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Savannah Ashment

Mr. Gardner

Floppy Staches

13 May 2019

School Supply Pantry

After 50 years of successful learning and growing, what better time for Brighton High

School to improve and change its projects and policies than with the new school being built

within the upcoming years? Students should be top priority at Brighton, with teacher, student,

and community support, projects such as the school supply pantry could be a viable resource at

the new school. In a video clip titled, “​How Poverty Affects Classrooms,”​ the speaker provides

reasons that low-income students require help and assistance from teachers and schools. She

states that, “when they [students] leave the classroom, it’s a whole other world of what they’re

dealing with”(How). In this same video, reasons are given as to how the stress of finding school

supplies affect students, as well as their families negatively.

Like the principals food pantry, the closet is a helpful resource aided to assist low-income

students (Bates). Students could come to the pantry at all times to grab and supply themselves

with any food that they need for them and their families. This pantry began at the beginning of

the 2018-2019 school year and has shown great success. In an academic article by Joseph

Williams, his research summarizes the positive effects that giving students needed school

supplies offers the schools. It was shown that increased benefits for the teachers, colleges, and

administration were shown (Williams). Benefits included improved grades, attendance, and

motivation for learning. In an article posted by Ann Ness, she states the effects that school
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programs have specifically on teachers and school funding. She argues that teachers spend

hundreds of dollars out of pocket to supply students with necessary learning tools. With the

school supply pantry, donations would provide students with these tools while teachers can focus

their efforts on beneficial lessons and teaching strategies.

The school supply pantry would be run with several influencing factors that are important

to consider. One of these factors being how the school and faculty will be in control of the intake

and outtake of supplies from the pantry. During an interview with Senior Class President,

Audrey Allen, questions were asked on how she might control the pantry and it’s outtake of

supplies. She responded and stated that teachers could recommend students they believe would

benefit from the pantry directly to the pantry staff. This allows for legitimate use of materials in

an organized manner. In conclusion, the school supply pantry would be a useful addition to the

new Brighton High. Author Shannon Harris states, “Today all children in the United States are

guaranteed a public education, although we still have much work to do to make it the best

education possible for every student”(Harris). For some, learning and keeping up with

educational pressures is difficult enough as it is. With easily donatable items, Brighton High

School can work to assist low-income students through a school-wide supply pantry.
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Works Cited

Allen, Audrey. Interview. By Savannah Ashment. 30 Apr. 2019.

Bates, Catherine. Interview. By Savannah Ashment. 3 May 2019.

Harris, Shannon Dalley, and Jeffrey Keenan. ​Our Day to End Poverty: 24 Ways You Can Make a

​Difference.​ San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler. Print.

"How Poverty Affects Classrooms." ​Youtube​, American Federation of Teachers

Educational Foundation, 21 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ_dJ7G0Xvk. Accessed

25 Apr. 2019.

Ness, Ann. "Teachers Spend Hundreds of Dollars a Year on School Supplies. That's a Problem."

Education Week: Teacher​, 2 Aug. 2017, www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2017/08/02/

teachers-spend-hundreds-of-dollars-a-year.html. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019.

Williams, Joseph M., et al. “Protective Factors and Processes Contributing to the Academic

Success of Students Living in Poverty: Implications for Counselors.” ​Journal of

Multicultural Counseling & Development​, vol. 45, no. 3, July 2017, pp. 183–200.

EBSCOhost,​ doi:10.1002/jmcd.12073.