Organize Your School Lab’s Needs and Set Yourself—and Your Students—Up for Success!

Educators trust Flinn with their science equipment needs. Below are some helpful and practical recommendations you need to consider when you are ordering science & STEM products and solutions. These recommendations are based on our mission to help you deliver the most robust science program possible in the safest possible way.

Teachers First - Safety Always

This is our creed at Flinn Scientific. We exclusively focus on science & STEM education and training. Remember that every time you and your colleagues order, you are making a recurring profitable investment in your own teaching career. A significant portion of your order is re-invested by Flinn into innovative and additional resources to help you be more successful in the classroom!

Flinn's Differentiation

With Flinn, you get value-packed interactions and experience as a science teacher. These differentiations comprise a different experience for our loyal customers. On this note, we say thank you for your continuing confidence in us and our business. We appreciate and are grateful for our loyal customers and understand that YOU are what makes us better!

Flinn's Science Essentials Purchase Guide

At Flinn, we have created recommended materials lists by grade level and subject area that are typically ordered by science teachers annually in an easy-to-use format. This can be used to prepare budgets. Flinns’ exclusive products, recommended quantities are designated in the guide, in both printable pdf and interactive linked Excel formats.  Some schools use these lists as an inventory sheet to help them find any gaps that may exist in their departments. 

Budget-stretching Tips

One of the things hindering the provision of quality materials is the budget. That's why you need to plan your wish list effectively. Share resources with other teachers. Prioritize the needs vs. wants. Forge alliances with funders in your school, district, and community. Always try to justify whatever you are purchasing and expect the best of & for your students.  Flinn has a long positive history of helping stretch budgets and always delivering the highest quality items.

Be Prepared & the Importance of Wish Lists

We just talked about budgeting in the last point. Here is another reason you should take budgeting seriously. Since money doesn't flow into education evenly, being prepared is critically important. Having a prioritized list helps you to get things that you need when the fund comes.  Many science departments have benefited from having a wish list ready to submit when ‘additional’ funding is suddenly found.

Understand Your Funding & Budgeting Process

Most school science department funding comes from departmental funds, consumables, and capital purchase funds for capital equipment. Beyond these traditional formats, additional funding is often available for adoption funds, lab fees, categorical funding (Title I, Gifted & Talented, and High Cost), Repair &Replacement (R&R) funds, and Maintenance & Operation (M&O) funds. There is currently CARES Act and ESSER funds available to help offset costs in education. To reduce expenses, funding in other departments can often be shared with the science department. Don't be bashful to appeal for those funds on behalf of your students. Your Flinn representative is your advocate and will be happy to assist with fundraising awareness and will make appeals on your behalf.

Group Your Annual Order

Every science teacher wants the best tools to get their desired curricular results for their students. Consolidate your orders to Flinn with your colleagues in your discipline, grade, or course; and you will take advantage of preferential quantity pricing and reduced shipping costs. Flinn’s Science Essentials Purchase Guides are a good way to coordinate and communicate your science purchase needs throughout your school. 

Price is Nice, Insist on Quality that Lasts

Every science teacher wants to get high-quality products and spend less. The life-cycle of products in schools requires that products must be durable, safe, quality, reliable, easy-to-use, instructed, and complete to meet instructional and learning outcomes. Flinn’s products are rigorously tested for quality and compliance.  We are very selective about which items are represented by Flinn. That deliberateness saves us service calls and has earned Flinn a reputation of quality & trust for over 40 years! 

Science Solutions Matter

Products, Services, Resources, and Training independently are essential; but the magic happens when these are combined to drive favorable outcomes. That's why you need to see Flinn's solutions where these four tools are combined. Flinn prepares custom district proposals as a courtesy for you to professionally represent and share the needs of your science program with your school administration. Science Solutions Matter and so do YOU. Thank you for ALL you do and contribute as a science & STEM professional.

Please contact Flinn Scientific Customer Care at [email protected] if you have any questions.