left the business 17 years ago, but those of you who have been around a while probably knew him, and may well have your own story. For you younger folks, I’ll just relate one instance that will give you some insight (continued on page 7)

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A brand of Fahy-Williams Publishing Inc.

PUBLISHER J. Kevin Fahy kfahy@fwpi.com

EDITORIAL Tina Manzer, Director tmanzer@fwpi.com

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Tim Braden tbraden@fwpi.com

ART Mark Stash Production Manager mstash@fwpi.com

ADVERTISING SALES Darlene Ryan Darlene@fwpi.com E-NEWLETTER & ONLINE ADVERTISING Rick Kauder rkauder@fwpi.com MARKETING DIRECTOR Amy Colburn amy@fwpi.com

Maia VanOrman Designer maia@fwpi.com Cody Brackett Designer cody@fwpi.com EDITORIAL OFFICES PO Box 1080 171 Reed St Geneva, NY 14456 800-344-0559, 315-789-0458 FAX: 315-789-4263

Copyright © 2018

RESERVE AN AD IN EDUCATIONAL DEALER Issue Deadline January 2019 Issue .............................................. November 30 April 2019 Issue ........................................................ February 15 June 2019 ...........................................................................April 19 August 2019 Issue ............................................................June 21 October 2019 Issue .................................................... August 23

Fahy-Williams also publishes edplay edplay.com Toy Times the magazine of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association Life in the Finger Lakes lifeinthefingerlakes.com

ROBEX for the Rochester Builders Exchange Gradient the magazine of the Association For Creative Industries craftandhobby.org

Art Materials Retailer artmaterialsretailer.com 6 EducationalDealerMagazine.com — October/November 2018

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THE ISSUE (continued from page 5) on a unique individual.

We were working a school supply show in Albuquerque, which was not known at the time for its downtown nightlife. Tom and I came back from a dinner with clients and decided that we would have a drink in the hotel bar, just the two of us.

When we walked into the bar we found it deserted, closed up for the night even though it was only about 10 p.m. We noticed, however, that above the back bar there was a display of about 40 different bottles of beer, intended to show patrons the selection that was offered.

“Well,” Tom said, “any port in a storm.” So he climbed over the bar, got down a bottle for each of us, and opened them. While he was standing behind the bar, a group of hotel guests wandered in, looking confused. One man asked Tom if the bar was open.

“We are now,” he replied. “What would you like? I’ve got one of everything.”

Tom would say anything to anyone. One time I remember we were driving through Washington, D.C., with Tom at the wheel, when we were pulled over by the police. The cop walked up to our driver’s window and said, “This is a one-way street.”

Tom looked up at him and said, “I was only going one way.”

He got away with it, just like he always got away with insulting everyone, because of his intrinsic good nature. When Tom made fun of you, he did it to make you laugh.

In the end, I think that is what John McCain and Tom Williams really had in common. They loved people, and it showed.

I’ll miss them.

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

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by Tina Manzer

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Every year at EDmarket’s conference on school spaces, professionals who design, equip, and manage schools come together to share products and ideas. Their goal is to change schools for the better – better meaning safer, more comfortable, more technology enabled and more conducive to learning.

The information that will be shared this year in Tampa is important to Educational Dealer readers, whether you consider EDspaces relevant to your business and product mix or not. The architects, purchasing administrators, and thought leaders there are the ones who shape, literally, the spaces of the schools that you serve. If you want to find out

what’s going on in today’s classrooms, discovering how they’re being designed, built and furnished to maximize learning is a good place to start. That knowledge can only benefit your business.

Distributor Symposium explores “disruptors”

Shaping schools is one thing, selling to them is another. In the past decade, as traditional selling models for the school market have shifted, dealers, distributors and stores have lost market share for a host of reasons, and are fighting to find their footing. At EDspaces, a special program called the Educational Distribution Symposium

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and Reception may help. It will be held on Tuesday afternoon, November 6, and encompasses three sessions that explain how and why traditional channels have changed.

Opening remarks will be delivered by Tom Brennan, president of School Outfitters and chairman of the EDmarket board, followed by the session “Disruptive Forces Shaping the Distribution Landscape,” presented by Mark Hubbard.

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Hubbard, president of Paragon Furniture and chair of the EDmarket Equipment Manufacturers Council, will explore how channels of distribution have been transformed by online purchasing, private label distributors, new alternative channels, and the shifting roles of purchasing decision makers. He’ll offer advice to field sales reps for maintaining their relevance and profitability.

Then, representatives from National Business Furniture, NorvaNivel, Virco, HON, and UnitedForGrowth/Shiffler Equipment Sales will discuss, “Reimagining the

Role of the Distributor.” The panel will cover how to build manufacturer/ sales channel partnerships, how to manage multiple channels to deliver consistent service to customers, and the expectations of channel partners for support of their growth and achievement of their profit goals.

From 4 to 5 p.m., a group of school purchasing, planning and facilities managers will present “Trends in School Purchasing.” Moderated by Karen Volner, national field sales director of furniture at Staples Business Advantage, the panel will discuss the bid process, vendor selection, reducing

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costs, and working with stakeholders to create a concurrent collaborative procurement program.

All EDspaces attendees will be busy during the four-day event.

There are five school tour options, two plenary sessions, a tradeshow floor with exhibits from more than 185 vendors, and 55 education sessions. Their topics range from STEM, STEAM and makerspaces to understanding “learning routines,” and school safety and security.

Safe schools: a timely topic

More attention is being devoted to school safety at EDspaces this year. In fact, a new school safety and security Learning Lab will be held on Tuesday, November 6, from 1 to 4:45 p.m.

First up is Michael Yorio, president of security-products company SSI Guardian. Through School Specialty, SSI Guardian sells safety supplies – everything from bulletproof film for windows to Bleeding Control Stations – to more than 90 percent of K-12 schools in the country.

His presentation on safe school best practices will emphasize the importance of using evidence-based solutions to keep schools safe, as opposed to unsubstantiated methods or products that are untested.

The next session, “A Holistic Approach to Campus Safety,” will be presented by architect Steven Turckes from Perkins+Will and Phil Santore of DVS Security. Their discussion will center on security solutions that do not turn our schools into fortresses, but instead combine transparent, collaborative environments with defensible spaces that respect educational goals. They’ll use examples from the new Sandy Hook School to make their point.

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school security to evaluate all aspects of the security design as they evolved. “The end result was a school that was secure but did not appear imposing or restrictive,” says an article on the DVS blog. “Most of the final security design elements are incorporated in the architecture of the school and are not easily visible. The school appears bright and open, with natural views and large windows.”

Afterwards, a group discussion will be held to allow participants to contribute their own unique perspectives.

Leaders from AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education will help break down the issues into various components and lead small group discussions to identify possible solutions.

Speakers on the forefront of school safety

On Wednesday, November 7, the EDsession “Safe and Secure Schools – How Do We Get There?” will be presented by two well-known speakers from Minnesota.

Architect Chris Gibbs from DLR Group in Minneapolis

has devoted his career to school design. In February, at the Texas Association of School Business Officials annual conference, he led a session called “Safe & Secure Schools, Not Bunkers” in which he discussed how the psychology of space, combined with elements of campus design, contributes to safer schools.

The other speaker, attorney Shamus O’Meara from O’Meara Leer Wagner & Kohl in St. Paul, represented the Red Lake School District after a school shooting there in 2005. The incident was the state’s second school shooting in 18 months.

O’Meara spent months in Red Lake handling the investigation and interviewing the people involved. In 2014 he authored “School Security Design: Planning to Mitigate Risk and Avoid Liability,” published in the American Bar Association Construction Lawyer Journal.

The article discusses federal guidance, and offers practical recommendations about security to schools and public entities considering new construction or remodeling projects.

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The learning objectives of their EDspaces session include understanding the basics of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) planning; understanding how the design of educational spaces can directly impact the safety and security of students and staff; defining the necessary steps to develop an effective crisis management plan for a school or school system; and understanding some of the potential funding mechanisms.

At EDspaces, school furniture, fixtures and equipment will be on display from more than 185 leading vendors – 47 of which are exhibiting for the first time.

To find out more about the tradeshow and conference, visit ed-spaces. com.

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CONNECT Keynote Speaker

Shares Secrets to Success “Me Only” branding is just part of his advice

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by Tina Manzer

Catalog Solutions’ We Connect School Supply Conference will be held Tuesday, November 13, through Friday, November 16, at The Rosen Centre in Orlando. The invitation-only event was designed for Catalogs Solutions’ customers and potential customers, including manufacturers and dealers of classroom supplies and instructional materials.

The combined market and conference will feature 102 vendor booths representing more than 85 supplier companies.

Networking opportunities include a pre-conference golf party, evening receptions, and dinners and entertainment. Workshops for dealers are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, November 14, following a luncheon and presentation by keynote speaker Colin Sprake.

Sprake became a business coach and speaker in 2004, after three decades’ worth of experience building million-dollar global businesses. He’s known for packing his presentations with practical tools and strategies that members of his audience

can implement immediately. His British Columbia, Canadabased business, Make Your Mark Training, provides live events, “group accountability” programs and online training to groups of all sizes, from small executive teams to audiences of 2,000 people or more.

The master trainer is enthusiastic about sharing his insights on achieving success and has written four bestselling books: Entrepreneurial Success Recipe – the key ingredients that separate the millionaires from the strugglers, Stand Apart (written with Dan Kelly, another Canadian serial entrepreneur), Power Principles for Success (with self-development expert Brian Tracy) and Entrepreneur Success Stories.

Sprake is a highly sought-after speaker. For a clue as to why, visit the Make Your Mark website (mymyourbusiness. com) and download one of his 60 podcasts. In them, he energetically imparts business advice, case studies and interviews with successful business people.

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Branding, and what it is not

In “Branding: Me Too, Me Special, Me Only” for instance, he strives to help small business owners understand the importance of branding. He says many people don’t understand the concept, period. “They say, ‘I’ve got to find a graphic designer!’ but small business owners don’t need a big fat logo that they have to pay a lot of money for right up front. Nike’s swish didn’t come around until a lot later, when the company had millions and millions of dollars to brand a logo.

“For small business owners, it’s not about branding a logo,” he adds. “It’s about differentiating yourself.”

What he calls a “platitude” is also not branding. “A lot of people use them. They tie them to their business.” His example is, “XYZ Company. I provide the best service.”

“They’re meaningless, trite statements said as if they were original and true completely. Stay away from platitudinal taglines!” Sprake asserts.

Just in case you can’t recognize one, he provides these tests: “If you could take your competitor’s name, plug it in where yours is, and the tagline is true for them as well, then it’s a platitude.

Also, if you can say, ‘I should hope so!’ after it, then it’s not a good tagline.”

Branding is not a logo, not a platitude, and is not marketing.

Like he did with branding, Sprake presents a clear picture of what marketing is by explaining what it is not.

“I run into so many people who say, ‘I’m busy marketing, I’m busy marketing.’ I say, ‘What are you marketing?’ If you’re not measuring it and you don’t know what’s happening with it, then it’s not marketing. Measure, adjust, make decisions. If you’re not measuring marketing, it’s just a hope and a prayer that your message is getting out there.”

Branding happens before marketing. “Branding is what differentiates you. Marketing is what gets people to notice your differences by making them appealing to the five senses.”

“Me Only”

Me Only is where you want your business to be in the marketplace, especially when given Sprake’s two other choices: “Me Too” and “Me Special.”

“Me Too is when you do the same as a lot of other people, but you compete on price. It’s not a great place to be,” he says.

“Me Special is when you compete on price, but there’s also something special about your business – you’ve been around for 50 years, or you’ve won a lot of accolades.”

To achieve Me Only, Sprake advises listeners to come up with the answers to these three questions.

1. What’s working in my market space that I want to copy?

2. What’s working in my market space that I don’t want to copy (because it’s unethical, unfair, etc.)?

3. What’s missing in my market space?

He used the answers he came up with for his own business to illustrate his point. “To get Make Your Mark Training and Consulting Inc. growing well, I went to seminars, workshops and retreats to learn how people do them,” Sprake explains. “I

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copied the room layouts that I liked and the structure of the programs. I didn’t plagiarize them; I didn’t take anyone else’s content. I just watched how they did things and created my model.”

He also saw what he wouldn’t copy, like using manipulation and neural linguistic programming to get the audience to buy products or services. “I don’t mind convincing people to take action in their life in the right direction, but I would not manipulate thinking.”

Then he set out to discover what was missing in the market. To do that, Sprake asked audience members a lot of questions: why they attended, what they liked about the program, what other seminars or workshops they went to, etc.

He discovered that while people liked the advice they received from speakers, they often had a hard time implementing it. It was frustrating to them, and Sprake understood. “Most people have implementation problems because they are challenged by their existing habits.

“People want to be held accountable,” he realized. “Maybe I should have accountability groups to help them achieve results and get to the next level.”

When he told his idea to other speakers they said he was crazy.

He interpreted that as, “It’s a huge opportunity.

“The most common thing I hear from people is that it’s just not done that way in our industry. The taxi industry probably said that, and it’s been turned on its head.

“You want to be the disruptor in your market space,” Sprake adds. “Do things your industry has never done before so that you get results you’ve never had before so you can surpass all other companies and make a storm as you blow through.

“You might ask, ‘Won’t people copy me?’ Well, there are two kinds of people, followers and leaders. You need to be a leader in your market space.

Otherwise you’ll be Me Too or Me Special. I want you to be Me Only to get you to that next level.”

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Building for a Flood and other Natural Disasters

by Tina Manzer

T

Ten days after Hurricane Florence hit the North Carolina coast, as this magazine went to press, several schools in the state remain closed. Some still contain water, and mold will be an issue for months to come. As the area continues to recover, school officials are working on a plan to get students back to school in other buildings.

The Carolinas and other states in the South including Texas, Louisiana and Florida, regularly contend with hurricanes and flooding.

On the West Coast, earthquakes and the possibilities of tsunami are a concern from Washington State to California.

In the Midwest, numerous school districts in central Texas, northern Iowa, and from central Kansas and Nebraska east toward western Ohio, are located in what is collectively known as “Tornado Alley.”

Puerto Rico may never recover from Hurricane Maria.

In June, seven months after the island was devastated by the violent storm, the government announced it was closing 250 schools. “And though the official reasons were the island’s crippling debt and the exodus of thousands of families, problems that had existed before the hurricane, the final blow had been dealt by Maria,” reports the Miami Herald.

In 2017 alone, there were 59 federal disaster declarations. Flooding and other natural catastrophic events – including wildfires, earthquakes and volcanoes – are becoming a fact of life.

Schools in harm’s way

“With 100,000 public schools, in multiple buildings, spread across multi-acre sites, it is not surprising that America’s public schools find themselves in the path of

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natural disasters,” says the (Re)Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (B.A.S.I.C.).“Our public schools need to keep our children safe, but public school facilities also play a major role in saving the lives of others during disasters, and in helping communities recover afterward.”

B.A.S.I.C. is a broad-based coalition formed in January by a group of nonpartisan organizations. Its charter members – The 21st Century School Fund, The Center for Cities + Schools, The Center for Green Schools @ USGBC, The National Council on School Facilities, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC), and Johnson Controls – are pushing for $100 billion of federal investment over the next 10 years to help modernize the nation’s aging public school facilities. They say it will create an estimated 1.8 million American jobs.

“Schools are often central to community emergency/ incident management systems, serving as emergency shelter, command and control centers, and centers for aid distribution,” says the B.A.S.I.C. report, Invest in Resilient Public School Infrastructure. “They need to be designed and built to be fully functional – during and in the aftermath of a disaster – to fulfill these major responsibilities.”

What’s needed?

Going forward, new schools designated as emergency shelters and disaster recovery centers should be built to exceed the 2015 International Building Code (ITSC), according to a 2017 study from the National Institute of Building Sciences, “Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves.”

Facilities experts recommend that existing schools be assessed now for vulnerabilities, and be retrofitted for

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resiliency using best practices. Schools and communities should develop emergency operations plans.

Post-disaster studies advise reopening schools as quickly as possible to provide stability for students and allow parents to either help with disaster relief or go back to work.

“This suggests that schools be given a high priority as communities seek to rebuild,” says B.A.S.I.C.

To accomplish those goals, public school facilities need to be included in any federal infrastructure funding plan, says the coalition. In addition, it recommends that the Department of Homeland Security designate schools as the 17th area of critical infrastructure.

The average American school is now 44 years old, notes B.A.S.IC. Most schools were designed to meet building codes and standards that have become outdated. “Older school facilities are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters,” agrees the 2017 “School Natural Hazard Safety Report” from FEMA. “In most cases, school administrators do not have the financial resources to address these vulnerabilities, [even though they have] a moral, and in many cases, legal responsibility to make these schools more resilient to disaster.”

To find out more about (Re)Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition, visit buildusschools.org.

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for Homeschool Families

s

by Tina Manzer

Sixty-four-year-old Pamela Deese (“Miss Pam” to her students) is a homeschool pioneer. Twenty years ago, when she began teaching her kids in her home near Slidell, Louisiana, there were few local resources. Since then, “by accident or by God,” she created a unique not-for-profit center, Acorns 2 Oaks, that tutors 90-or-so students a year, and opened a for-profit store that provides curriculum, manipulatives, and other teaching tools to homeschool families year-round.

Miss Pam plans to retire next year, and two long-time tutors will take over the business. In the meantime, the teacher who never finished college continues to imbue the tutoring center with creativity, ingenuity, and family ideals. She is driving a current expansion of the store.

ED Dealer: What came first, the tutoring or the store?

Pamela Deese: Tutoring. I homeschooled three of my four children. My last two were among a group of 16 to 20 kids I

taught each day in my garage, which I set up like a classroom. Another tutor came in to help me.

I knew all the kids, and we weren’t charging the parents anything for our services, but one day my insurance man came by and said, “You can’t do this.” When he left I sat in my garage, crying. The thought of buying or renting a building to continue was overwhelming.

As a blessing would have it, a family friend stopped in and said, “I have a building with space I can rent to you.” That was in 2001.

What happened?

The parents of the kids I was teaching were willing to pay each month for tutoring, so I rented a room on the building’s second floor. When we left to go on vacation, I told the owner that if one of the three units on the first floor became available, I wanted to rent one and open a consignment bookstore. At the time, there was just one local

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Home School Cottage in Slidell, Louisiana, is a teacher store for homeschool families. It offers new curricula and resources, previously used educational material, and manipulatives. It was founded by the director of Acorns 2 Oaks, a 501c3 tutoring center. The two entities, including nine classrooms, are located in connected storefronts.

book fair each year for homeschool parents.

While we were gone, a unit did open up and he saved it for me. We called it Home School Cottage.

It was a great opportunity for parents. They could come in and shop any time throughout the year. When the materials they put on consignment sold, they made a percentage and we made a percentage.

I just kept expanding and within two years I had rented the entire building.

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In 2007 I moved to a storefront in this shopping center. Over the years (we’ve been here for 11), I expanded here, too. Today we occupy a total of four storefronts.

products. We plan to carry new curricula, and we’re expanding into teacher aids.

Education Station, the only store within a 60-mile radius that carried those products, has closed.

For retail?

No, although at one point Home School Cottage got huge by our standards – nearly 1,400 square feet. I started spreading out beyond consignment to bring in new curriculum.

Eventually, when we realized we needed manipulatives, we worked with companies like Melissa & Doug and Schylling. The products are fun, and kids should see that education is fun. They need to enjoy it!

In 2007, my daughter died. We have the honor of raising our granddaughter, who was then 3. Any extra time that I had went away then, and I just managed to keep the store open, with a lot of help.

Today, the store is only 700 or 800 square feet. It’s only open from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but if we’re here tutoring, people are welcome to shop. Seasoned homeschool moms can do that on their own, but most shoppers need help. I will also come here by appointment.

We’re in a “revamp” stage. For the first time, we all went to ASTRA’s Marketplace in New Orleans to look for

So Acorns 2 Oaks really grew.

Yes. During our biggest year we served 120 students, but that was too many. We lost the family feel, the closeness. Closer to 80 is ideal.

Are there are a lot of homeschool families in your area?

When I first started, I was family number 12. I think now there are more than 4,000, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen the figures. Families are homeschooling now for a lot of reasons.

Also, there are many parents who would love to homeschool, but they work full time. When we tutor their kids here, they have to register with the state as a homeschool family.

Are there other places like yours?

In 2001, I knew of one other bookstore – in Texas. I was aware of a few tutoring centers – in Virginia. I had no model to follow, no mentor, and I made a lot of mistakes.

Today, more places like mine are opening. I know that because the people come to visit me and see the center.

They are benefiting from my mistakes.

Tell me about Acorns 2 Oaks.

It’s a 501c3 corporation, a DBA under Life Builders International, an evangelical ministry. I am the director, and it’s run by a board.

We offer group tutoring each day for junior- and senior-high students in nine different classrooms.

We have three- and four-day programs for elementary-age children. We also offer homework labs and private tutoring for public and private-school students. We employ about 20 tutors and lots of mom volunteers.

We are in session for 30 weeks, but we are looking to go year-round.

Some students come here for the homework lab only, and some just for certain classes.

There are many opportunities for socialization and enrichment.

Each month we have field trips – we call them “family adventures” because we ask the families to come along. We also have a family fishing club, an underwater robotics team, a yearbook club and a chess club.

What do you like best about your job?

Seeing the kids’ faces when they realize they can succeed here.

What’s your biggest challenge?

There’s never enough time to do all the things I want to do!

The manipulatives in the store should show that education is fun, says Pam. “Kids should enjoy it!” When homeschool parents created a library for the tutoring center, they made it a really welcoming space.

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From André Boulay, A2Z Science & Learning Store in Northampton, Massachusetts “Fidget spinners just died after schools around here banned them, but we’re still selling the fidgets by Fidgetland: the Fidget Ball(1), the Stephie, the Noah, and the Rizzle (2). We carry them in our section devoted to sensory items and other things for children with special needs.

“We have been pleasantly surprised by the sales of GraviTrax (3) from Ravensburger. It’s a marble run that appeals to the older set – ages 8 and up. It’s a lot of fun to watch; adults love to watch it. The Starter Set comes with 100 pieces, tiles and rails, that you use to build a track out, rather than up and down. Curves, junctions, and freefalls, plus different heights and angles, propel the marbles.

“For younger kids, like 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds, we sell MindWare’s Keva Contraptions (4). They are marble runs that kids build using simple planks.”

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From Debbie Robillard, Hands-On Educational Supply Store in Modesto, California

“Kids love the magnetic Mix or Match sets from Popular Playthings. I carry the Vehicles (5) and Animals. The pieces have little magnetic connectors so kids can create something, take it apart, and build something else.

“There are two sets of drawing chalks for children – both from The Pencil Grip – that are really selling well.

Kwick Stix (6) come in a 12-pack and they’re great for finger painting, but without the mess. It’s tempera paint in a marker. The paint dries really fast, and the colors don’t fade or crack. They even work on wood.

“Wonder Stix (7) come in a set of 24 and they work on wood, cardboard, whiteboards, chalkboards, paper, glass … just about anything. They don’t have an odor, and there’s no dust.”

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The Switch is On

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Teachers find that flexible seating enhances student learning. Just look at the options!

by Tina Manzer

Last year, Brooke Markle removed the desks from her grade 7 English classroom. “I was motivated to do so after observing the way my students learned, and analyzing how I could best support them in that learning.”

More specifically, she explained in an article on edutopia.com, Markle felt that traditional seating hindered her students’ ability to reach the learning goals she’d set for them. Like many other teachers around the world, she is an advocate of flexible seating.

“Flexible seating is more than simply having a variety of different, fun seats in the classroom,” writes Markle. “It’s about utilizing student voice, creating buy-in, heightening collaborative learning and prioritizing students’ needs.”

Research reveals that having a variety of seating options in a learning environment has many benefits.

According to a blog post on prodigygame.com, flexible seating has the ability to • increase collaboration, communication and interaction among students and between the teacher and students; • enable new teaching strategies, especially experiential and cooperative learning; • reduce extended sitting; • help students focus; and • create better buy-in, a result of giving students a choice of where and how they want to sit.

As funny as it sounds, standing is also a flexible seating option. As the popularity of standing desks has increased in the workplace, their use has also been growing in classrooms around the world.

Teachers who favor flexible seating point out that some (continued on page 26)

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students still prefer a conventional desk and chair – all the time or for certain activities or assessments. “Although I started last year with no traditional desks in my classroom, I did have traditional options available, such as standard tables with ergonomic plastic chairs,” Markle writes. “I tried to be sensitive to the needs of all the learners. Many students enjoy nontraditional seating options, yet an equal number prefer a standard learning space.”

Advise your customers to proceed with caution

The hype about flexible seating, including images on social media of classroom transformations, has caused teachers to go a little bit crazy. “They are buying up every pillow, chair, crate and tire that they can find,” writes second-grade teacher Jasmine McClain on her blog Tame the Classroom. A flexible seating veteran, McClain learned the hard way that what looks great in pictures may not meet the needs of every student or teacher.

In her cautionary tale, “Before You Buy That Discarded Rocket Ship Seat …” she listed the reasons why some teachers fail with flexible seating. “They forget to come up with a plan,” was first on the list.

Before McClain flipped the switch for her 2016-2017 school year, she read everything she could find on the pros and cons of flexible seating. She came up with ways to

teach her students about the new concept, and composed letters to parents that explained what she was doing and why. McClain thought her plan was solid until she encountered students who weren’t successful seated in their new chairs. “Not every kid is going to be able to handle bouncing in a seat all day,” she wrote.

Also important was general implementation. “If you’ve bought all your ‘seating’ but have to ask someone what to do with it, you’re doing it all wrong,” wrote McClain. “You should know how each piece will work within the plan of your classroom before you purchase anything.”

Teachers need to consider their teaching, classroom management and behavior management style first, she suggests.

“Flexible seating requires you to let go of the traditional thinking, somewhat, that students should sit still at their desks.

If all of the movement that takes place with flexible seating seems like a little too much for you, don’t do it.”

Rather than changing everything at once, introduce one type of seating at a time so students can practice using it.

“Don’t be mad when little Johnny bounces though the ceiling on the stability ball on the first day of school. It’s a toy to him right now,” McClain wrote. Instead, watch how students try each option out and analyze how it’s working. “Model, redirect, set expectations, set consequences. There’s a lot more that goes into it than throwing random crap into your

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classroom and calling it flexible seating.”

Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook can be dangerous influences, she warns. “You ain’t got no money, honey! You’re a teacher! Why are you spending all of your Starbucks and student loan money on stuff that might not work? Before you spend a cool buck, make sure you are crystal clear on how it will work in your classroom. Flexible seating has been so successful in mine that I’ll never go back to traditional seating.”

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Teachers have discovered that using their own money isn’t the only way to fund new furniture for their classrooms.

Thanks to nonprofits like AdoptAClassroom.org and DonorsChoose.org, more and more teachers are able to afford their wish lists.

AdoptAClassroom.org was the first crowd-funding website on the Internet. Its platform was actually launched pre-Internet in 1998. It was started by a mergers and acquisitions attorney after he mentored a student with special needs. His surprise at the lack of available resources at the school inspired him to quit his job and devote himself fulltime to change the situation.

Donors can “adopt a classroom” based on teacher name, school name, geography or other criteria. If no preference is indicated, donations are assigned to an

underserved class in the community. AdoptAClassroom directs 100 percent of all donations earmarked for classrooms to the teacher in the form of an online credit. It takes $0 for administration.

DonorsChoose allows donors to give directly to public school classroom projects. The charity is open to all “front line educators” at U.S. public and public charter schools, and GED and Pre-K programs run by public school systems.

Teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, school nurses and full-time teachers who are also coaches can create accounts on the site and list project requests. They just have to show they work directly with students 75 percent or more of their time.

An infographic charting DonorsChoose’s progress since its inception in 2000 says it has raised $739,982,769 to fund 1,254,051 projects for 458,835 teachers in 79,873 schools to the benefit of 30,212,599 students.

“Students are completely capable of doing their best work while stretched out on the classroom floor, sitting in an Adirondack chair, or even curled into a tire seat,” concludes Brooke Markle. “They know how they learn best. Give them credit for the knowledge they bring to the classroom, and make them partners in the creation of a positive instructional climate.” v

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Cool Hot innovations in the furniture and equipment category

The ultimate choice for teachers! Kore Office PLUS Standing Desk Chair adjusts from 21.5 to 32 inches – for desk, standing table, or for perching while teaching.

Gently rounded base allows you to move and flex while seated to increase comfort and productivity, and to exercise your core muscles. Limited lifetime warranty; black leatherlike or fabric seat.

516-662-0108 info@korestool.com

The versatile Reflection Workstation by WB Manufacturing takes any STEM lab to the next level. Keep it together for a large group or split it apart for just a few. Docking magnets make collaborating a snap!

800-242-2303, sales@wibench.com, wibenchmfg.com

The ergonomic shape of The Fender Desk from Moore Co. provides flexibility and workspace comfort. The powdercoated-steel legs are heightadjustable and assemble quickly.

Choose from a dry-erase surface or laminate options, and from eight edgeband colors. Matching Creator Fender soft seating comes in a wide selection of fabrics or with a table version with integrated electrical USB. moorcoinc.com

Curious scientists can explore magnets, magnifiers, mirrors, and more at the six-sided Jonti-Craft Science Activity Table.

Supplies can be stowed in the clear CubbieTray-n-Lid, included, for easy organization.

Want to learn more?

800-543-4149 sales@jonti-craft.com, jonti-craft.com The award-winning, patented Vidget 3-in-1 Flexible Seating System helps students release energy while learning – proven to increase attention and focus. The Vidget can transform from an active seat into a stool or desk surface by simply turning it over. It comes in five sizes for students preK through college. viggikids.com

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Where space is limited, Specialty Racks from A.W.T. World Trade are an efficient solution for drying and storage – everything from classroom artwork to prints in a studio. They feature all-steel construction, a rustresistant, powder-coated finish, and a variety of shelving options. Versatile and affordable, they’re available in a wide range of models. sales@dryingandstorageracks.com dryingandstorageracks.com

Kore Kids Adjustable Wobble Chairs are manufactured with a patent-pending, FDA-approved antimicrobial that helps reduce common bacteria. It won’t wipe or scrape off! Sitting height adjusts from 15.5 to 21.5 inches. The antitip ring on the base prevents falls.

Comes in multiple colors and holds up to 280 pounds. Made in USA; limited lifetime warranty.

516-662-0108, info@korestool.com

Watch little ones beam with excitement as they master the nonslip stairs to the tower of the Toddler Loft from Children’s Factory. From there, they can glide down the carpeted ramp or discover the spacious tunnel to crawl through. childrensfactory.com

PBS KIDS® sheets from Peerless Plastics bring adventure and fun to KinderMats®. The pillowcase design makes it easy to slip over the mat, and the sewn-in flap keeps it snugly inside. The cover sheet provides protection for the entire KinderMat and is machine washable.

Four fun designs in 100-percent cotton.

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Stop finding loose building blocks by stepping on them!

The Large Block Box from Romanoff Products makes for great storage and it has a building plate on the top! There are a number of shapes and sizes for block storage and play. info@romanoffproducts.com romanoffproducts.com

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Cool Hot Kore Kids Wobble Chairs are manufactured with a patent-pending, FDA-approved antimicrobial that helps reduce common bacteria. It won’t wipe or scrape off! The stool has an anti-tip ring on the base to prevent falls, and holds up to 275 pounds! Available in various heights and multiple colors. Made in the USA; limited lifetime warranty.

516-662-0108, info@korestool.com

Cafeterias are buzzing about the new and colorful table choices that are brightening up lunchrooms everywhere. Learn more about SICO’s optional accent guards, colorful thread guards, and wide array of laminate tops. These tables have truly been redesigned from top to bottom to take performance and style to the next level.

Contact Dan Reisetter, educationsales@sicoinc.com, 1-800-328-6138

Wood Designs’ Outdoor Sand and Water Table provides a natural, year-round place for kids to play, discover, and explore outside. The activity table is safe and kid-sized. It’s constructed from durable and nontoxic acetylated wood that defies the elements in every season – no shrinking, warping and rotting. wooddesigns.org

The Marvel Focus Series 32-inch, 48-inch and 60-inch Activity Tables and Desks are ideal for STEM/STEAM activity. The FeatherTouch Lift System allows the student to adjust the height of the surface from 28 to 42 inches quietly and easily. No tools or electricity required. sales@marvelgroup.com, marvelgroup.com

Brand New World introduces the new Cozy Corner Chair made of eco-friendly polyurethane upholstery, available in Blue and new Steel Gray. Use the chair to create a quiet and independent space for children. It’s comfortable casual seating with endless design options.

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New True WILD! Science is the new STEM-ready, student-proven range of science kits from Learning Advantage. They teach and entertain! Students will love using their hands to emulate natural phenomena and create real products to use. Plus, they will learn invaluable lab skills covering safety, measurement and observation. Available November.

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Newmark Learning’s Instant Workstations Genre Studies, a recipient of a Teacher’s Choice Award 2019 for the Classroom, are classroom-ready boxed sets for teaching different literary genres. They include 30 paired passages on laminated six-page cards to develop skills in cross-text analysis and synthesis. Questions provide practice in comprehension, and strategies for fiction and informational text. They align with Common Core standards for ELA. For grades 1 through 6.

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Both the Time Timer Original 8-inch and 12-inch are now available with magnets so they can hang on whiteboards and other metallic surfaces.

With two foldable feet, the Timer can stand on a tabletop! Or, hang the Timer on the wall – it can go anywhere!

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With Sensational Math Consecutive, a fast-paced number dice game, players arrange their roll into the lowest or highest number based on the dealer’s roll of the greater than/less than die. It boosts student proficiency with greater than/less than, place value, consecutive order and number sense skills. The number of dice – between 2 and 7 – dictates the difficulty, so it can be played at any grade level, with 2 to 6 players or teams, plus dealer.

800-357-3570, EssentialDealer.com

Chewigem’s Board Pendants are a must-have in the sensory/ special needs area of your store.

The chewable jewelry promotes and supports hands-free chewing.

Made of silicone, the pendants are smooth and flexible, and are designed to reach further into the mouth. Comes with an adjustable cord and breakaway clasp. Three colors to “chews” from. chewigem.com info@chewigemusa.com info@chewigemcanada.ca

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New True The new Double Digit Boinks Fidget from Endless Possibilities not only satisfies tactile needs, but audio needs as well. It’s made of the same BPA and latex-free materials as the original and Super Boinks Fidgets, but with an extra marble that adds some weight and provides a soothing clicking sound. boinks.com

Ignite the sparks of curiosity in science and technology for early learners with Scout™ Digital Microscope from HamiltonBuhl! An invaluable STEAM tool in the classroom with live images displayed on computer, every student will be mesmerized by the fascinating microscopic world around them. Scout™ features six magnification lenses – 100x, 200x, 300x, 400x, 500x and 600x.

1-800-631-0868, HamiltonBuhl.com

Make learning fun and focused with TimeCube timers from Datexx. Just turn it to the pre-set time needed and then turn it back when time is up. It’s that simple. Just turn and learn! sales@datexx.com, datexx.com

The Multi Sensory Resource from Wikki Stix is specifically designed for professionals and families dealing with special needs.

Created with input from teachers and therapists, the Wikki Stix Multi Sensory Resource Kit offers tactile, sensory and engaging activities as well as ideas for incorporating Wikki Stix into the classroom.

602-870-9937, info@wikkistix.com, wikkistix.com

Unwrap hours of festive fun with this colorful WipeClean Activity Book from Scholastic. The 56 pages of mazes, connect the dots, word searches, hidden pictures, and more give kids some holiday cheer as they develop key skills they need in school.

Karol Kulikowski 877-620-4200 kkulikowski@scholastic.com

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Unique “kid-shaped” KidCounters from Essential Learning Products are 2- by 2-inch plastic blocks that connect horizontally and vertically.

The set includes 10 each of 10 colors.

Comes with teacher’s guide and 25 two-sided, full-color, 3.5-inch activity cards for self-checking, sequencing, patterning, mirroring and counting. The box’s color-coded storage partitions keep the pieces organized.

800-357-3570 EssentialDealer.com Musgrave Tote Bags are available at the We Connect School Supply Conference, November 13-16, 2018, in Orlando. Visit Musgrave in Booth #305 to view all of the latest and greatest pencil styles. sales@pencils.net, pencils.net

Just pull back the Silver Aero Pull Back Race Car and watch it go. This little car by Aeromax has speed, high performance and durability. Works best on a hard surface but will go on low pile carpet, too. Recommended for ages 3 and up.

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With Fairy Tale Fluxx, the zaniness of the card game Fluxx has now come to the land of happily ever after! Gather Keepers to fit the fairytale Goal and you win! But look out for the Witch and the Wolf! With delightful illustrations by Mary Engelbreit, this game is a wish come true.

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Eureka is introducing counting that is “o-fish-ally” fun with Dr. Seuss’s Counting Fish and Sorting Cups! Each set includes 50 fish (10 each of five colors), five cups (one each of five colors) and an activity guide.

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The new Mini Starter Set from Sandtastik Products enhances artistic creations with radiant color, texture and depth. It features eight primary sand colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, mauve, black, white) in 10 oz (180 g) clear squeezable-plastic bottles with pop-up caps. For ages 4-plus. Certified nontoxic; conforms to ASTM D 4236.

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EYE ON EDUCATION

Ad Campaign Aims to Help Protect Transgender Students

A new national Safe Schools campaign and public service advertisement called “Hallway” has been launched by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). It is designed to grow the national Safe Schools Movement of parents, educators, youth, and policymakers to advocate for safe schools for LGBTQ youth.

The new PSA depicts the harassment transgender students often face when they need to use the restroom at school, and how school administrators and supportive students alike can help. According to GLSEN’s 2015 National School Climate Survey, 70 percent of transgender students said they avoided bathrooms because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

In 2014, the Obama administration issued official guidance clarifying that transgender students are protected from discrimination based on Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination. However, the Trump administration recently

Teachers Run for Office

In the aftermath of this spring’s teacher protests for higher compensation and more school funding, many educators have launched political campaigns in hopes of shaping education policies themselves. Across the county, 158 teachers filed to run for state office this year, according to analysis from Education Week. To tap into this political moment, the National Education Association (NEA) has helped its members seeking local or state-level offices through a series of trainings called the See Educators Run program. The organization hopes to create a “candidate pipeline” for

rescinded that guidance. In February of this year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announced that they will no longer be investigating complaints of discrimination filed by transgender students.

The 60-second “Hallway” spot will run through a national digital advertising campaign, with a local emphasis on 15 states (Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas) where anti-LGBTQ legislation has been proposed or existing supportive legislation is under attack. GLSEN aims to sign up thousands of safe school advocates nationally.

Fourteen states plus the District of Columbia have laws explicitly prohibiting discrimination in schools based on gender identity and sexual orientation. However, the lack of protections in the majority of states leaves many students vulnerable, according to a brief from MAP, GLSEN, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. School districts across the country have successfully worked to ensure that transgender students have access to facilities that match their gender identity while still protecting the privacy of all students.

Watch the PSA atglsen.org/safeschools.

For more information on GLSEN’s policy advocacy, student leadership initiatives, public education, research, and educator training programs, please visit glsen.org. Founded in 2006, the Movement Advancement Project is an independent think tank that provides rigorous research, insight, and analysis that help speed equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Learn more at lgbtmap.org.

members, said Carrie Pugh, NEA’s political director. “We felt like our voices weren’t being represented.”

In total, 86 female and 72 male educators are running for office. That includes 40 elementary, 30 middleschool and 75 high-school teachers.

Three are running on an Independent ticket, while 126 are Democrat and 29 are Republican. Among the educator candidates are those from Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia – four states in which statewide protest occurred.

For many of these first-time candidates, the union offers a gateway into the messy world of politics. Since 2017, See Educators Run, designed to cover the basics of running a campaign, has held three two-day training sessions

and graduated about 200 educators. The training is free.

While See Educators Run is nonpartisan, Pugh says that the program seeks out candidates who are “values-aligned” – supportive of funding for public schools, collective bargaining rights, and accountability measures for charter schools. The NEA also requires that local unions sign off on candidates’ applications, as affiliates share the cost of training with the national organization. Training facilitators have backgrounds in politics, and topics ran the gamut from high-level strategy (how do you craft a campaign message?) to the details of social-media communications (how often should you post to your candidate Facebook page?).

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Teacher Training Video Company Names New President

Teaching Channel, a professional learning provider for educators, recently named Guy Harrington president.

Harrington comes to Teaching Channel from professional development company Hoot Education, where he served as Chief Executive Officer. Harrington also held executive leadership positions at several education technology companies including Pearson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Cambium Learning.

Earlier in his career, he served as school principal and special education teacher.

Teaching Channel (Tch) serves more than 1.1 million teachers with access to the Tch library of more than 1,350 professional learning videos that showcase best practices in instruction, curriculum, classroom management, assessment, Equity in Education, ELL, and Special Education. Tch was recently acquired by Learners Edge, a provider of more than 120 credit-bearing continuing education and professional development courses for preK-12 educators. Learners Edge also recently acquired iTeach, a nationally accredited educator preparation program.

Teaching Channel gives teachers the tools and resources to develop their own path towards teacher effectiveness.

With Teaching Channel Plus (Tch Plus), an online video observation platform, teachers have access to the Tch video library and can upload their own classroom videos. Used in schools and districts across the country, Tch Plus allows teachers to personally direct their own self-evaluation and ongoing learning; building their confidence in classroom instruction and boosting their joy of teaching and learning.

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EYE ON EDUCATION

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Attendance Tracking Reveals Chronic Absenteeism

More than 8 million children – or about 15 percent of all K-12 students in the U.S. – were “chronically absent” from school during the 2015-16 academic year, according to U.S. News and World Report on September 6. The latest federal data notes that chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 15 or more days of the school year, is worse in some parts of the country than others, In eight states and the District of Columbia, for example, more than 20 percent of all students were chronically absent. The biggest offenders included D.C. and Maryland, where 31 percent and 29 percent of students, respectively, were truant.

North Dakota was the only state where less than 10 percent of students are considered chronically absent.

“Chronic absence data casts a spotlight on where we as a country have failed to provide all students with an equal opportunity to receive a quality education,” Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works and a co-author of the report, said in a statement.

Researchers at his San Franciscobased nonprofit collaborated with others from the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University and the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project to publish a sweeping look at chronic absence in every state in the U.S.

The data comes at a critical time for schools that are required, for the first time beginning this academic year, to include in their annual report card how many students are chronically absent. That requirement is part of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which Congress passed in 2015. Its mandates do not go into effect until this academic year.

The researchers found that chronic absence disproportionately affects students of color, including AfricanAmerican, Hispanic, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and Native American students. In addition, “extreme levels” of chronic absenteeism were present more often in schools with higher levels of poverty, those serving children with disabilities, as well as alternative education and vocational schools.

According to the article, researchers define “extreme levels” as more than 30 percent of students chronically absent.

“While chronic absenteeism has been on the rise – the number of schools with at least 20 percent or more students chronically absent increased between the 2013-’14 and 2015-’16 school years – it’s not necessarily the case that more students are truant,” wrote U.S. News education reporter Lauren Camera. “Rather, it’s that more schools, districts and states are beginning to pay close attention and better track attendance.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS Lakeshore Learning Materials headquartered in Carson, California, is holding a contest to celebrate the recent debut of its Flex-Space Furniture line. The grand prize is a fully equipped classroom filled with premium Flex-Space selections, including mobile desks and tables, comfy beanbag chairs and fidgetfriendly balance ball seats.

The contest is open to teachers across the nation.

By October 12, teachers are invited to enter at lakeshorelearning. com/contest. Requirements include an essay describing their teaching style and how a new Flex-Space Classroom would make a difference for their students. Entries will be judged on the use of innovative and effective

instructional practices, economic need, and content and clarity.

Finalists will be selected on October 26, 2018, and the grand prize winner will be notified by November 27, 2018. Three runners-up will receive a $500 Lakeshore E-Gift Card to fill their classrooms with supplies and materials in the new year.

With an increased focus on problem solving, communication and teamwork in today’s schools, students are expected to take an active role in their education. To that end, Lakeshore’s Flex-Space Furniture includes these functions.

• Collaborative desks and tables configure multiple ways.

• Flexible seating options support individual learning styles and

make it easier for students to focus.

• Mobile furniture easily transports anywhere in the classroom as activities change throughout the day.

In addition to furniture, the grand prize winner will also get to choose from Lakeshore’s teaching materials, from hands-on math and language centers to innovative STEM and STEAM kits. They will receive Lakeshore’s exclusive Complete Classrooms service, which includes complimentary design, delivery and installation to ensure that the classroom is fully set up when students return after winter break.

To learn more about Lakeshore’s Flex-Space Furniture, visit lakeshorelearning.com/FlexSpace.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

In Memoriam Thomas A. Williams

Founding partner of Fahy-Williams Publishing November 16, 1947 – August 22, 2018

Tom, one of Thomas W. and Maggie Williams’ eight children, grew up in Sherburne, New York. After his high school graduation in 1965, he enlisted in the army and did two tours of duty in Vietnam.

Tom earned a bachelor’s degree at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he met Kevin Fahy.

The two co-founded their publishing business in 1984. Four years later, the company settled into a former Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall in Geneva, New York. It was renovated into office space

and remains the company’s home to this day.

Tom sold his share of the business in 2001. He tried his hand at farming, and operated Mr. Pudder’s Miniature Golf and Ice Cream near his home in Skaneateles, New York.

Tom is survived by two children, Cambria E. Williams and Tommy W. Williams, and six of his siblings.

Those of us who worked with him at Fahy-Williams will miss his earthiness, irreverence, quick wit, and big laugh.

The Carson-Dellosa Publishing Group has appointed Ira Hernowitz as chief executive officer.

As GM/SVP Pre-School, Creative Play and Girls at Hasbro Inc., Hernowitz was responsible for a portfolio that included Playskool and Play-Doh. He also held leadership roles at Melissa & Doug and at Toys “R” Us/ Babies “R” Us. As a former president of the Stride Rite Children’s group, he led the rebranding of a division which included ecommerce, brick-and-mortar stores, wholesale, and international expansion. Most recently, as CEO of Kindara, he led a digital company focus on women’s health.

“Ira’s consumer centric leadership, product innovation, and exceptional storytelling will be amazing assets to Carson-Dellosa. More importantly, he is a perfect cultural fit for this organization,” said Carson-Dellosa Chairman Scott Evans.

Former company CEO Al Greco will assume the role of president and will lead Carson-Dellosa’s business development and product commercialization efforts.

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Tariffs at a rate of 10 percent were imposed on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, effective September 24, including children’s furniture (such as chairs), arts and crafts items, juvenile products, children’s hats, and more.

On January 1, tariffs on these goods will increase to 25 percent.

The administration said it will immediately pursue tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports should China retaliate.

In describing the impact a trade war has on the toy industry, Toy Association President and CEO Steve Pasierb said, “The round of new tariffs will hit a cross-section of our member companies with rising costs, while the threatened additional rounds of tariffs, should they come to pass, will almost certainly sweep up all finished toys and cause irreparable harm to toy companies of all sizes, particularly small businesses.”

The not-for-profit trade association, which represents businesses that design, produce, license, and deliver toys and youth entertainment products, recently joined with other trade associations to form Americans for Free Trade. The multiindustry coalition is aimed at opposing tariffs and highlighting the benefits of international trade to the U.S. economy.

In total, 5,745 full or partial lines of the original 6,031 tariff lines, announced in July, are included in the new round.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) removed 297 tariff lines from the original proposed list, including textiles; consumer electronic products such as smart watches; bicycle helmets; and child safety furniture, such as car seats and play pens.

The Toy Association is encouraging its members to • contact local congressmen and senators to inform them of the harmful impact of tariffs on their companies; • join the Americans for Free Trade coalition at americansforfreetrade.com (it’s free to join) and, • share the story of the impact of tariffs on their companies with The Toy Association. Anecdotal feedback from real people at real companies helps strengthen advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire toy community.

has faced – along with declining sales, competition from Amazon, and more.

However, Ruff suggests that this might be its biggest challenge: “There’s no place left for big-box book retailing.”

Independent stores, on the other hand, are rebounding. Between 2009 and 2015, This summer, citing violations of the the number of independent booksellers company’s code of conduct, Barnes & grew from 1,651 stores to 2,227, says the Noble fired its CEO. Demos Parneros American Booksellers Association. Ruff was the company’s fourth CEO in the last five years, writes Retail Dive reporter points to the research of Ryan Raffaelli, Corinne Ruff. A lack of leadership is just an assistant professor in business one of the challenges the bookstore chain administration at Harvard, who attributes

the increase to “the three Cs – community, curation and convening.” Local stores that play to local values win customers, he says, along with personalized recommendations in-store to enhance the customer-store relationship, and in-store events like lectures, book signings and children’s story times.

Right now, Barnes & Noble is focused on “healing” and “fixing,” CFO Allen Lindstrom told Retail Dive. The search for a new CEO will begin after the company’s annual meeting in October.

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BUSINESS NOTES Good News for (Some) Retail Segments

“American retail is back with a vengeance,” wrote Pam Danziger on her blog in August, citing the Census Department’s Advanced Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales Report. It revealed that sales in those segments have grown 5.5 percent in the last year. Adding positive reinforcement, The Wall Street Journal pointed to wage growth and improved job prospects. “The robust U.S. economy is spurring people to shop,” it said.

Here’s where they’re spending their money, says Danziger, retail guru at Unity Marketing. Her list is based on the Census Bureau’s detailed report of specific retailers in 13 major categories, from January to June 2018.

Jewelry stores – independent ones like Tiffany, rather than jewelry store chains – grew 13 percent from the first of the year. Tiffany & Co’s sales in the Americas are up 9 percent, though the company says foreign tourists are an important factor.

A 12.5 percent sales increase at hardware stores is making that retail segment the third fastest-growing through the first half of 2018.

NEW

After a disappointing 2017, furniture store sales are rising – up 7.8 percent.

Home furnishing stores, which sell a broader and less expensive range of home decorating items, have only advanced 2.1 percent in 2018 … except for online company Wayfair. It reported a nearly 49-percent increase in its most recent quarter.

“The assault of electronic retailers on brick-and-mortar retail continues unabated, rising 9.7 percent through the first half of 2018, although it is slowing somewhat from last year’s 10.4 percent increase,” reports Danziger. Amazon’s sales in North America are up 45 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Men’s clothing stores – which reported gains last year of 4.2 percent – rose 9.4 percent in the first half of 2018.

Used merchandise stores notched a 7.6 percent increase, on top of 11.6 gains last year.

Drinking establishments, fullservice restaurants, and beer, wine and liquor stores are all enjoying booming sales.

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At No No No, Brands Have the Chance to Redeem Themselves

Consumer advocacy service No No No was selected for the 2020 Startups accelerator program powered by New York’s Economic Development Corporation. No No No is a website where consumers resolve complaints with businesses publicly, and then review the outcome of the resolution.

Unlike any other review services, No No No offers brands a fair

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opportunity to respond. Consumers are only able to review the outcomes of the resolutions.

The startup was founded in Finland with offices in Tampere, Finland, and New York City.

“The challenge for brands on current review websites is that unhappy customers write one-star reviews that tend to stick, even if the business provides a five-star resolution,” says Jaakko Timonen, company founder and CEO. “We fix that. With our method, a five-star resolution can earn a five-star review.

“Problems spread in social media but resolutions don’t. We fix that, too,” he adds. “No No No will build rankings about which businesses consumers can trust if things go south. People have described us as the modern-day Better Business Bureau, but what makes us different is that our approach incentivizes businesses to provide a happy ending to their unhappy customers.”

An especially peculiar “a-ha” moment sparked No No No. “I got the business idea after an incident in a train toilet,” Timonen says. “I was entering the toilet when a heavy wind hit the train. A mirror cabinet door had not been properly locked; it smashed open and almost hit me dangerously in the head.”

He tried to send feedback to the train company but couldn’t find the contact information. One thing led to another, and now No No No continues to gain momentum, resolving complaints for IKEA, Home Depot and Hewlett Packard customers.

“Our plan is to build a service where consumers can resolve any complaint with any business,” Timonen says. “Getting accepted into the 2020 Startups accelerator will help us reach our goals.”

Nonono.com is still in Beta.

For more information, email jaakko@nonono.com

Amazon Product Searches Overtake Google’s (but they don’t spell S-A-L-E-S)

About 54 percent of product searches began on Amazon in the second quarter of 2018, up from 46 percent in 2015, according to a September 7 article on SearchMarketing Daily, an online newsletter from MediaPost Communications.

The article cited the “Competitive State of eCommerce Marketplaces Data” report from marketing intelligence and analytics firm Jumpshot. It analyzes anonymous consumer visits and transactions for different brand categories on mobile and desktop devices across 500 ecommerce sites and marketplaces. The findings suggest about 90 percent of all

product views on Amazon result from a product search – not merchandising, ads or product aggregators. More than two-thirds of all product clicks come from the first page of Amazon results, and one-third from the first two rows alone, said the article.

Thirty-five percent of Google searches, but less than 20 percent of Amazon searches, led to a transaction within five days, reveals the data. Across all categories, Amazon averages 25.9 days from search to purchase. Google averages 19.6 days.

“Despite Amazon’s dominance of more than 80-percent market share across numerous categories, it doesn’t seem to have room to grow,” wrote MediaPost staff writer Lauri Sullivan. “Walmart is growing 3.5 times faster than Amazon.”

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BUSINESS NOTES

Eye Movement AI Helps Robots (and Retailers)

“Would you appreciate being surveilled for the purpose of getting better help to spend your money?” asked an article in The Economist last year. It described a system being tested in a Paris bookstore, where video of shoppers moving about the store was fed to software. The software scrutinized their facial expressions for signs of surprise, dissatisfaction, confusion or hesitation. “When a shopper walked to the end of an aisle only to return with a frown to a bookshelf, the software discreetly messaged clerks, who went to help,” noted the article. “Sales rose by a tenth.”

While clues about a person’s personality – found in gestures and glances – can be interpreted easily

and almost automatically by humans, computers do not have that ability.

They’re getting closer though, as The Economist article illustrated.

More recently, computer scientists from Germany, in partnership with

psychologists from Australia, announced that they’d come up with a software system that draws personality conclusions based on a person’s eye movement.

A research team headed by Andreas Bulling at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and Saarland University in Saarbrücken, studied 50 students at Flinders University in Australia. The 42 women and eight men were each equipped with a pair of “eye tracker” glasses that filmed their eye movements as they strolled around campus. Their 10-minute sojourn included a visit to the campus store to buy coffee and other items.

Afterwards, the students completed a questionnaire to help researchers determine their individual personalities in a more conventional way.

Based on both the eye data and the survey data, a classifier consisting of

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BUSINESS NOTES

ENDCAP (continued from page 45)

100 decision trees for each character trait was developed. In a subsequent test with previously unused data, researchers proved that the software system reliably recognizes traits such as vulnerability, tolerance, curiosity, sociability, compatibility and conscientiousness.

Transferring the nonverbal behavior knowledge to robots would help them to behave more like humans and communicate with people in a more natural way, Bulling explained.

Results of the study, which were released in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, generated all sorts of discussion. Olivia Carter, a neuroscientist at the University of Melbourne, told the New Scientist that the findings, while intriguing, could also foreshadow a new privacy problem for those who encounter eye-tracking technology.

An article on environmental news site Mother Nature Network noted this: “The fact that the study was performed in a store while participants picked something to purchase raises a few alarm bells about how this research might be used for commercial purposes, but it also has a lot of potential to make our interactions with technology far more useful.”

and brightly colored furnishings. Other highlights are a presentation auditorium modeled after the popular TV show “Shark Tank,” and a versatile cafeteria outfitted with restaurant-style booths, café tables and rectangular eating tables – to meet individual dining preferences.

“The entire curriculum is based on entrepreneurship and teaching students how to design and run a business, so we wanted to create an environment that stimulates the brain and promotes collaboration,” said REAL Journey Academies Founder Alex Lucero, noting that nothing about the school is traditional, with every space designed to be multi-use and multi-functional. “We fully expect to see some brilliant business ideas coming from the students as a result.”

“It’s a no-brainer,” Schwartz emphasized. “If we can make school a fun, relaxing place to hang out in a way that caters to everyone’s varied needs, kids will want to spend time there and ultimately, they will be better prepared for the future.”

More information on classroom furniture trends can be found at hertzfurniture.com.

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Viggi Corp’s funky active chair for kids, the Vidget, transforms into a supported stool or flat desk-surface by simply turning it over. Last year at EDspaces, Viget’s 3-in-1 Flexible Seating System was the recipient of an Innovation Award, presented by the International Interior Design Association, the Education Market Association, and Learning by Design Magazine. Viggi is a Certified Woman Owned Business based in Rochester, New York.

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One Up Innovations in Atlanta manufactures furniture under the Jaxx brand. Its specialty is bean bag furniture – but “not your grandma’s bean bag” furniture. Jaxx uses the perfect concoction of foam so that its seating provides support, bounce and unsurpassed coziness. The company offers a variety of styles, shapes and sizes for kids and schools.

See the ad on page 21.

Datexx by Teledex is a family-owned consumer electronics company founded in 1990 in New Jersey.

It manufactures the TimeCube, an innovative timemanagement tool; perfect for teachers and students. It’s simple to use with no buttons or dials. Just pick the time you need and turn it. It’s a hit for cooking, exercising, homework, chores, business meetings, and time-blocking to focus.

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ENDCAP (continued from page 46) Active/flexible seating

After decades of being told to sit still, today’s students are being encouraged to move. New research shows that movement stimulates the brain and helps improve learning.

Wobble chairs and rocker stools with their slightly rounded bottoms help fidgety students gently sway back and forth, even when they’re sitting in one place.

Bounce chairs that hold anti-burst exercise balls cater to high-energy students. Flexible seating options, including adjustable heights, enable the chairs to move with the students as they go from one work area to another.

Bright colors

Schwartz notes that more and more schools are moving away from dull color schemes towards desks with bright orange, red, lime green or blue tops.

High schools are leaning toward gray design elements with bold color highlights in an effort to emulate a more mature, college-like atmosphere. “Students get a sense that their classroom is a special space – the furniture looks different and the colors are unique,” Schwartz said. “They begin to feel that they’re no longer in a regular classroom, and that creates a sense of excitement and anticipation.”

Collaborative spaces

Schools are moving toward flexible classroom configurations that allow groups to sit around tables together; often in front of a large, wall-mounted television screen.

Contoured wave-like desks are another modern choice.

They support group work because they easily join together in unlimited ways to suit any need. Because collaborative furniture is easily moved into different configurations, it allows students to separate when individual work is required and then rejoin later for group work.

Integrated technology

The more technology shows up in the classroom, the more furniture is being designed to support it. Trending hightech furniture for schools includes computer desks and study pods that come with data ports and built-in electrical outlets.

According to Schwartz, the next wave of school desks will include embedded tablets and screens.

Among the first to benefit from the mix of these trending furniture options are students at San Bernardino, Californiabased Entrepreneur High School – a state-of-the-art charter school by REAL Journey Academies. It recently opened its doors in a newly-renovated former K-Mart store.

Designed and installed by Hertz Furniture, the cuttingedge campus furniture includes individual study zones, collaborative spaces, flexible seating, high-tech furniture

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ENDCAP

Multiuse Spaces Earn High Marks in Schools

by Tina Manzer

Just as a one-size-fits-all approach to learning doesn’t suit today’s classrooms, schools increasingly need to become flexible spaces to accommodate multiple learning styles. It enables students to perform their best.

That’s the message of Hertz Furniture, a company that provides concepts and products for schools across the U.S.

“It’s about creating multiuse spaces that boost creativity and cater to unique learning needs,” said David Mocton, president of the Ramsey, New Jersey-based company. “It’s also about preparing students for real-life environments including college and the business world.

“The next generation is no longer being trained to work in factories, so why do American classrooms still mirror a 19th-century factory-model setup characterized by rows of desks and chairs?” asked Mocton, who advocates adaptable and moveable seating, bold-colored desks, and collaborative furniture that integrates technology.

“It’s time for schools to recognize the profound impact of the physical learning environment on a child’s education.”

He cited a recent study by researchers at Iowa State University. It revealed how classroom design – using mobile chairs for instance, to facilitate communication and collaboration – directly impacts student engagement.

According to Gabriel Schwartz, Hertz Furniture’s vice president of sales for California, moveable seating, collaborative design, and integrated technology are just part of the story of today’s school furniture. He’s spotted five trends that, when incorporated together, are helping schools make learning more effective.

Cocoon zones

Recognizing that some students learn better when given their own space – a spot that’s free from distraction and where they can feel comfortable – schools are creating more relaxed and homey environments using study pods.

These self-contained booths are padded in soft vinyl and include a comfy desk and chair along with arm and leg rests.

The idea is to give students a unique area in which to focus, de-stress, and enjoy downtime, away from the interference of others. (continued on page 45)

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Furniture Designed for Today’s Learning Spaces.

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Comfortable, modern style with flexible solutions to keep pace with today’s curriculum.

Stop by our booth to see examples of our product lines and visit with our team.

Booth #1240

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