National Partnerships Help Reduce Burden and
Out-of-pocket Costs for Educators
Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP), a leading global provider
of office products, services, and solutions, through its
Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, today announced that education
experts from its “Committed to Learning” initiative are working
with school districts across the country, including Hillsborough
County Public Schools (Fla.) and Clayton County Public Schools
(Ga.), to reduce educators’ out-of-pocket expenses for classroom
tools and supplies while allowing them to spend more time
teaching.
Office Depot, Inc. has developed classroom enablement programs
nationwide to help individual classroom teachers directly access
available funding sources that are often underused or forgotten.
Listening to teachers’ concerns, the company’s education experts
work with districts to provide customized solutions allowing
teachers to bypass red-tape, save time, and reduce the
out-of-pocket burden. According to the Education Market
Association’s 2013 Retail Market Awareness Study, $1.6 billion in
school supply costs are shifted to teachers every year.
Through Office Depot’s “Committed to Learning” initiative,
Hillsborough County Public Schools utilized the “Florida Teacher
Classroom Supplies Assistance Program” to provide virtual cards
that extend teachers’ personal spend on much-needed classroom
supplies. Through the virtual cards, Office Depot offered the
teachers a discount and purchases were tax free, which simplified
the record keeping. This program removes barriers for teachers and
the district by streamlining implementation and invoicing.
Hillsborough implemented the classroom enablement program after
the Florida legislature passed a law which provides about $250 to
Florida teachers for use toward the purchase of classroom supplies
each school year.
“When Office Depot partnered with Hillsborough County Public
Schools not only did it create a portal for teachers to use the
virtual card, they created it so that all those purchases were tax
free and receipts were kept online,” said Pamela Hendrickson,
payroll department manager for Hillsborough County Public Schools.
“Office Depot was able to supply us with the greatest support and
I’m excited about what this means for teachers because those
classroom supplies can be in their hands, they can do their job,
they can teach their students.”
Additionally, Office Depot’s “Committed to Learning” initiative
is working to implement similar programs to those created with
Clayton County Public Schools. Clayton County enlisted Office
Depot’s support when the district was having difficulty attracting
and retaining high-quality teachers. The company’s education
representatives collaborated with Clayton County to develop the
“Teacher Supply Card,” a program that supplies teachers with
purchasing cards which offset expenses typically incurred at the
beginning of the year.
“We are grateful to participate in the ‘Teachers Supply Card’
program, as it allows our teachers to spend less of their personal
resources on teaching materials,” said Luvenia W. Jackson, Clayton
County Public Schools superintendent. “In Clayton County
Public Schools it is our goal to provide students the best possible
education and that starts with ensuring that the teachers have the
appropriate classroom materials needed to provide instruction. We
are thankful to Office Depot for their continued support of our
school district and its mission and goals to promote student
achievement and academic success.”
As a part of the “Teacher Supply Card” program, Office Depot
provides purchasing cards to teachers and helps save school
districts upwards of 10 percent on additional tools and resources
for classrooms.
“School districts want the best for their teachers, but they
have limited time and resources,” said Becki Schwietz, senior
director of K-12 initiatives for Office Depot, Inc. “Our classroom
enablement programs help school budgets go further while reducing
the out-of-pocket expenditures teachers often experience.”
Office Depot’s “Committed to Learning” initiative includes a
national team of education experts and partners to help school
districts innovate new, best practices. Leveraging two decades of
partnership with schools, the company works with thousands of
districts to promote equity in education, mastery learning and
collaboration between schools and communities for successful
student outcomes.
Find out about Office Depot, Inc.’s education solutions at
business.officedepot.com/education.
About Office Depot, Inc.
Office Depot, Inc. is a leading global provider of products,
services, and solutions for every workplace – whether your
workplace is an office, home, school or car.
Office Depot, Inc. is a resource and a catalyst to help
customers work better. We are a single source for everything
customers need to be more productive, including the latest
technology, core office supplies, print and document services,
business services, facilities products, furniture, and school
essentials.
The company has annual sales of approximately $14 billion,
employs approximately 49,000 associates, and serves consumers and
businesses in 59 countries with approximately 1,800 retail stores,
award-winning e-commerce sites and a dedicated business-to-business
sales organization – all delivered through a global network of
wholly owned operations, franchisees, licensees and alliance
partners. The company operates under several banner brands
including Office Depot, OfficeMax, Grand & Toy, and Viking. The
company’s portfolio of exclusive product brands include TUL, Foray,
Brenton Studio, Ativa, WorkPro, Realspace and HighMark.
Office Depot, Inc.’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global
Select Market under the symbol ODP. Additional press information
can be found at: http://news.officedepot.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161114005069/en/
Office Depot, Inc.Julianne Embry,
561-438-1451julianne.embry@officedepot.comorEdelmanAmanda Olson,
512-634-3661amanda.olson1@edelman.com
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