What Makes Us the School Store Authority?

It's not just a slogan. We've been helping elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools supply their students with affordable and fun school supplies since 1924. That's over 80 years of experience going into our products and services.

This experience and history guides us in creating school supplies that we know students want—innovative and interesting items that sell in the school stores and sell at the retail level.

But there's more to being a school store authority than selling school supplies. Those 80+ years of experience are also used toward providing time-tested methods for the school and community, enabling them to use school supplies as a means to an even more important end.

School Stores for Teaching

The school store can help schools introduce their students to valuable business skills, all in a fun, comprehensible, and active learning environment. Students, particularly young ones, learn best by applying what they've learned in the classroom to real-world problems, then reinforcing it through repetition. The school store is a perfect vehicle for just this type of instruction.

One of the best aspects of the school store is they are infinitely flexible. School Stores offer an environment where early-elementary students can practice basic math and money skills, while high school students can learn and apply concepts like advertising and marketing or supply-and-demand economics. A school store can be adapted as your students increase in experience or grade level, teaching age-appropriate skills all the way through to graduation.

School Stores for Fundraising

The school store can be an ongoing source of much needed revenue for student programs and after-school acitivities. The school store can work in conjunction with other fundraising programs and provide an opportunity for students to learn and practice valuable business lessons and social skills.

School Stores: An Operating Manual

Download a free copy (file size: 21.6MB PDF) of School Stores: An Operating Manual or add the free, printed version to your order, then browse our website of school supplies to start stocking your very first school store.

We'll Get You Started

Opening a school store does require a commitment from the school administration, PTA/PTO, faculty, and students. Getting started can be made easier with help from Raymond Geddes, The School Store Authority.

Read on about some of our Do's and Don'ts for running a school store. If you're new to the world of school stores, see our Starting a School Store page for a few ideas to get you going