Depends on the year. With not a ton of money probably not anymore. We all have an easel. To be honest I went back to a traditional one and gave away "Big Betsey" as I called her. (She looked like that with more storage.) She took up too much room for me...
My last two schools provided us with easels. At a previous school, we were not provided with them. I got one for a birthday gift. Otherwise I would have bought one myself.
Our school would not provide that, but we have a small budget for classroom items and are blessed with an overly generous PTA group who buys us items such as that.
We are (or at least were) allowed to request items at the end of the year and it is like a game of roulette. You either win (get it) or you don't. You don't know until you go back to set up your classroom.
When I first started at the building I'm at, my room came with one (not as nice as the one in your picture). Every time I have moved, I have taken it with me.
With all the budget cuts our school doesn't buy any furniture for classrooms anymore. We no longer get reimbursed for anything. My first couple years we were able to submit receipts to PTO up to $xx (don't remember the amount) and we always got reimbursed. Then PTO moved to where they didn't want to deal with that so at Christmas time they gave all the teachers $50. Then assistants complained because they didn't get any money (even though they never put money into the classroom) and so PTO stopped it altogether. So now we get nothing! Something like that we'd have to find a way to get it on our own. I got mine last year through Donors Choose.
when I was hired, my principal told me there was no money in the budget to buy any furniture. My DH bought me an easel very similar to yours as a Christmas gift. People would stop by my classroom and ask where I got my "fabulous" easel. That summer, our principal bought one for EVERYONE!
My former school provided such things for us. My current school does not purchase anything because of money. You might want to try rummage sales as well. We had a lot of teachers lose their jobs over the past two years, and many have had sales.
Every K-5, as well Math support, Reading support, and special ed. was given an easel. It was provided by the school. It was a district wide thing many, many years ago when they district started to implement a formal balanced literacy program.
I have that one! Although with blue buckets underneath...I love it!
I just got it through our Learning Resources fund. I had to really push my case with the committee bc someone made the argument that an easel was not a learning resource. So I had to explain all the learning activities I do with it and it was approved.
For all the years prior to that, I had a very old, ricketety metal easel with a small wooded section as the "hard surface" to write on. The wood was shorter than the chart paper so it was hard to write on.
for all the replies! I got a job at a private preschool and there was no principal hired yet so I got hired by the school board. I think I'll wait until next week when I know who the new principal is and then maybe ask her to see if it's something they would purchase for me. It is preschool but I have ages 3-6 in a classroom of 15 students. I think it would really help to do shared reading and writing so they can see that print, and do class graphs, etc. We had one at the preschool I taught in during college. My other thought was that ideally I'd like to teach 1st or 2nd grade so if I bought the easel myself then I could take it with me...but $300-$400 is a lot of money!
I purchased my own many years ago when there was no money for extra supplies. Others in the school who were hired after in better economic times were provided them from the school. Now, nope - if you want it, you buy it.
I was "talked to" for taking mine from my room when I moved schools last year. I tried to tell the P and the teacher who was taking over my room that I purchased it with my own money and therefore I was taking it-- they were incredulous and basically demanded that it stay behind. I then pulled out a receipt from 1998 when I purchased it and they both felt pretty badly. They couldn't believe that I would have to spend that kind of money for a classroom furnishing/teaching tool. I do feel sorry for the teacher who took my old classroom as there was no $ for her to get a new one - but not badly enough to leave mine behind. They also questioned the shelves and filing cabinets -- all mine and I still had a receipts in an envelope in my desk.
The P at my school would laugh at you. I had to buy my own white board to replace one that was falling off the wall a couple years ago. She only provides funds for those chosen few at our school.
I then pulled out a receipt from 1998 when I purchased it and they both felt pretty badly. They couldn't believe that I would have to spend that kind of money for a classroom furnishing/teaching tool. I do feel sorry for the teacher who took my old classroom as there was no $ for her to get a new one - but not badly enough to leave mine behind. They also questioned the shelves and filing cabinets -- all mine and I still had a receipts in an envelope in my desk.
Good idea about saving receipts. I never thought of that, but I will start doing that!
Each room I have gone to I have not had an easel, and each time I have told the principal that it is vital to my teaching style to have one (share the pen writing etc.) Each principal has bought me one.
I got a talking-to from a really nosey secretary one year when I was packing up my stuff to move to a new school. I had bought one of these with my own money: http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/wp...oy-storage.jpg and she insisted that I had to leave it. She said, "are you SURE it's yours? Because if the school bought it you have to leave it here." Wow. I'm really going to steal school furniture. Sheesh. But she was also the one who would question teachers every time they need coloured paper.
I save all of my receipts, too, especially for larger purchases like that. I realize how fishy it looks when I'm carting furniture out. No one has questioned me yet but I like to be able to prove that I purchased it.
Over the years I've purchased both a VCR and dvd player. Each time the year after I purchased mine the PTA bought them for every teacher that didn't have one. Since I paid for mine, I took them with my when I left my classroom. I feel bad that the teacher coming in doesn't have them to use, but it is what it is.
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07-13-2012, 11:54 PM
. People would stop by my classroom and ask where I got my "fabulous" easel. That summer, our principal bought one for EVERYONE!
