Why SC, NC teachers are leaving Wilkinson Boulevard with carts full of supplies
Just last summer, Rhonda Neely from Gaston County Schools was paying almost $500 out of her own pocket to purchase school supplies for her students.
This year, she walked out of Classroom Central with a full cart of free school supplies, feeling a burden lift off her chest, said Neely.
Founded in 2002, Classroom Central, located at 2116 Wilkinson Blvd., began serving Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students. In the past 23 years, its impact has grown significantly. Today, the nonprofit serves six school districts: Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Gaston County, Iredell-Statesville, Union County, Kannapolis city and Lancaster County in South Carolina.
The organization was created to ensure that both teachers and students had the resources they needed to thrive. Teachers can shop once a month at Classroom Central, filling a cart with everything from loose-leaf paper and pens to “reading buddy” stuffed animals entirely free of charge, said Jennifer Hanly, marketing and communications director.
All supplies in the store come from a combination of three sources: donations from supply drives, corporations and individuals. The free supplies are particularly important in a time when teachers are having to pay increasingly large amounts for supplies.
A survey taken by the North Carolina Association of Teachers in 2024 shared that North Carolina educators spend on average $1,300 out of their pocket towards school year supplies. According to the study, that is over $400 more than the national average. The survey added that the average household spends $875 on back-to-school shopping per year, as the supply list sent home before school gets longer and heftier.
With that, there is a large portion of students whose families can’t afford the growing list that schools provide, so more often than not it’s the educators who are filling the gap.
Thursday afternoon was Classroom Central’s launch of “teacher shopping.” Now for the rest of the school year, from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, teachers from eligible schools — those with 50% or more of the student body receiving free lunches — can come once a month to restock supplies.
With one in two students within the CMS district living under the poverty line, Classroom Central can be the stepping stone to help students succeed in and out of the classroom, Hanly said. Last year, Classroom Central served approximately 248 schools. This year, that number has grown to 300 schools across its six districts. Though only two months into her role, Hanly has already seen the profound impact Classroom Central has on the community.
“Every cart that gets filled, all of that product is going to be in a classroom within days and into the hands of kids in the classroom. If kids don’t have these materials in their hands, and they are asked to do something, kids then don’t engage, and they fall behind, and that is not a great situation for anyone,” Hanly said.
Teacher impact
On the first day of teacher shopping, Classroom Central was packed. Teachers — some first-timers, others seasoned visitors — filled the space with smiles and sighs of relief as they piled their carts high with supplies — books, pencils, crayons and more.
Jayla Couet, a teacher from Kannapolis City Schools, said Classroom Central is a reliable resource and a place where teachers from different districts can connect. Seeing co-workers, talking about different back-to-school plans and also getting to know other teachers serves as an added benefit of shopping here.
At Sherwood Elementary in Gaston County, kindergarten teacher Lisa Reinhart put copy paper first on her list because of funding cuts. A lot of the projects and assignments that she has planned involve copy paper, which can be expensive.
“Knowing I can come here and not have to dip into my own funds is huge. Times are hard and tight and we give a lot and we’re expected to give even more,” Reinhart said. “Things that I use to have to worry about and add to my budget I no longer have to because Classroom Central will have it for me. It just unloads a lot of the pressure.”
Brad Beaver, a social studies teacher at Belmont Middle School, has been teaching for 15 years. Beaver works at the same school as his wife, who teaches art.
Beaver said his wife is only able to stock her art room with a couple hundred dollars worth of supplies the school provides. So, coming to Classroom Central is a huge help. She gets supplies and ideas for different projects and lessons for her students.
“This is really awesome. I’ve usually been one to kind of just, go out on my own or do with whatever the school’s providing. So this is definitely way bigger than I expected it to be,” Beaver said.
This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
