If Preparing for Back to School was an Olympic Event, You Would be a Gold Medalist
By Susan Kimmel, Director of the Purchasing Consortium
As the new school year begins, at MISBO we know you are channeling the spirit of the Olympics to inspire excellence in every department. Your preparation is nothing less than Olympic caliber to ensure your staff and students have a winning year! We have watched and rewatched the best of the best at the Olympics this year, and we know your staff is prepared for the annual event that is Back-to-School!
Keep reading to see how we compare your staff to Olympic athletes and discover how our MISBO partners can help them win the gold! Did you know that when you purchase from a MISBO Consortium Partner, you are elevating all MISBO member schools, by giving us even more purchasing power and helping us negotiate even better rates? So, when you think about it, the more you purchase through our partners, the more you help the entire MISBO community bring home the gold medal! Pro Tip: When you reach out to a MISBO Consortium Partner, always remind them you are a MISBO member to ensure you are getting the best rates!
Facilities Directors = Simone Biles
Facilities directors are taking cues from Simone Biles' gravity-defying flips, ensuring every classroom, gym, and playground is ready to "stick the landing." Their dedication to detail and commitment to safety are key to creating an environment where students can soar. Just as Simone prepares meticulously for each performance, facilities directors are hard at work behind the scenes, making sure every hall pass leads to a gold-medal-worthy learning experience.
These partners are sure to help them win the gold this year:
With Lakeshore Learning Materials, you get exclusive products expertly designed, 1,000 FREE resources and flex-space furniture!
Lakeshore TOP QUALITY PRODUCTS
Complete your annual routine building maintenance with this all inclusive checklist from FMX!
Don’t stress about covering your transportation needs for the school-term. Busmax Rent-A-Bus has been providing MISBO Schools with bus rentals and leases for over 13-years. We offer discounted daily and weekly rentals in Georgia, and monthly, or annual rentals and leases throughout the United States. We rent 15-passenger multi-function-school activity buses, 7-15 passenger vans, SUVs, and 25, 33, or 44-passenger buses. Call 678-410-4890 for more info or visit www.busmaxrental.com.
It’s not too late to spruce up your playground and outdoor space with up to 50% off at KorKat, The sale ends October 25, 2024, so start refreshing now!
Classrooms MUST have the right tools to support growing minds. Did you know Consoll offers Special-T, a leading commercial furniture provider for various industries, including education? Their extensive product selection reflects our commitment to designing furniture that meets the unique needs of K-12 and higher education classrooms, which includes everything from functional tables to seating options.
Summer is about finished and the campus will be busy again. Thanks to Building Solutions you have a handy-dandy facility-focused checklist to consider as you start your school year!
Facilities back to school checklist
As the athletic seasons start to unfold, Success Sports Surfacing hopes you have asked and discussed the following questions for your athletic facilities and floors:
Sports Considerations for Fall
NEW! Get your staff Red Cross AED/CPR certified with AED Brands at discounted MISBO rates!
Follow AED Brand's easy guide to ensure that your AED is ready for rescue this year!
School (and Sports) are back! Here’s what you need now for the fall semester from SportBiz:
Technology Directors = Katie Ledecky
Technology directors are diving into their tasks with the dedication of Katie Ledecky, ensuring all digital tools and platforms are ready for a smooth swim through the academic year. Their efforts in updating systems, enhancing cybersecurity, and integrating innovative educational technologies are like Katie’s record-breaking swims—pushing the boundaries of what's byte-sized and possible.
These partners are sure to help them win the gold this year:
CCS Southeast is the leader in Education Technology Solutions. With multiple locations throughout the Southeast United States, CCS Southeast brings over 20 years of experience in audio/video solutions for both K-12 and Higher Education clients. We partner with the best brands to ensure our customers have the latest technology and most competitive pricing.
To optimize student engagement, collaboration and outcomes, you need IT Orchestration by CDW Education. Learn about their full capabilities here:
Educators Share Back-to-School Plans for Combining Ed Tech and Learning
Tech educators back to school article
ProLogic ITS is an experienced and dependable partner with 30+ years of overall experience in delivering education technology solutions. Providing a safe campus from the time students get on the bus to the time they graduate – that’s their priorotiy in providing industry-leading, reliable technology solutions.
Get 20% Extra ROI for your old IT Equipment with Equip Recycle.
Whatever your needs, Staples Technology Solutions has you covered
Teledata Select: Taking Advantage of Tax Credits to Offset the Cost of Implementing New Technology Solution. Did you know companies who upgrade their tools, systems, and other technologies may be eligible for generous tax credits against the costs of training their employees? Learn more here:
Business Officers and Human Resource Directors = Ilona Maher and the Women's Rugby 7 Team
The business office and HR departments are tackling the new school year with the tenacity and teamwork of the US women’s rugby team, led by the invincible Ilona Maher. Just as Ilona charges down the field with determination, your business officers are managing budgets, overseeing financial operations, and ensuring the school's resources are utilized effectively. Meanwhile, your human resources directors are recruiting top talent, supporting staff, and fostering a positive work environment, with the same resilience and coordination seen on the rugby pitch. With strategy and team spirit, these departments are setting the foundation for a school year that’s as strong and dynamic as a well-executed rugby scrum.
These partners are sure to help them win the gold this year:
OneDigital knows the constant pressure to increase enrollment, improve fundraising, and retain the best teachers is likely top of mind for your administration. Making the most of every dollar while simultaneously creating a personalized, integrated experience for your team can ensure that you are an employer of choice.
As the school year approaches, the excitement of new beginnings can often be intertwined with stress and anxiety. Both parents and teachers play crucial roles during this transition, and maintaining good mental health is essential for ensuring a positive and productive school year. Here are some practical tips from CorpCare to help parents and teachers navigate this period with ease and well-being.
Get your mind going for back to school with these FACTS Management resources:
- SIS Comparison Quiz: This interactive quiz lets users answer questions about their current SIS to see how it compares to the features available in FACTS SIS.
- Application & Enrollment Quiz: This interactive quiz lets users “get their grade” in terms of how their application and enrollment solution compares to FACTS A&E.
- SIS Community Infographic: This infographic breaks down the top SIS features for different users, including teachers, admissions staff, families, and more. This is a visually appealing way to quickly show how FACTS SIS is good for an entire school community.
- FACTS End-to-End Product Video
As the summer winds down and the back-to-school season approaches, it’s not just students and teachers who need to get ready for a new year. Schools and faculty/staff alike can benefit from a “tune-up” of their health benefits to ensure they’re ready for the year ahead. Captivated Health offers a unique, comprehensive benefits program tailored to the needs of educational institutions and their employees, making this the perfect time to begin reviewing your benefits package to find ways to better optimize it.
Foster a culture of engagement and connection with Paylocity. Community, an integrated part of the Paylocity platform, streamlines communication and fosters a culture of engagement not possible with broadcast emails, antiquated intranets, or break room bulletin boards. It empowers you to engage all employees — even those that are remote, on-the-go, or don’t have corporate email with our robust mobile app.
Voluntary Benefits at Work offers a unique solution for long-term care. Learn more here:
Voluntary Benefits at Work Testimonials
Extraordinary leaders are hard to come by. 12M Recruiting and Ed Tech Recruiting help you find them.
Go back to school with Blick Art Materials! Stock your classroom with these back to school essentials
United School Supplies makes it easy for parents or schools to order high quality, brand name supplies your teachers and students will love!
Perimeter Office Products has all of your must haves for the new school year!
Librarians and Academic Leaders = Stephen Nedoroscik
Librarians and Academic Leaders at your schools are vaulting into the new school year with the finesse of Stephen Nedoroscik, the American pommel horse medal winner. Just as our friend Steve swings with precision and grace, these champions are skillfully navigating the vast world of knowledge, ensuring that students have access to every resource they need and bringing in the win for the entire team!
Kick off the new school year with ScootPad’s engaging, self-paced math & ELA practice problems that support your K-8 curriculum objectives. The first 5 MISBO-member schools to attend a live 30-minute ScootPad demo will automatically win a $25 Amazon gift card.
Check out ProQuest's Back to School Catalog for all your digital resource needs!
Back to School with PebbleGo:
PebbleGo Getting Started Checklist
Live learning sign ups. Choose from 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour. Topics include:
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Making Choice Boards |
PebbleGo 101 |
PebbleGo Suite Educator Training |
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Educator only Tools |
PebbleGo Suite Admin Tools |
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PebbleGo Create 101 |
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Explore PebbleGo resources for lesson plan & activity ideas, to review content maps & promotional content, and more!
Learn more about the PebbleGo Suite with the attached brochure, or explore what the Research shows.
Helping students learn to love reading with this insightful article from Mackin:
PRIORITIZE HELPING OUR STUDENTS FALL IN LOVE WITH READING (AGAIN)
Are you still navigating the waters of AI for the upcoming school year? It’s been nearly two years since the launch of ChatGPT, and there's now ample resources, tools, and data to help you move forwards.
Some of the most exciting use cases of AI have been for personalizing learning for students, and platforms like Flint enable your teachers to make the most of AI as a learning tool while mitigating concerns of academic integrity.
Here are some resources, curated by the Flint team, to help you prepare for AI this school year:
Demo video to show your AI committee and/or Tech Director. Covers the basics of how Flint can be used at your school:
Comprehensive guide covering the AI landscape for schools and an overview of what's changed over the last two years:
Case study on how McDonogh School has use Flint to embrace AI across K-12:
Sora helpful tips for Back to School:
- Get all your students logged into Sora: Logging in
- Schedule a meeting with your Sora Team to boost your Sora success for the year.
- Add even more new books to your digital library with recommendations from our Sora Librarians!
Build community in the library this fall with FactCite!
As back-to-school season gets underway, Beanstack understands your schedule might be packed. Catch up on Beanstack's webinar with ebWeb and Richland County School District One, SC, where they explored innovative initiatives and partnerships schools are using to foster vibrant reading environments.
Need support getting started with your Learning A-Z resources? We have you covered! View our latest guides including product getting started guides, rostering, and reports. These will kick start your new school year with Learning A-Z.
With the new school year fast approaching, LexisNexis is excited to share with our MISBO customers that your Nexis Uni experience has been upgraded with some powerful new research features. In this newest version, enhancements like citation generation, content summarization, automated data visualizations, and a familiar Google-like search bar are all at your students' fingertips, making the research experience with our expansive set of 15,000+ sources, covering news, legal, and business, more intuitive and efficient than ever before. To maximize the benefits of these new features and incorporate them into your upcoming lesson plans and curriculum, please contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager, Igan Kogan today!
Consortium Hot Topics Blog
Setting Up Your Reporting For Success In The New Fiscal Year
Managing a school's finances requires more than just setting annual goals; it demands understanding how financial performance unfolds each month. Traditional budgeting methods often split the annual budget equally across all months. Due to the seasonality of a school’s tuition collection, fundraising efforts and more, not having a budget curve can significantly distort your understanding of performance. This leaves you and the board wading through murky waters all year to truly understand how you are performing.
Director of the Purchasing Consortium
susankimmel@misbo.com
404.920.8844
Susan curates the MISBO Purchasing Consortium by maintaining and enhancing current partner relationships and pursuing new partnerships based on the needs of our members. Susan educates on and informs members of the benefits of utilizing the MISBO Purchasing Consortium. She facilitates communications with partners concerning contracts and product offerings and assists in providing optimal partner exposure. Susan has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, an MBA with an emphasis in MIS, and a certificate in Social Media Marketing and Leadership Excellence. In her spare time, Susan is a mom to 4 grown kids, Gigi to four, a personal growth junkie, crochet hobbyist, travel enthusiast, dog lover ... cat tolerator, DIY wanna-be, outdoorsy-ish, and an occasional binge watcher.
MISBO is here to help you find great products and services at great prices! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions, need help finding a partner to fill your needs, have recommendations, or just want to talk about purchasing!
You can reach her at the number and e-mail above, or set up a Zoom call with her here: