Executive Summary
So that students
at St. Mary’s School will have pencils that work well, limiting distractions
during class and lost instructional time, I propose that the school invest $415
in purchasing durable quality 12 Used-All-Day Pro Student Electric Pencil
Sharpeners
Problem of Ineffective Pencil Sharpeners
The pencil
sharpeners have presented a recurring problem at St. Mary’s School. The
problem is that the pencil sharpeners in the classrooms are very old and do not
work effectively anymore. Students and teachers continually become
frustrated because it is difficult to sharpen a pencil with the current
sharpeners, and pencils that are sharp are crucial for effective learning. There
are 217 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Mary’s
School. These students occupy 12 classrooms each day. None of these
classrooms has a pencil sharpener that works well; it takes several minutes to
sharpen just one pencil. This means that if all of the students need to sharpen
their pencils once a day (depending on how much writing is being done, a pencil
may need sharpened more than once a day), it could take an average of thirty
minutes to sharpen them all before the students can sit down to their desks and
start learning the day’s lessons. Thirty minutes of time spent sharpening
pencils takes away a great deal from instructional time. Furthermore, not all
the students need to sharpen their pencils at the same time. This need arises
at various times throughout the day, often at the beginning of a test or a new
lesson. Because of the length of time it takes to sharpen a pencil, the
teachers have continuous interruptions in their lessons throughout the
day. The current pencil sharpeners have been in the classrooms for over thirty
years. They do not work well because they have been in use for so
long. Even after sharpening for several minutes, the pencil points still
are not as sharp as they should be, and the points break off easily, causing
them to need to be sharpened yet again.
Solution
I propose that
we purchase electric pencil sharpeners for each classroom. These work
quickly and effectively, and take only a few seconds to sharpen a pencil.
Office World
carries several pencil sharpeners designed specifically for schools and the
high volume of use the sharpeners get in classrooms.
I propose we
purchase 12 of the Used-All-Day Pro Student Electric Pencil Sharpeners.
These sharpeners have received strong reviews on the Office World web
site. In addition, Central Elementary School purchased these for all
their classrooms four years ago, and their principal has told me how well they
still work.
Costs
The
Used-All-Day Pro Student Electric Pencil Sharpeners cost $42.29 each.
However, Office World gives a discount if purchasing ten or more, reducing the
cost to $35.29 each. Because we are a member of the Office World Schools
frequent shopper program, we will receive 2% of our purchase back at the end of
the school year. This makes the total cost of the purchase $415.01.
Several
electric sharpeners exist that cost more and less than this one, but because of
the recommendations of others, I believe that purchasing a middle-priced
sharpener will be a wise choice for St. Mary’s School. Because Office World
offers free shipping for purchases over $50, we will not have any shipping
costs.
Installation
Upon purchase
of these electric pencil sharpeners, I will work after school with Janitor
Bradley to help install them in each of the classrooms. At that time we will
also remove the old pencil sharpeners which we will recycle. Mr. Bradley will
provide the tools necessary for installation, including a drill. Because I already
have to wait after school for basketball practice on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays, I will work those days on instrallation. Mr. Bradley has agreed that
this works with his schedule. He intends to train me on installation with the
first three sharpeners, and then to check back with me at 4:00 each day to
ensure that I am doing it correctly.
To ensure the
quality of my installation work, I will leave the following evaluation rubric
with each teacher in whose classrooms I install a new electric pencil
sharpener:
|
Criteria
|
Points
Possible
|
Score
|
|
Johnny let me
know he was coming the day before the installation.
|
2
|
|
|
The holes in
the countertop from the old pencil sharpener were patched professionally.
|
4
|
|
|
Johnny left
the work site clean: he vacuumed up and left no tools behind.
|
2
|
|
|
Johnny left
me a set of instructions for how to operate and maintain the new pencil
sharpener.
|
2
|
|
Teachers will
be instructed to leave the completed evaluation forms in the principal’s box.
Conclusion
In conclusion, purchasing
new electric pencil sharpeners for each classroom would be of tremendous
benefit to St. Mary’s School. It would put an end to the constant
frustration of students never being able to find sharp pencils, and of losing
instructional time because of the length of time it takes to use our current
sharpeners. With these new sharpeners, students will be able to focus on their
main task in school: learning.
Signatures
I submit this
proposal, certifying that I will carry out the installation of new pencil
sharpeners as indicated above.
____________________________________
Johnny Dullsome
I have
consulted with Johnny in writing this proposal and have verified that he has
done due diligence in researching product prices and quality. I also certify
that Johnny has developed a plan for installation that is realistic and
efficient.
_____________________________________
Mr. Bill
Bradley, janitor
I accept this
proposal and agree to allocate the requested funds and initiate the purchase.
_____________________________________
Mr. Mark Ticonderoga,
principal
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