Lakeshore Learning: 7 Things I Learned Ordering Classroom Supplies on a Deadline

I coordinate supply orders for a K-8 school district. When a teacher comes to me on a Tuesday afternoon needing 12 rolls of bulletin board paper by Friday, I'm the one who has to make it happen. I've placed hundreds of orders through Lakeshore Learning over the last five years, and I've learned a few things the catalog doesn't tell you.

Here are the questions I get asked most often—and the answers I've found the hard way.

What exactly is Lakeshore Learning, anyway?

Lakeshore Learning is a school supply company based in Carson, California. They sell classroom furniture, teaching materials, arts and crafts supplies, classroom décor, and basic office supplies like copy paper and whiteboards. They also have a well-known teacher discount program, which is often the entry point for most educators.

The thing that sets them apart from, say, a general office supply store is that everything is designed with classroom use in mind. That sounds like marketing fluff, but there's a real difference. Their bulletin board paper is thicker than the rolls you'd grab at a big-box store. Their whiteboards are framed with rounded corners instead of sharp aluminum edges. These details matter when you're setting up a room for 25 six-year-olds.

Is Lakeshore Learning bulletin board paper actually better?

I used to buy the cheap rolls from discount stores to save money. Every single time, I regretted it. Here's what I found when I compared the two side by side:

• The cheap paper is noticeably thinner. It tears when you staple it, and it fades within a month under fluorescent lights.
• Lakeshore's paper is 36 inches wide, which covers standard bulletin boards in one piece. The cheaper rolls I've used are 24 inches, so I'd have to piece two together and you could always see the seam.
• The color selection is deeper. They have 30+ colors that are consistent between production runs. That matters more than you'd think when you're matching a classroom theme from last year. I learned this the hard way when a "royal blue" from another vendor came out noticeably different in a reorder.

I'm not saying you should never buy budget paper. If you only need one roll for a temporary display that will come down in a few weeks, go cheap. But for permanent classroom displays that need to last the school year, the upgrade is worth it. Lakeshore runs sales on their paper several times a year—stock up then.

What should I look for when buying whiteboards from Lakeshore?

First, check whether you need magnetic or non-magnetic. This sounds obvious, but I've had teachers order the wrong one more than once, thinking all whiteboards are magnetic. They're not.

For Lakeshore's whiteboards specifically, look for:

• Melamine vs. porcelain surfaces. Melamine is cheaper and works fine for most classrooms, but it stains over time. Porcelain resists ghosting and lasts much longer. If the board is going into a high-traffic shared space, get porcelain.
• Aluminum frames vs. plastic. The framed boards hold up much better. We bought frameless boards once to save money and two showed up with corners that were already starting to bend.
• Wall-mounting hardware. Lakeshore sells boards with various mounting options. Make sure you know what you're getting. There's nothing worse than a brand-new whiteboard sitting on the floor because the mounting kit doesn't match your wall type.

One more thing on whiteboards—they're way more expensive to ship than you'd expect. The large ones ship freight, which adds $50-150 depending on your location. Sometimes the "free shipping over $99" threshold doesn't apply to oversized items. That's not a Lakeshore-specific issue; it's true across most suppliers in this category.

Where do you buy copy paper for your school?

Honestly? Not from Lakeshore. Their copy paper is fine, but you'll typically get better pricing on paper from dedicated office supply distributors because that's their core business. Lakeshore's paper is overpriced unless you catch a deep sale or you're consolidating an order to hit a free-shipping threshold.

We buy standard 20lb copy paper in pallet quantities directly from a regional distributor, and we pay about 30% less than retail store prices. Our teachers know that Lakeshore is my go-to for teaching materials, but copy paper is a commodity. Buy it where the price per ream makes sense.

That said, if you only need a few reams to get through the end of the year and you're already placing a Lakeshore order, it's convenient to add. Just don't make it your primary source for copy paper throughout the year.

What is the Lakeshore grade average calculator?

If you've searched for this, you're probably a college student or a teacher trying to figure out a final grade. Lakeshore Learning sells physical grade-keeping books and math resources for classroom use, but they don't have a dedicated digital grade calculator on their website.

I'm not a software expert, so I can't speak to the technical side of grading platforms. What I can tell you from an operational perspective is that most districts use a student information system like PowerSchool, Canvas, or Skyward that calculates grades automatically. If you're trying to figure out a grade manually, use the standard weighted average formula (multiply each grade by its weight, add them up, divide by total weight). A simple spreadsheet works perfectly.

If a search brought you here because a teacher mentioned a "Lakeshore grade calculator," they're probably referring to Lakeshore's printable grade records or their lakeshorelearning.com teacher resources section, which has downloadable templates.

Where can I donate school supplies?

This is a question I get all the time at the start of summer. Teachers move, retire, or just purge their supply closets, and nobody wants to throw away usable materials. Here's where to donate:

• Other teachers in your district. Sounds obvious, but the fastest way to find a home for gently used supplies is a district-wide email. In my experience, new teachers are always looking for basics like bulletin board borders, math manipulatives, and trays.
• DonorsChoose classrooms—you can find classrooms in your area requesting specific materials and ship directly to them.
• Local nonprofit preschools or after-school programs. These programs often have bare-bones budgets and will gladly take construction paper, glue sticks, crayons, and manipulatives that still have life in them.
• Teacher resource centers. Some cities have places like the Teacher Resource Center of Santa Cruz County or the Second Mile Teacher Center that redistribute donated supplies to teachers in need.
• Kidz2Kidz (kidz2kidz.org), which collects school supplies and distributes them to underserved students, if there's a drop-off point in your area.

One caution: don't donate anything that's broken, expired, or incomplete. If a marker's dry or a puzzle is missing pieces, it becomes someone else's trash problem. They might not have told you this, but schools have limited dumpster space and would appreciate you disposing of truly unusable items yourself.

Does the Lakeshore teacher discount apply to everything?

I have mixed feelings about their discount program. On one hand, the 15% off is genuinely helpful for teachers buying classroom materials out of pocket, which happens more than it should. On the other hand, I've learned to look at the fine print—the discount doesn't always apply to sale items, technology, furniture, or already-discounted bundles.

Here's what I tell new staff: the Lakeshore teacher discount is a real benefit, but it's not a blanket 15% off your entire cart every time. Stacking it with their coupon promotions is when you actually save. Their coupons (like $20 off $100) frequently work on regular-priced items on top of the teacher discount. When I compared our Q1 order with and without stacking, we saved an extra 12% just by waiting a week for a coupon cycle.

One thing that frustrates me: the listed price sometimes looks lower than what you pay at checkout because of shipping. Lakeshore's shipping thresholds have changed more than once in the past year or two. I've learned to ask "what's NOT included" before I assume the total is correct. The vendor who lists all fees upfront—even if the total looks higher—usually costs less in the end.

Is Lakeshore worth it for a school district, or is it just for individual teachers?

Both, but in different ways. If you're an individual teacher, Lakeshore's teacher discount and curated classroom kits save you time. Their pre-assembled classroom starter packs aren't the cheapest option, but they are comprehensive and consistent. That has real value when you're setting up a room for the first time.

If you're purchasing for an entire school or district, set up a wholesale account. Lakeshore has a dedicated team for institutional sales. We negotiated volume pricing on the items we order every year: chart paper, markers, storage bins, and early-childhood manipulatives. The discount was deeper than what the published catalog prices suggested. But like any negotiation, we had to ask, show them our annual volume, and be willing to walk away if the numbers didn't work. Their standard online pricing is rarely their best pricing.

One thing to be aware of: Lakeshore's stock on seasonal items runs out quickly. If you're ordering holiday-themed craft supplies for the whole grade level, don't wait until two weeks before the holiday. In November 2024, I placed an order for Thanksgiving craft kits 10 days ahead of schedule and two of the six items were already on backorder. Our teachers adapted, but it created unnecessary stress. I now order seasonal supplies at the beginning of the semester, not the month of the event.

Take this with a grain of salt: I can only speak to my experience in one California district over the last five years. If you're purchasing for a large district with centralized procurement, your process and pricing will probably look different. But if you're a teacher or a small-school administrator trying to stretch a budget while actually getting the right materials before the deadline, these are the lessons that took me way too long to learn.