The Classroom Resource for Education Store offers backpacks and other classroom materials at no cost to teachers.[/caption]

A recent survey of PISD teachers showed that almost 50 percent of teachers spend more than $250 a year out of their own pockets, and 15 percent spend more than $500 a year on supplies for their students and classrooms.

That is why the Plano ISD Education Foundation opened Plano’s first Classroom Resource for Education, or CORE, Store, located at 3900 W. 15th St., Ste. 102.

The CORE Store provides school supplies to teachers at no cost, said Jean Callison, chairwoman of the CORE Store Committee and former president of the Plano ISD Education Foundation’s board.

The foundation is a nonprofit organization that generates support for priority projects identified by PISD.

“There’s no money changing hand[s],” Callison said. “The teachers don’t pay for the supplies.”

The store opened in August and allows teachers at Title I schools to shop by appointment. Callison said the store would eventually serve all students in Plano.

For more information, contact the CORE Store at 469-752-8272.