Back-to-school – UNT faculty share tips for shopping, preparing for the school year and work-life balance

Thursday, August 3, 2017 - 23:53

DENTON (UNT), Texas — The start of the school year is weeks away, with many districts starting by the end of the month. Several University of North Texas experts are available for comment on a variety of topics.

 

How to prepare children for a great school year

Wendy Middlemiss, associate professor of educational psychology, can provide tips on how families can help students transition to the next grade and make the most out of time inside and outside of the classroom.

Contact: wendy.middlemiss@unt.edu, 940-369-8870 (office) or 724-977-3067 (cell).

                                          

Back-to-School Shopping and Texas’ Tax-Free Weekend

Paul Goebel, director of UNT's Student Money Management Center, can share ways families and students – both college age and younger – can make the most of Texas’ annual sales tax holiday, which is Aug. 11–13 this year, and ways to spend wisely on school expenses.

His tips include buying school supplies in bulk, timing purchases carefully, recycling some supplies from home and comparing online prices. For college students, he suggests creating a financial plan for short- and long-term needs, borrowing the smallest amount of loans necessary and taking advantage of free resources at school.

Contact: paul.goebel@unt.edu, 940-369-7761 (office) or 940-597-8105 (cell).

 

How the school buying season impacts retailers

Linda Mihalick, senior director of the Global Digital Retailing Research Center at UNT, can share insights on back-to-school shopping as it relates to retail – including how sales, discounts, coupons and other offers found online will drive back-to-school purchases.

Additionally, she is able to discuss how trends like online shopping with in-store pickup and ship-to-store options impact the physical retailers’ sales, which items are most likely to be bought online versus in store and how retailers can manage the store experience to make the most of the school buying season. She also can talk about buying trends for this year, which she writes about in her Digital Scholar Blog.

Contact: linda.mihalick@unt.edu, 940-565-2433 (office) or 469-222-8321 (cell).

 

Tips for companies, families to achieve work-life balance during school year

Julie Hancock, assistant professor of management, can discuss how organizations can achieve a greater balance between the work needs of their employees and their employees’ family/parenting needs, as well as the implications of parental leave programs.

Additionally, she can provide tips to create a favorable work-life balance, and she can discuss ways companies can create work balance among parents and non-parent workers.

Contact: julie.hancock@unt.edu or 940-565-3277 (office).

 

Use of professional development to enhance student learning

Colleen Eddy, associate professor of mathematics education, can provide insight into how teachers can use personal learning opportunities to better instruct students and how the dedication of such teachers contributes to student success.

She can also talk about how math teachers are planning for and assessing student learning by spending their summer and Saturdays during the school year in professional development classes that help them optimize student potential.

Contact: colleen.eddy@unt.edu or 940-565-2841 (office).

 

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