The teaching community is well known for going above and beyond for students in and out of the classroom, many times buying school supplies for their classrooms — and now for home offices — out of their own pocket. Recognizing that sacrifice, the team at Grand Rapids-based Meijer is making things a bit easier for them.
With schools across the Midwest getting classes up and running, Meijer has announced that they are extending their recent 15-percent discount offer on classroom essentials to make it available for the entire 2020/2021 school year.
Additionally, the retailer has added facemasks and hand sanitizers to its annual 15-percent Off Teacher Discount at all Meijer stores.
Brandon Pasch, Director of Back-to-School Merchandising for Meijer, says, “There are so many uncertainties as teachers head back to classes and we’ve heard the plans may change throughout the year, so our goal is to help them shop with confidence whenever they need to refill supplies.” He adds, “We hope that extending the 15-percent discount for the entire school year helps reduce the stress to their pocketbooks as they continue gathering supplies for their classrooms and home offices.”
Pasch said that a recent Meijer survey showed that teachers expect to repeatedly adjust, refill and update their supplies multiple times in the coming months, as more than 80-percent expect the new normal for their students to be a back and forth mixture of virtual and in-person learning. A recent Center of Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey shows that 94-percent of public school teachers say they spend their own money on notebooks, pens and other supplies without reimbursement. Other experts have estimated the average teacher spent more than $745 out of their own pockets during the last school year.
Other items available for the discount range from spiral notebooks and schoolroom essentials like Crayola, Elmer’s Glue, Sharpies and Post-It Notes to planners and journals, and memo boards. Teachers can also stack their mPerks Rewards with the 15-percent discount and take advantage of additional price drops on more than 400 items as part of the retailer’s everyday back-to-school savings through September 26th.
Teachers can get the discount, in the form of a paper coupon, by presenting a current school ID at their local Meijer Customer Service desk. The coupon can only be used for purchases made in-store and some restrictions apply. Teachers can take advantage of the coupon repeatedly by obtaining a new one any time they return to Meijer throughout the back-to-school shopping season.
Normally, the retailer expects more than 80,000 teachers across the Midwest will take advantage of the teacher discount.
For more information, you can visit the Meijer Back to School site online.
Meijer, based in Grand Rapids, operates 253 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin, including in Benton Harbor, Stevensville and South Haven in our region. A privately-owned and family-operated company since 1934, Meijer pioneered the “one-stop shopping” concept and has evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive apparel departments, pet departments, garden centers, toys and electronics.
