ATA: Where do you store your materials for the summer?

A Teacher Asks…

We get out of school next week, and usually we lock everything in our cabinet and go home for the summer. This year, we’re having to take all of our personal belongings home or put them in storage at our county office, but space is limited, as our school is being repainted and undergoes other remodeling. The problem is that I live in a studio, and it’s not feasible for me to bring it home. My only other option is to rent a small storage unit and “eat” the cost. But this doesn’t seem “fair”.

What do you guys do with your belongings in the summer? Note: I teach Kindergarten and have a large number of personal items.

Editor’s Response: Yep, while we love taking a break for summer vacation, we hated packing up everything, labeling it, and praying it wouldn’t get misplaced over the summer when we were teachers. And, you’re absolutely right—it isn’t fair that you’re put in this position when you’ve invested so much time, money, and care into your classroom to have to use your own money to store your belongings.

Still, the alternative is that you could (possibly) lose all of your valuables. OR spend the entire first two weeks finding your stuff stored in some musty storage room in the basement.

Unfortunately, many districts don’t consider how personal storage impacts teachers, especially in spaces like Kindergarten, where personal materials often make classrooms feel like “home” and the school doesn’t fund.

Here are some suggestions for everyone at our Headquarters to do in similar situations:

• See if a colleague with a garage or larger home has space to temporarily store a few boxes.
• Connect with local parent groups (like PTA/PTO)—sometimes families will lend space for the summer.
• Ask your admin if there’s any flexibility or alternate district spaces (even unused classrooms at nearby schools).
• If you do have to rent a unit, save the receipt—you never know when that could be useful for tax deductions or reimbursement advocacy.

Above all, remember this is the life of an educator- the good, bad and ugly. Happy Summer!