Thursday, September 29, 2022

Encourage Physical Activity with School Specialty!

Physical fitness is critical to student success. School Specialty's products, including innovative physical education resources from Sportime, are carefully selected to enhance physical development, help students enjoy physical fitness, and show them how to be active throughout their lifetime.

With School Specialty, you can:

  • Create PE Equipment Customizable Bundles from an assortment of products for various age groups.
  • Stock up on PE essentials from Champion RHINO
  • Receive competitive discounts off MSRP and save on shipping charges by using the AEA Purchasing contracts
  • Order online and save! Purchases made online throughout the calendar year (via www.schoolspecialty.com, AEA Purchasing Marketplace, or your district's online ordering portal) receive a 1% rebate directly back to the customer next year.

In addition, School Specialty has a great inclusive PE webinar available on demand that can help your school understand the concept of promoting and creating inclusive practices in physical education to ensure success for ALL students. 

For more information on how School Specialty and AEA Purchasing can support your PE programs, reach out to:

School Specialty
Courtney Kokjohn
(515) 339-7227
Courtney.kokjohn@schoolspecialty.com

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

School Spirit Food Show Success!


Our annual School Spirit food shows took place in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines this past August.

We were proud to host 126 school districts and over 500 food program members!

Activities included four hours of education followed by a food show with 80 companies and 460+ items to sample and review.

Monday, September 19, 2022

September Program Highlights

 Here's the latest in news from AEA Purchasing!

+National School Lunch Week
October 10-14, 2022 is National School Lunch Week.  The theme is Peace, Love, School Lunch.  Celebratory resources are available from the School Nutrition Association.

+Crowdstrike Webinar 
JourneyEd is partnering with Crowdstrike in offering a webinar on K-12 cybersecurity solutions. As part of our purchasing contract with JourneyEd, Iowa schools and education agencies receive a discount on all software products, including Crowdstrike and other security/antivirus licenses.

+Accessit Library Webinar
Does your library catalog need an upgrade? If so, plan on attending Mackin's 'Accessit Library' webinar on 9/22. Accessit Library delivers easy and precise access to a school’s or district’s library catalog and creates an environment where the library becomes the trusted hub that connects and integrates a school’s existing systems. This new service is covered under the AEA Purchasing contract!

+White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
On Sept. 28, for the first time in 53 years, the Biden-Harris Administration will host the second-ever White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health (live streamed on the Conference website here).  With the support of Iowa communities, AEA Purchasing has pledged our responsibility to commit to continuously improving child nutrition programs and educating Iowans about the incredible work that is already being done. 

+Office & Classroom Contracts
Our Office & Classroom contracts cover everything your school might need to maintain day-to-day operations. The next time you go on a supply run, be sure to check our contracts first!

Want to know more about our vendor partners and what they have available? Check out this month's Vendor Promotions folder! Special offers, flyers, and brochures are added throughout the month.

Follow us on social media to see what we are up to! You can find us on Twitter and Facebook!

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Office & Classroom Program: 101

Our Office & Classroom program covers everything your school might need to maintain day-to-day operations.

Click on a vendor name to learn more.

Assessments, Curriculum & Instruction
Canvas (Instructure)
Dreambox Digital Math
Frey Scientific (School Specialty)
Gale
Mackin
Midwest Technology Products
Schoology

Copiers & Printers
HP Printers
Konica Minolta
Kyocera Document Solutions

STEM/STEAM/Coding & Robotics/MakerSpaces
Camcor, Inc.
Education Essentials-School Specialty
Mackin
Midwest Technology Products
PITSCO Inc.
Premier F+E (powered by Meteor)

General Supplies (Office, Classroom)
Blick Art Materials
Education Essentials-School Specialty
Paper Buy-AEA Purchasing
Quill

As you can imagine, this purchasing program covers a wide range of products and categories. If there is something specific you are looking for, be sure to browse our Marketplace or contact us for help in finding the right direction!

Monday, September 12, 2022

Contract Profile: Acco Brands

ACCO Brands USA LLC brand delivers innovative products that allow users to present, protect, secure, organize, enhance and transform all printed material to achieve a professional edge in a competitive marketplace. 

Awarded under AEA Purchasing's Statewide Technology Buy, Acco Brands offers the following products at a competitively bid discount to Iowa schools and education agencies:

  • Catalog Discount: 40% - including PPE and Air Purifiers
  • GBC Document Camera
  • Pinnacle 27 laminator
  • Ultima 65 laminator
  • Foton 30 laminator
  • Laminating film
Sign in to the AEA Purchasing Marketplace to search for products and pricing. Please reference "STB2022AEAPURCH" on all correspondence. 

If ordering online isn't for you or you have specific product/contract questions, feel free to reach out to:

Acco Brands
Contract # STB2022AEAPURCH
Lauren Tyler
GBC Inside Sales
662-480-3299

Friday, September 9, 2022

Webinar: The Power of Mackin’s Accessit Library

AEA Purchasing and Mackin are inviting you to a free webinar that will dive into the power of Mackin's Accessit Library!

A revolutionary library automation system, Mackin’s Accessit Library delivers easy and precise access to a school’s or district’s library catalog and creates an environment where the library becomes the trusted hub that connects and integrates a school’s existing systems.

During this webinar, you will discover the power, flexibility, and seemingly endless array of options for customization that Mackin’s Accessit Library provides.  

Employing Mackin’s Accessit Library allows you to streamline your workflows while offering an unmatched level of connectivity, visibility, and flexibility.  Adoption of this revolutionary system delivers a complete school-wide resource management tool that helps you simplify and automate your day-to-day tasks. Paired with MackinVIA, the versatile, multiple-award-winning digital content management system, this seamless combination creates a nimble and powerful resource for your educators and students alike.

Webinar: The Power of Mackin's Accessit Library!
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
3:30 PM CST
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 839 2381 6313 
Passcode: 845009

Interested but can't make it to the webinar? Contact Mindy to discuss how Mackin can meet your needs and your budget using the AEA Purchasing contract!

Mackin
Mindy Romero, Local Sales Rep
Cell: 319.899.9717
Toll-Free: 800.245.9540

ServSafe® Success!

Over the summer, AEA Purchasing facilitated ServSafe® certification courses for school food service staff across the state. In total, 462 staff attended the courses and sat for the exam. Of that 462, 313 (68%) earned a passing score. 

We would like to extend a warm congratulations to all of those who put forth the effort in preparing for and passing the exam! 

Click here for a list of schools who have recently certified member(s) of their food service team.

AEA Purchasing offers ServSafe® training to help foodservice professionals meet industry standards. The ServSafe® food safety training program, developed by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF), is accredited by the American National Standards Institute-conference for Food Protection and is highly recognized by federal, state and local health jurisdictions across the U.S. Iowa Food Code requires that the “person in charge” in a food operation is a Certified Food Protection Manager. Successful completion of the ServSafe® course and certification exam meets this requirement.

For more information on ServSafe® training, brought to you by AEA Purchasing, contact Barb Adams.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Savings on Software, Hardware, Projector Lamps

If the purchase of software or hardware is in your future, AEA Purchasing would like to remind you that we now have the FULL JourneyEd catalog covered under contract. Additionally, we also have great prices on projector replacement lamps from Scott Electric.

Both of these vendors have been competitively awarded via our statewide contract for technology products and services (contract #STB2022AEAPURCH). Visit their contract profiles (linked above) on our website to learn more about the products and discounts available to all Iowa schools and Area Education Agencies. 

If you'd like to reach out to the vendor directly, their contact information is provided below. 

 JourneyEd
AEA Purchasing contract #STB2022AEAPURCH
Christine McConnell
800-876-3507 x 7122

 Scott Electric/Specialty Lamp
AEA Purchasing contract #STB2022AEAPURCH
Mark Troutman
855-726-8899
mtroutman@scottelectricusa.com        

AEA Purchasing has a lot to offer when it comes to cooperative purchasing and technology. To learn more about how our Technology Purchasing Program can serve your school or AEA, please reach out to Laurie Hoing, Procurement Facilitator.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

September Vendor Promos

Have you checked out the latest info and specials from our vendor partners?

What are you waiting for? 

Check out our September vendor promotions today! 

Content is added throughout the month.