As students in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community return to school, they will have one less thing to worry about, as the Salt River Schools (SRS) School & Community Relations (SCR) Department is providing them with the resources they need to start on a good note. 

“Due to federal funding, we were able to provide school supplies to students that attend public and charter schools during our Back to School Bash event on July 19,” said Miranda Johnson-Moya, SRS S&CR education program manager. She said SRS held a distribution at which 259 students received a school-supply bag.

“We do [school supply distribution] at the beginning of every school year,” said Johnson-Moya. “The goal is to help students who attend public and charter schools obtain school supplies to really take away the financial hardship of the parents.” 

This initial distribution in July was aided by federal funding that went toward purchasing the supplies. After that was completed, the Community approved funding for additional supplies, allowing SCR to continue to distribute school supplies to SRPMIC students throughout the school year. For students in need of school supplies the daily distribution hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Regardless of whether an SRPMIC student attends a public, charter, private, parochial or Bureau of Indian Education school, they all qualify to receive school supplies, Johnson-Moya said. 

The specific school supplies students receive are tailored to their grade level; for instance, a student in grades K-6 will receive a large bag loaded with notebooks, wide-rule paper, tissues, and an assortment of pens, crayons, glue sticks, scissors and pencil sharpeners. Stepping up in grades 7-12, students will be issued a supply of binders, composition books, loose-leaf paper, graphing paper, markers, pens and pencils, and other essential items to help prepare junior high and high school students for class. 

The door is open for students and families to obtain school supplies at the S&CR office, located on the second floor of the Community Building. Parents must show SRPMIC tribal identification. An appointment is not necessary, but it is helpful to call ahead of time so they can gather the appropriate supplies for distribution.

Parents who have questions or wish to arrange for school supplies for their students can call (480) 362-2534.