For students on the first day of school, there’s nothing like writing your name on the first page of a brand-new notebook or breaking in a fresh box of crayons.

For the fifth year in a row, Bend-La Pine Schools is providing all necessary school supplies for all students, ensuring families can avoid the stress of finding school supplies. This includes all standard supplies throughout the year, from crayons, pencils and pens to paper, markers and folders.

“What we recommend families bring is a backpack,” said Tammy Doty, executive director of elementary programs for the district. “Students are entitled to a free and appropriate education, and free means that they shouldn’t have to pay for anything to get that education.”

Jefferson County School District also provides supplies for students and has done so since 2018. Redmond School District provides basic supplies for middle school students. The Culver, Crook County and Sisters school districts all ask families to provide school supplies.

In addition to the school districts that provide school supplies, Central Oregon has several organizations that collect supplies for students in need, including the Family Access Network. The organization provides clothing, school supplies and basic needs for Central Oregon families.

With the rise in technology used in schools, students are looking for chargers for both iPads and cellphones. Another trend this year is black JanSport backpacks, said Kelsey Seymour, the community outreach coordinator for the Family Access Network. She organizes school supplies for the organization and said last year one trend was black Vans shoes.

“We love to give the kids things that make them feel like they fit in. So whatever’s popular is always what we want to be providing,” said Seymour. “We get an amazing selection of things. It’s a lot and yet we’ve just seen an increase in need in the last couple years.”

Providing all necessary supplies

Most schools used to issue school supplies lists by grade each year that included all the supplies families were expected to provide for their elementary school children: crayons, pencils, erasers, glue, markers, Kleenex and more. Older students needed fewer, and different, supplies.

Bend La-Pine Schools officials said more recently the district used to buy supplies in bulk and parents would pay a flat fee at the start of the year to cover the cost. Recognizing the equity issue, the district dropped the fee request several years ago. However, certain classes such as wood shop may have additional fees to help pay for supplies.

“When we really leaned into that idea of a free and appropriate education, we saw that we really had that responsibility of providing the supplies for students,” said Doty.

This year, it varies from school to school whether headphones will be supplied for elementary students, she said. Secondary schools are working on supplying graphing calculators. Doty also recommended that families supply water bottles.

Office staff at each school divvy up purchased supplies, and teachers pick out what they need for their classrooms.

“Kudos to our office staff everywhere. They do a fantastic job trying to find the best deals out there,” said Doty. “They are really good at planning ahead and thinking ahead.”

If families want to donate supplies to schools, Doty recommended reaching out to see what they need first. The district won’t turn anyone away, however.

“If somebody shows up with school supplies on the first day, they are embraced and it’s appreciated,” she said.

Teachers are likely paying for decorations, containers for supplies and similar items for their classrooms, said Doty, but are not required to buy anything.

Headphones and backpacks

Family Access Network advocates shop through all their donations and take what they know they’ll need to the schools they work in. There are also always supplies stored at the main office. The organization has an Amazon wishlist active all year, and also benefits from supply drives various organizations run in the region.

“We live in a very generous community. I don’t have concerns about what we’re going to receive this year,” said Seymour. “Many of our partners have been collecting for five or six weeks already.”

The organization has 28 advocates working across 65 locations in five school districts across the region. Last year, the organization served more than 7,000 students.

Donations range from headphones and water bottles to backpacks, rulers, binders, folders and more.

“There are multiple communities in Central Oregon where you cannot shop for new clothes, and so when we get clothing donations, we always ask for stuff that is new with tags or barely worn because many of our students don’t have the opportunity to shop for their own clothing,” Seymour said.

Though it may seem frivolous, Seymour said technology chargers and headphones are extremely useful.

“Students are using tablets; they are attending school virtually, and that is a whole different set of supplies than traditional school, so an emphasis on things like headphones and iPad chargers, those are critical,” she said.

Overall, the organization wants students to feel prepared for school while knowing there is someone who can help if they need it.

“Our secondary goal is always to focus on relationships, focus on one-on-one connection with students and families so they know they have someone they can come to,” said Seymour.

Redmond supplies

The Redmond School District does have a required supply list for elementary schoolers, though the supply list is voluntary for middle schoolers.

Obsidian Middle School supplies students with a binder, pencil pouch, pencils, paper and planner, said Principal Evan Grant. .

“Throughout the year if they’re doing projects with glue sticks or colored paper, any of those other things you might see on a supply list, teachers would provide,” said Grant.

Grant has seen a slow start to the year in other schools where supplies aren’t provided because it takes time for everyone to gather what they need.

“We try to make it so they don’t need to go buy anything. That’s our goal: We want to put all students on an equal playing field as best possible and give them what they need to access school and access their education,” Grant said.

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