This is one of those “I hate this post” posts. Because YOU should arrive at a school with pencils, paper, markers, and all the supplies you require to do your job. But you probably are not that lucky, especially if you work in a poor district. I remember I once got a $250 budget for school supplies from my district. I remember that because I never saw anything like that ever again. Some years I saw over $100. Not infrequently, I bought all my own supplies. I remember the year of red erasable markers. The head of the foreign language department had managed to source thousands and thousands of red markers and a quickly consumed supply of black markers. That was almost all the supply cupboard held all year. I used the red markers for grading, but I could not use them on the whiteboard. Colorblindness is a real thing.

Next year you will want masks and hand sanitizer. I am betting many districts are placing those orders now. But will there be enough masks? Sanitizer? How will you manage the U.S. Clorox wipes crisis when you get to the classroom? A few posts back I wrote about the absurdity of the CDC guidelines for schools. Absurd or not, doable or not, we look to be going forward. So what will you do if there are not enough masks?

For middle and high school, I would lay in a few boxes of those blue masks found in doctors’ offices. Middle school teachers especially might also want to add some smaller masks. You may need back-ups for back-ups. If you are an elementary school teacher, you might do a search on “pediatric masks” or “pediatric surgical masks.” Free hours this summer? YouTube is filled with directions for simple masks. Rocketship and dragon masks could be a fun craft project. You will want baggies for mask storage.

Eduhonesty: I would put the burden for masks on parents, and hope for the best from my school district, but as the old saying goes, “Pray to God, but row for the shore.” We all know those kids who never have a pencil. Maybe that pencil is in a bundle with other supplies under a bed, but whether supplies are purchased or not, they don’t seem to make their way into school classrooms and lockers.

This post was inspired by a colleague who had already ordered her masks and sanitizer. Most teachers do that summer supply shopping. This year, I’d include the COVID supplies and I’d start soon. Personal protective supplies can be hard to find, and sometimes take awhile to arrive.

Hugs to all. I had to close this blog to comments years ago due to trolls, so my feedback tends to be limited to messages from friends on social media. I know many readers are probably groaning or even muttering a choice stream of expletives as they read this, tired of spending so much of their own money to do their job. But row for the shore, readers. When the coughs start, you will want to be sure you have masks.