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Second-grade teacher Elizabeth Burt bounded from a tiny chair in the library of Whittier Elementary School when her name was called. Dressed in bright pink, Burt threw her arms in the air with the exuberance of one of her students.

No, Burt hadn't won the lottery. But she did receive a gift card from Sam's Club to help pay for classroom supplies.

During a faculty meeting on Sept. 19, representatives of the Salt Lake City Sam's Club, 1905 S. 300 West, announced the names of 10 Whittier instructors, Burt included, who were chosen to receive $100 gift cards and a large gift bag full of goodies.

"Oh, my goodness. I am going to buy notebooks and pencils, maybe a flash drive," she said, listing just a few things her students need.

In the Salt Lake City School District, elementary school teachers in their first three years of teaching get $250 per year for classroom supplies. After four years, that allotment goes to $175 per year.

The extra money for the first three years helps new teachers set up their classrooms and buy supplies they can use for years, said Salt Lake City School District spokesman Jason Olsen.

Nationally, it's estimated that teachers spend about $500 of their own money each year for classroom supplies.

More than 4,500 Walmart and Sam's Club stores nationwide participate in the Teacher Rewards program to help offset teachers' out-of-pocket expenses. Each year Sam's Club, and parent company Walmart, give away $4.5 million through the program.

"We have adopted Whittier Elementary," said Craig Widdowson, membership manager at the Salt Lake City Sam's Club. "This, in a way, we hope will help with supplies in the classroom."

Burt and the other teachers at Whittier were chosen at random, literally right out of a hat, shortly before the faculty meeting. Their names were written in bright purple frosting across a white sheet cake. They included one first-grade teacher, three second-grade teachers, one third-grade teacher, three from fourth grade, and a resource teacher.

Whittier Elementary, 1600 S. 300 East, is a Title 1 school, meaning it has high a percentage of students from low-income families. In Whittier's student population, 79 percent are from low-income households, 55 percent are students of color, and 25 percent speak another language in addition to English at home.

Walter Elliot, assistant principal at Whittier, said this staff meeting was quite a change from the usual.

"People are going around the halls talking about it ... just not believing the gift. You usually come out of a staff meeting with more work to do, but this was a welcome surprise." —

More online

For more information and about the Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Teacher Rewards, visit http://bit.ly/r3n9MC

For more information about Whittier Elementary School, visit http://whittier.slcschools.org