Tulsa Teacher Launches HootofLoot.com

The website offers teachers a convenient way to buy and sell classroom supplies.

Cheryl Shane, creator and owner of hootofloot.com.

Tulsa teacher, Cheryl Shane, is the creator and owner of the website hootofloot.com, a site designed for teachers to buy and sell both used and new discounted classroom supplies and materials.
Shane, a fifth grade teacher, has been teaching nearly 17 years in Oklahoma schools. She has taught grades Pre-K through eighth grade and in a variety of classroom settings.
It was through her personal experience of needing to buy her own classroom materials on a limited teacher’s salary that prompted her to create hootofloot.com. One day, while sorting through her old classroom supplies and compiling a list of the materials she still needed, a thought came to her.  
“I wondered if there was a website available for teachers to sell their usable teaching materials and possibly recoup some of their investment,” say Shane. “Each year I spend so much of my own money on materials, consumables for my students and just about everything that goes into a smooth running classroom.”
She notes that some studies have shown that teachers may personally spend nearly $500 on supplies for their classroom.
“Oklahoma is ranked 47th in state spending per pupil, relying on its dedicated teachers to fill funding gaps by buying their own classroom supplies on some of the lowest salaries in the nation,” says Shane. “With this lack of funding, teachers have to use their own money to meet classroom needs. We love our students and want to make the most of our classroom so we make an investment into our classroom. My goal is that hootofloot.com will serve as a beneficial resource for teachers to recover some of their money spent on supplies as well as find materials they need at a discounted price.”
Easy-to-use and self-driven, hootofloot.com offers educators the opportunity to register and create an account for free. The site has more than 30 product categories to post ads. Users simply choose the category in which to post the ad, add a price, photo, description and submit it for free. The buyer contacts the seller directly via email and works out shipping and payment.
“hootofloot.com continues to steadily gain new visitors to the site and Likes on social media. We’re excited about the future as we continue to grow and offer a service that supports teachers,” said Shane.
Shane lives in Tulsa with her husband of 13 years, Edward, and her two children Adina (10) and Harrison (7). As a family they enjoy traveling near and far, exploring cultures through food, hiking and taking in nature’s beauty; and watching the performing arts.