Dwight-Englewood School
Background:
“Challenging minds for a changing world,” is the motto of Dwight-Englewood School, where Upper School students are issued computer tablets in the 6th grade, and use them until graduation. So when Cindy Stadulis, the school’s Director of Finance and Operations, saw a ClassBook.com presentation at an educational symposium, she immediately embraced the idea of an online bookstore.
“We are a technology-savvy school,” she explained. “We don’t like heavy book bags. We are very interested in e-books, because our students already carry their tablet computers with them. When I heard a ClassBook representative explain that a student has a choice of a new book, a used book or an e-book, I was excited about offering those options to our parents.”
Before making the switch to ClassBook.com nearly two years ago, Dwight-Englewood School was spending $300,000 to $400,000 a year on book purchases, which they sold through an on-site bookstore. “Our facility was so small that we could only inventory the books,” said Stadulis. “Students would come up to a window to pick up their order.” Today, the book storage room has been transformed into a walk-in store carrying school supplies and branded D-E apparel and merchandise.
“Our online bookstore with ClassBook.com has been a win for everybody,” Stadulis said. “The school has saved money. The faculty no longer has to spend the first day of school handing out books. The administrators can go online and view the status and price of book orders. Our parents like being able to earn points by using their credit cards; our school bookstore only accepted cash.
“But the primary benefit is technology,” she concluded. “Though we are still ordering some hard copy books, our school is on the cusp of moving into a digital learning environment. And ClassBook is the right partner to lead us in that transition.”