Hello and HAPPY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!
I know that begins a ticking clock for most of you, working on your many lists of responsibilities for the start of school in August. But hey - it's a holiday weekend - so enjoy the long weekend & take a nice pause before turning that page.
But since that page WILL turn, I wanted to update you on a few things & offer some reminders to you for all things textbooks. As always, reach out to me with any questions about all of this.You might want to print this & have it handy for when you choose to organize your textbook processes with your schools. As is my norm, I'm long-winded...but it's in an effort to give you ALL the info that could prove helpful to you & to save you some time.
Thank you to all who have sent in your orders thus far! Remember that all core textbooks (including Studies Weekly) should be sent to PW orders@publisherswarehouse.com Your PO(s) is made out to Publishers' Warehouse - but DO send us those quotes from the publishers, too.
As you know, we have been shipping Math, ELA Reading, & Science consumables since January 1st - & we still have many of those to send out to you. We have shipped out most of the McGraw-Hill, Analytic Orange, & Pearson products in social studies that we have received in our first shipment - and we are expecting shipments soon from all of the publishers you have ordered. Generally, those are processed in the order in which they are received, with priority given to districts who receive shipments in bulk at a central location. But there's a great deal that goes into logistics. We'll keep you updated on deliveries throughout the summer.
For those of you who have shipments broken out to your schools, you want to be sure you give your school leaders & their more limited summer crew some expectations about textbook deliveries. We know everyone's closed on Fridays, but our warehouse is working 7 days a week (including this holiday weekend) to get books out the door. So it's incumbent upon your schools to be prepared for business & to receive shipments Monday through Thursday - or you will need to provide us another shipment location. To assist you & your schools with deliveries, please see the attached flyer which provides some directions about what they should do when receiving books. It's a PDF, so feel free to revise & edit & make it specific to your district (ie, you can give them the name/email of who they should return signed packing slips to in the central office, for example. Trust me - the more proactive you are in organizing this for all your schools, the more time it will save you on the back end when problems arise.
If there are issues with any shipments (shortages, overages, or damages), those should be communicated to the textbook coordinator for your district. Make sure your school folks (or warehouse folks) count all books within a week of receiving the shipment - and before dispersing them out over the school building. Remember that books aren't considered a "shortage" if they're backordered - & that's clearly marked on the packing slip. DO make sure to ask them if they receive MORE than they are supposed to (schools aren't as quick to note receiving too many books), as that overage could belong to one of your other schools...or it may be that you've received 2 sets of volume I materials & no volume II, for example. Once you hear from all your schools on their shipments, you can compile any issues & at one time - & then contact your regular customer service representative who processed your order (Wendi, Yvonne, or Tiara), & they'll assist you further.
Delayed Billing: A reminder that if your quotes total more than your balance in both state textbook funds, PW can do "delayed billing" with you, which lets you use some of your FY 27 textbook funds that you will receive after Oct. 1 ($100 per student in the Foundation program) to pay off your FY 26 totals. Wendi can issue you a "hand bill" for each year that satisfies your auditors. Contact Wendi or me for more info, if this is an option you would like to consider.
TEs: With most publishing companies, you will receive a complimentary set of TEs per the number of student editions you purchase. That's handled when you're getting your quotes. Be mindful, though, of how many TEs you will need at each grade level, as you may need to ADD extra TE resources to your quotes to purchase to meet all your needs. TEs are like GOLD in a school - so really keep up with that total number & inventory it carefully (both free & paid) to save you money down the road.
Old Books: I've attached some guidance for you regarding the disposal of old textbooks. Step 1 is to have your Board declare them as surplus property (much like districts do with old computers). This takes them off your inventory & allows you to dispose of them in some manner - which is increasingly challenging to do, as recycling is less common for books than past years. Sample books that the publishers did not request back can also be disposed of or farmed out to teachers as extra resources.
Inventory: Remember to organize an inventory process for your district & schools each summer. Schools need to feel some accountability from you in order to work hard to find missing books around the school - to save you from reordering as few replacement books as possible. You don't really inventory consumables, but it's helpful for you to know if you're building up some unused ones in case if affects your numbers that we ask you for each October. If you DO need to reorder some books to replace lost/damaged ones or to accommodate growth, be sure you have the book's ISBN # to begin the process. It may be that we can give you a quote based on that ISBN # without sending you to the publishing company. Contact Wendi, Yvonne, or Tiara if you need to order fill-in books this summer.
Our president, Lisa Silver, & I will be at CLAS, SSA, & MEGA conference this summer - so come find us if you're there & say HI! (we'll have a booth at CLAS). Dr. Jones and I will be presenting at MEGA again this summer on that Thursday morning - & we're changing it up a bit from previous presentations. I also like to visit folks in August (after schools starts back...) & September - particularly if you're newer in the role or you have some questions. If you are retiring or leaving, it's helpful to let me know & connect me with your replacement (to the degree that you can be replaced!).
In the meantime, ENJOY your holiday weekend - & be sure to take some time along the way for yourself & your family.
Take care,
-Patrick