Teacher Superstore reopens at new location in Las Vegas

Western High School teacher Rana Koran stocks up on school supplies every two or three months and pays for items out of pocket.

She relies on the Public Education Foundation’s teacher supply store, where her money goes much further than if she shopped elsewhere.

Koran, who has been an educator for more than a decade, has shopped at the Teacher Superstore for at least seven years for “just basic, truly needed supplies,” such as paper and pens.

“I could not do what I do without the store,” she said.

The Public Education Foundation held a ribbon-cutting Tuesday for the store’s new location on South Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas. The superstore opened for in-person shopping, and a line of educators was waiting outside even before the ceremony.

Teachers also will be able to shop online starting Aug. 11, and supplies will be delivered to their school.

In March, the nonprofit education foundation and UNLV announced the sale of the foundation’s building on South Maryland Parkway to the university. The building sale spurred the need to relocate the Teacher Superstore.

The superstore — formerly called the Teacher EXCHANGE — aims to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for teachers who spend their own money on classroom supplies, which are often given to students in need.

AdoptAClassroom.org conducted a nationwide survey that showed teachers spent an average of $750 on supplies during the 2020-21 school year.

More than 10,000 educators shop at the superstore each year, said Riley Caspersen, spokeswoman for the Public Education Foundation.

For a $26 membership, a teacher can receive supplies worth up to $500 at the superstore. The store is open to licensed Clark County School District and public charter school employees.

“These are essential work supplies for them,” Caspersen said.

With the rising cost of everything across the community, the superstore allows educators to save money to use toward personal expenses like rent and gas, she said.

Kids In Need Foundation helps source materials to stock the store. Other organizations provide funding, and the foundation purchases some items.

Koran — a video production teacher — shops at the superstore for supplies for her own classroom, as well as for an initiative she oversees at Western High that provides backpacks with supplies for students in need.

She leaves the superstore after a shopping trip with a carload of items. If she spent the same amount of money elsewhere, she said, “I wouldn’t even fill up my backseat.”

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.