Know your benefits
Discounts galore for educators: Web site builders, software, books and more
Mar 27, 2008 1:38 PM
Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended — regularly $1,000; for educators, only $298! Microsoft Office Professional 2007 — regularly $499; for educators, only $170!
Hardcover books at 40 percent off the cover price!
These are some of the bargains that teachers are entitled to. Even building a teacher Web site to help reach out to parents and students can be free or very low cost.
Most vendors require that you provide proof of employment in a school in the form of a letter from your principal on school stationery or an employee ID card.
Some discounts are very steep, and it is well worth it for anyone working in city public schools to take advantage of the bargains. Most of the vendors listed here are online but that doesn’t mean that “brick-and-mortar” stores won’t offer you the same kinds of discounts. Always ask the salesperson whether the store offers price breaks for educators.
As a UFT member, you are automatically a member of our state affiliate, NYSUT, and our national organization, AFT. Go to www.nysut.org, click on NYSUT Member Benefit Trusts and then on Discounts in the left column. You will see a list of vendors that include Barnes & Noble.com, Office Max, car rental agencies, theme parks and a discount home heating oil program. Current employment is required for some purchases, but others are open to all NYSUT members.
To find out what AFT discounts you are entitled to, go to www.aft.org and click on AFT+ Member Benefits. Among the array of discounts listed, you will see a link for book discounts from Powells Online, the largest unionized bookstore in the country. Other AFT discounts include coupons for dining at fine restaurants around the country, health club memberships, flowers, hotels and magazine subscriptions. As always, there are some restrictions so read the membership requirements carefully.
Computer discounts
The Academic Superstore (www.academicsuperstore.com) offers some serious discounts for educators on software and hardware. You need a validated faculty ID card or a letter of employment on school letterhead. In some cases, certain manufacturers require a copy of a pay stub (delete private information like your Social Security number and pay amount, but leave your name and the employer’s name).
Software Express (www.swexpress.com) offers discounts of up to 75 percent from a variety of software publishers. Its online catalog lists products by category and publisher. They require a staff ID card, letter of employment on school letterhead or a copy of a pay stub (pay amount inked out) to take advantage of these discounts.
JourneyEd (www.journeyed.com) offers excellent discounts to educators on software as well. The site is easy to navigate. Once at the Web site, click on Educator/Staff Shop. To see if you are eligible for these discounts, click on the graphic link on the left, Who Qualifies? You must fulfill one of those requirements before the site ships an order.
Web site building discounts
One of the most frequently asked questions that we get from teachers is about how to build a Web site so they can reach out to parents, students and colleagues. But most teachers don't have the time or the inclination to mount the steep learning curve that much Internet technology demands. That is no longer such an obstacle, because there are now Web sites that help teachers create their own Web sites.
A simple and free Web site builder is SchoolRack (www.schoolrack.com). You can create a very functional Web site using page templates that were developed with educators in mind. You can view sample sites to get ideas of how other educators have used the service. For instance, you can create a syllabus section and a homework/assignment section and you can publish your grading policy. In addition, you can let parents know how to reach you via e-mail or school telephone number. It’s advisable to use your Department of Education e-mail address and not your personal one. Make sure you read the terms of use. Remember that you are entirely responsible for all content that you upload, post or otherwise transmit via the SchoolRack service.
Another Web site builder for teachers is School and Teacher (www.schoolandteacher.com). It looks simple to use and only costs $19.95 per year. This site has calendar tools, homework and exam reminders via e-mail, links to study resources and an easy way to contact the instructor. School and Teacher offers a free one-year trial for teacher Web sites.
For $39 per year, eBoard at www.eboard.com will help you build a Web site that can contain calendars, tabs, blogs, announcements and much more. Teachers can try eBoard free for 30 days.
This is a small sample of the bargains available to educators. You will find many more if you thoroughly search the Internet.
