Page 20 - The Edge - Back to School 2017

SUMMER CONFERENCE & EXPO

BY DON HARRIS
Going Online for Textbooks Saved

Deer Valley Uni ed Millions of Dollars,

Helped Students, Increased Productivity
Martin James Bill Munch

Deer Valley Uni ed School District has saved millions of dollars With Arizona ranked 48th in school funding among the 50
by utilizing On Demand Curriculum Printing instead of purchasing states, James said, “We have to come up with ways to save money,
costly textbooks. and to nd alternate sources to make our dollars go further.”
at was the good news message from Martin James, Manager So ve years ago Deer Valley began using On Demand Textbook
of the district’s Graphic Communications Department. James and Printing. “On Demand Textbook Printing utilizes an online digital
Bill Munch of Valley Schools Management Group told AASBO storefront,” James said. “We print royalty-free curriculum, which
members the latest on textbook purchasing during a breakout allows us to forgo the purchase of high-priced traditional textbooks.
session on July 20. e digital store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to allow
you to order when it’s convenient for you. On Demand o ers more
than 20,000 curriculum-based products. We have saved the district
millions of dollars and increased productivity for teachers and
students.”
Another advantage is that teachers can order only those
chapters of a book that they plan to teach.
“ ey don’t teach the entire book – they can’t get
through it all,” James said. “So that saves more money
and paper.”
From the time an order is placed, the turnaround
time is ve days, and Deer Valley provides the On
Demand Curriculum service to about 20 other school
districts as well, James said. Any district can download
the information, but James is facilitating the process.
e subjects o ered online include reading, math and
science.
James explained a bene t for students. “It gives them
ownership,” he said. “ is is their textbook. ey can
write in it. ere are worksheets in it. ey can keep
it through the summer. With a regular textbook, they
have to turn it in at the end of the semester. Students
can keep the material for as long as they want
to utilize this resource. It’s ready to
go for the classroom, for the
teachers and for the
students.”
W h e n
s c h o o l s
purchase
traditional
textbooks, they
generally use them for
ve to ten years. “With On Demand
printing, we update them every summer,” James
said. “If some new information comes up, our students
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