With the start of a new academic year, parents in the Rio Grande Valley are forced to contend with a sensitive combination of skyrocketing prices and modern supply lists that are simply not in their budget. At 27%, the RGV has one of the highest family poverty rates in Texas, making back-to-school shopping a stressful and arduous process for nearly a third of Valley residents. Despite challenges to accessibility and affordability, school programs, teachers, and organizations throughout the region are stepping up to help children in need show up to class feeling well-equipped.
Teachers typically select school supply requirements throughout the Valley. Each list is carefully compiled to account for the upcoming curriculum and unique needs, such as Spanish dictionaries for ’emerging bilingual’ students. Just like the rise of technology has taken hold over our workplaces, students as young as prekindergarten now have access to iPads before transitioning to Chromebooks in the second grade.
“Going into being a teacher, you don’t realize in the amount of time you’ve been away from school how much it has changed,” said newcomer High School English teacher Brijido Ysquierdo. “Nowadays, the biggest thing you need is going to be a device for online work, and if the school doesn’t have it in the budget, it can be an issue for that student.”
The increased presence of technology in education — particularly post-COVID-19 pandemic — has streamlined students’ ability to study and teachers’ capacity to grade. However, it often disadvantages those living with low incomes, as parents are held responsible for expensive items placed in their children’s hands. Although most RGV school districts supply students with the necessary tech to make it through the year, a quick glance at a list like Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District’s reveals parents nowadays are expected to purchase items to complement childrens’ devices, such as headphones for kindergarteners.
As summer comes to a close and stores roll out their typical back-to-school aisles, these expenses really start to add up. Despite most schools’ new reliance on technology, children are still expected to come to class with the same pencils and markers older generations are familiar with — except now, they’re double the price. Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a nearly 24% jump in school supply prices, forcing families in need to make unimaginable choices between either paying bills, buying new clothes, or fulfilling supply lists.
D’ett Gonzalez, a recent retiree from Edinburg Independent School District with 32 years of experience as an elementary school teacher, remarked about soaring prices, exclaiming that “everything has gone up in cost, making it impossible for homes with multiple children to come to school prepared.”
While inflation is down from last year, post-pandemic prices are still out of reach for many families in need. A new study by Deloitte revealed that parents plan to spend an average of $586 per child this back-to-school season, with over 33% of parents reportedly using coupons to help soften the financial blow.
Although back-to-school shopping extends beyond pencils and markers, according to Ysquierdo, uniforms and new clothes are often the most burdensome expenses parents can incur. “Uniforms are something that is an extra cost on top because if a student has clothes that fit from last year, they could go with that,” he said. “But if they need to buy several polos for different days of the week, it becomes a further challenge.”
Dress codes aside, teachers can agree that by the end of the year, the lists are not only completely utilized, but classrooms need more materials. “By summertime, there’s nothing left of the original supplies,” said Gonzalez. “That’s when we come in with our own money to fill in those gaps.”
It’s no secret that teachers nationwide often pay out of pocket to ensure that their classrooms are fully stocked for the year ahead. The U.S. Department of Education found that 94% of educators spend between $500 and $750 of their own money every year on items students need. Throughout her three decades as a teacher, Gonzalez shouldered the cost of school supplies for her classrooms annually, demonstrating just how costly the shopping season is for everyone involved.
Luckily, the Rio Grande Valley community has multiple outlets to receive aid. Whether it be via programs like Food Bank RGV’s ‘School Tools’, which provides supplies to 88 elementary schools serving a majority of low-income households in the region, or Edinburg Police Department’s annual ‘National Night Out,’ which provides school-aged children with free backpacks, our community is prepared to assist parents in ensuring their children feel their best as they head back to class.
Ultimately, if you’re feeling lost and don’t know where to start, look no further than your kid’s school. ‘Parent liaisons’ — or something similar — exist on every campus to help identify students in need and provide them with clothing, glasses, backpacks, and whatever supplies they need to excel in their studies.
“School, at the end of the day, is a community with several resources available to students,” said Ysquierdo. “The school itself will always have some sort of assistance for parents and kids to use if they have the initiative to seek it.”
Every summer, children relegate thoughts of schooltime to the backs of their brains to enjoy the three hot months of free time ahead. Parents are not as lucky, as the looming thought of back-to-school shopping weighs heavy on their minds and wallets — especially those facing financial hardships and/or with multiple children. While the stress is real and valid, parents do not have to bear it alone. When in doubt, our community shows up and shows out for children in need, proving that ‘no child left behind’ is more than just a familiar and hollow slogan in sunny South Texas.
