Box tops net science equipment for Benton Middle School

Scissors, time and a steady hand are requirements to trim the thousands of Box Tops for Education down to size.

For Benton Middle School science educator Debbie Clark, time spent equals equipment for the science lab.

"Teachers collect the box tops by grade level all year long," Clark said. "Two times a year, we can send them in for cash. At the end of October, we sent in a bunch and received a check in December. This year, we have to have these in by March 1 and they should send us a check by May.

"We can send in box tops all year long but only receive checks twice a year. They keep a running total of how many we have sent in. We had a lot of box tops that were going to expire and mailed them in May to be credited with the ones sent in October."

Students work to collect the box tops because they know that they will reap the rewards.

"I gave the winners Halloween treat bags in October from the number of box tops they had brought in," Clark said. "The fifth- and sixth-graders seem to bring in the most box tops. There is a whole list of products that have Box Tops for Education on the packaging. The list is available at www.boxtops4education.com. Cereals, Ziploc bags, even boxes of Kleenex have Box Tops for Education on them.

"Every year, students are asked to bring boxes of Kleenex to school. We ask the teachers to make sure they cut the Box Top for Education that is on the bottom of the box before they throw out the empty box."

Clark said students have participated in the program for the past eight years.

"We just purchased a USB digital microscope camera called a DinoLite with the money from the box tops," she said. "The camera hooks up to the laptop computer, which enlarges the image projected onto the screen from the eye of the microscope. We have also purchased science awards for honors night and pins and science fair materials for other events. Students are encouraged to bring in the box tops."

She said the school sets an annual goal.

"Our goal is $500 every year and we have averaged about $350 in the past few years," Clark said. "We received $356 during the 2008-2009 school year. According to the Web site, Benton Middle School is ranked 2121 out of 5763 schools participating in the program."

Clark said collecting box tops is an alternative to having students sell things to their family members.

"I hate having students sell stuff," she said. "By collecting the box tops, it comes down to a matter of people buying the products that have the box tops on them. If people take action to clip the box tops, it is a good way to support the school. Kroger also runs specials and prints certificates for bonus bucks.

"There is money to be made if students will encourage their parents and family members to clip the box tops," Clark said. "According to the school rankings, St. Mary's Catholic School in Sherman, Texas, earned $12,387 last year. Within 25 miles of Benton, the elementary school in Waterloo earned $9,179, and Denning Elementary School in West Frankfort earned $3,099. There is money to be made."

She said fifth-grader Harley West is the number one prize-winner thus far.

"He brought in 359 Box Tops for Education," Clark said.

Stephanie Bonthron was the sixth-grade winner with 254 box tops, Mariah Galloway was the seventh-grade winner with 103 and Sara Dixon was the eighth-grade winner with 207 box tops.

Clark said students are trained at an early age to clip box tops and soup labels.

"Students in kindergarten through fourth grade bring in Campbell's soup labels," she said. "When we get Campbell's soup labels at the higher grade levels we exchange them with teachers in the lower grades for the box tops. That way everyone wins."

She also gets help trimming the box tops to be mailed.

"Seventh-grade science teacher Eileen Satterfield and Amy Johnson, our computer aide for grades five through eight, help me cut out the box tops, count them into stacks and bag them for mail," Clark. "That in itself is a big job. When the box tops are mailed they have to be cut and counted into groups of 50, which is $5. We have $200 worth of box tops in a gallon size plastic bag, which equals 2,000 box tops. We have to send them in $5 increments, and we get 10 cents apiece for them."