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                                                                    Exhibit 10.1

                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

     THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT, dated as of this 5th day of November, 2002, and
having an "Effective Date" of September 1, 2002, is by and between SCHOOL
SPECIALTY, INC., a Wisconsin corporation (the "Company") and DAVID J. VANDER
ZANDEN ("Employee").

                                    RECITALS

     The Company desires to continue to employ Employee and to have the benefit
of his skills and services, and Employee desires to accept employment with the
Company on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

     This Employment Agreement supercedes and cancels any other prior employment
agreements or understandings, written or oral, between the Company and the
Employee.

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises, terms, covenants
and conditions set forth herein, and the performance of each, the parties
hereto, intending legally to be bound, hereby agree as follows:

                                   AGREEMENTS

     1.   Employment and Duties. The Company hereby agrees to employ the
          Employee and the Employee hereby accepts employment as the Chief
          Executive Officer and President of the Company and agrees to devote
          his full business time and efforts to the diligent and faithful
          performance of his duties as Chief Executive Officer and President of
          the Company hereunder under the direction of the Board of Directors of
          the Company. Such duties shall be performed from headquarters in the
          Greenville, Wisconsin, area. Throughout the term of this Agreement,
          the Employee shall be recommended by the Board of Directors of the
          Company, to its shareholders as a suitable candidate for a position on
          the Board of Directors of the Company.

     2.   Term of Employment. Unless sooner terminated as hereinafter provided,
          the term of the Employee's employment hereunder shall commence with
          and only with the Effective Date and shall continue for a period of
          three (3) years (the "Term"). This Agreement may be terminated prior
          to the end of the Term in the manner provided herein. In the event
          that this agreement is not terminated pursuant to the terms of this
          Agreement, following the first year of the Term of three (3) years or
          the first year of any renewal terms thereof, said agreement shall
          extend for successive renewal terms of three (3) years each measured
          from the date of renewal, unless either party shall notify the other
          party of their desire to not renew the term of this agreement, with
          said notice to be made no later than ninety (90) days prior to the
          expiration of the first year of the Term of this agreement or any then
          effective first

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          year of any renewal term thereof.

     3.   Compensation. For all services rendered by Employee, the Company shall
          compensate Employee as follows:

          (a)  Base Salary. Effective on the date hereof, the annual base salary
               payable to Employee shall be Four Hundred Twenty Five Thousand
               Dollars ($425,000.00) per year or such greater amount as
               determined from time to time by the Board of Directors of the
               Company (but not reviewed less frequently than on an annual
               basis), payable on a regular basis in accordance with the
               Company's standard payroll procedures, but not less than monthly.
               It is understood that the base salary is a minimum amount, and
               shall not be reduced during the term of this Agreement.

          (b)  Incentive Bonus. During the initial term and any extensions
               thereof, Employee shall be eligible to receive an incentive bonus
               based upon his participation in the Company's current senior
               management bonus program or successor senior management bonus
               programs, when effective. The first and last years of employment
               will be prorated.

          (c)  Perquisites, Benefits, and Other Compensation. During the initial
               term and any extensions thereof, Employee shall be entitled to
               receive all perquisites and benefits as are customarily provided
               by the Company to its executive employees, subject to such
               changes, additions, or deletions as the Company may make
               generally from time to time, as well as such other perquisites or
               benefits as may be specified from time to time by the Board of
               Directors or the Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
               Throughout the term of this Agreement, and during any period of
               salary continuation hereunder, the Employee and his family shall
               continue to be covered under all health insurance coverage of the
               Company afforded its senior management, at the then effective
               cost sharing arrangement between the Employee and the Company.
               Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any
               documents relating to qualified or non-qualified stock options,
               all such outstanding stock options which were outstanding on the
               Effective Date and are unvested at the time of termination of
               employment of the Employee with the Company shall be vested in
               full upon such termination, unless such termination is
               effectuated by the Company for cause or is effected by the
               Employee without cause.

     4.   Covenants and Conditions.

          (a)  The Employee will acquire information and knowledge respecting
               the intimate and confidential affairs of the Company in the
               various phases of its business. Accordingly, the Employee agrees
               that he shall not for a period of two (2) years following the
               termination of his employment with the Company, use for himself
               or disclose to any person not employed by the Company any such
               knowledge or information heretofore acquired or

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               acquired during the term of this employment hereunder including
               but not limited to the prescribed requirements of ss.134.90 of
               the Wisconsin Statutes, as hereinafter amended from time to time.
               Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to limit or
               supersede the common law of torts or statutory or other
               protection of trade secrets where such law provides the Company
               with greater protections or protections for a longer duration
               than that provided in this section 4 of this Agreement.

          (b)  The Employee agrees that all memoranda, notes, records, papers,
               or other documents and all copies thereof relating to the
               Company's operations or business, some of which may be prepared
               by him, and all objects associated therewith (such as models and
               samples) in any way obtained by him shall be the Company's
               property. This shall include, but is not limited to, documents
               and objects concerning any process, apparatus, or product
               manufactured, used, developed, investigated, or considered by the
               Company. The Employee shall not, except for Company use, copy or
               duplicate any of the aforementioned documents or objects, nor
               remove them from the Company's facilities, nor use any
               information concerning them except for the Company's benefit,
               either during his employment or thereafter. The Employee agrees
               that he will deliver all of the aforementioned documents and
               objects that may be in his possession to the Company on
               termination of his employment, or at any other time on the
               Company's request, together with his written certification of
               compliance, except for those documents and objects received as a
               director of the Company.

     5.   Death or Disability of the Employee. The Employee's employment shall
          terminate immediately upon his death. In the event the Employee
          becomes physically or mentally disabled so as to qualify for
          disability payments under the then current disability coverage for
          full time employees of the Company, the Company may at its option
          terminate his employment upon not less than thirty (30) days written
          notice. The Company's right to terminate the Employee's employment
          pursuant to the preceding sentence shall cease in the event the notice
          of termination provided for therein shall not be given during the
          period of the Employee's disability or within ninety (90) days after
          such disability ceases. In the event of termination, the Company shall
          be obligated to pay the Employee's salary under paragraph 3 hereof,
          net of the gross amount of Long Term disability benefits received by
          the Employee, through the balance of the term of this Agreement and
          any then currently effective extension thereof.

     6.   Termination and Severance Compensation. The Company reserves the right
          to immediately terminate the Employee's employment under this
          agreement should any of the following occur:

          (a)  The Employee's commission of a felony that is an act which, in
               the opinion of the Board of Directors, is either abhorrent to the
               community or is an intentional act, which the Board of Directors
               considers materially damaging

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               to the reputation of the Company or its successors or assigns.

          (b)  The Employee's breach of or failure to perform his obligations in
               accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement.
               However the right of the Company to terminate the employment of
               the Employee under the terms of this paragraph 6(b) shall be
               conditioned upon the Company promptly providing to the Employee a
               written notice which describes the Employee's breach of or
               failure to perform his obligations in accordance with the terms
               and conditions of this agreement. The Employee shall have thirty
               (30) days from the date of the Company's issuance of this notice
               to cure the described breach or failure. Notwithstanding the
               above described language, should the Company issue more than one
               (1) notice in any twelve (12) month period under the terms of
               this paragraph 6(b), the Employee shall have no cure rights for
               such breach or failure to perform.

          (c)  The death of the Employee.

          (d)  The disability of the Employee, as described in Section 5 above.

          Should the term of the Employee's employment with the Company be
          terminated pursuant to the terms of Sections 6(c), 6(d), and 7 herein,
          the Company shall pay to the Employee the Base Salary described in
          Section 3(a) for the balance of the then effective term of this
          Agreement.

     7.   Rights and Obligations of Successors. In the event that any of the
          following events occur, a "Change in Control" shall be deemed to occur
          for the purpose of this Agreement: (a) any person or group of persons
          acting in concert becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly
          (excluding ownership by or through employee benefit plans), of
          securities of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of
          the combined voting power of the Company's then outstanding
          securities; (b) the Company is combined (by merger, share exchange,
          consolidation, or otherwise) with another corporation and as a result
          of such combination less than seventy five percent (75%) of the
          outstanding securities of the surviving or resulting corporation are
          owned in the aggregate by the former shareholders of the Company; or
          (c) any person or group of persons acting in concert obtains direct or
          indirect control of the Board of Directors of the Company, other than
          the current shareholders of the Company. The Employee shall have the
          right to terminate his employment under the terms of this Agreement
          for a period of sixty (60) days following the Change in Control. In
          the event that the Employee shall not so elect to terminate this
          Agreement, then this agreement shall be assignable and transferable by
          the Company to any subsidiary or affiliate or to any subsidiary or
          affiliate of the Company affiliated with the Change in Control and
          shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Employee and his
          heirs and personal representatives and the Company and its successors
          and assigns. In the event the Employee elects to terminate employment,
          the Employee shall be paid through the term of this Agreement and any
          then currently effective extension

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          thereof.

     8.   [This Section is intentionally blank.]

     9.   Covenant Not to Compete. In consideration of the employment hereunder,
          the Employee hereby agrees that during the term of his employment by
          the Company and for the longer of (a) a period of twenty four (24)
          months following the termination of his employment with the Company,
          or (b) the length of time which the Employee receives base salary
          payments under this Agreement under the provisions of Section 6 of
          this Agreement, the Employee will not either directly or indirectly
          own, have proprietary interest (except for less than 5% of any listed
          company or company traded in the over-the-counter market) of any kind
          in, be employed by, or serve as a consultant to or in any other
          capacity for any firm, other than the Company and its subsidiaries,
          engaged in the manufacture and distribution of school supplies,
          equipment, furniture or other products made and distributed by the
          Company or any of the Company's present or future subsidiary
          corporations (acquired during the term of this Agreement) during the
          period of the Employee's employment in the area where they are engaged
          in business without the express written consent of the Company. The
          Employee agrees that a breach of the covenant contained herein will
          result in irreparable and continuing damage to the Company for which
          there will be no adequate remedy at law and in the event of any breach
          of such agreement, the Company shall be entitled to injunctive and
          such other and further relief including damages as may be proper.

     10.  Notice. All notices, demands and other communications hereunder shall
          be deemed to have been duly given, if delivered by hand or mailed,
          certified or registered mail with postage prepaid:

          To the Company:   School Specialty, Inc.
                            P.O. Box 1579
                            Appleton, WI 54912-1579
                            Attention: Mary Kabacinski, Chief Financial Officer
                            Fax: (920) 882-5863

          With a copy to:   Joseph F. Franzoi IV, Esq.
                            Franzoi & Franzoi, S.C.
                            514 Racine Street
                            Menasha, WI 54952
                            Fax: (920) 725-0998

          To Employee:      David J. Vander Zanden
                            W2810 Oakridge Drive
                            Appleton WI 54915

          or to such other address as the person to whom notice is to be given
          may have specified in a notice duly given to the sender as provided
          herein. Such notice, request, claim, demand, waiver, consent, approval
          or other communication shall

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          be deemed to have been given as of the date so delivered, telefaxed,
          mailed or dispatched and, if given by any other means, shall be deemed
          given only when actually received by the addressees.

     10.  Entire Agreement; Amendment; Waiver. This Agreement (including any
          documents referred to herein) sets forth the entire understanding of
          the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter contemplated
          hereby. Any and all previous agreements and understandings between or
          among the parties regarding the subject matter hereof, whether written
          or oral, are superseded by this Agreement. This Agreement shall not be
          amended or modified except by a written instrument duly executed by
          each of the parties hereto. Any extension or waiver by any party of
          any provision hereto shall be valid only if set forth in an instrument
          in writing signed on behalf of such party.

     11.  Expenses. Each party hereto will pay their respective fees, expenses
          and disbursements of their agents, representatives, accountants and
          counsel incurred in connection with the subject matter of this
          Agreement, and its enforcement.

     12.  Governing Law. This Agreement shall in all respects be construed
          according to the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to its
          conflict of laws principles.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed as of the date first written above.

                                        COMPANY:

                                        SCHOOL SPECIALTY, INC.

                                        /s/ Leo C. McKenna
                                        ---------------------------------------
                                        Leo C. McKenna, Chairman of the Board


                                        EMPLOYEE:

                                        /s/ David J. Vander Zanden
                                        ---------------------------------------
                                        David J. Vander Zanden, Individually

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