Scholastic Education Announces New Leadership Team to Expand Professional Learning Offerings

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced key appointments to leadership positions as part of the Company's expansion of professional learning offerings including professional books, curricular resources, literacy collections and consulting services developed to help transform instruction in schools and districts. The new Scholastic Professional leadership team of top education experts includes Dr. Lois Bridges, Becky Bone, James Cannon and Michael Haggen with Dr. Ernest Fleishman acting as a lead advisor.

Dr. Ernest "Ernie" Fleishman, Professional Learning Advisor

• Dr. Ernie Fleishman served as Senior Vice President at Scholastic from 1989 to 2009, overseeing strategic initiatives involving schools and districts, major educational organizations, and government and community agencies. He was also responsible for business and education partnerships with states, school districts, corporations, and groups such as Council of Great City Schools and Council of Chief State School Officers. For Scholastic Professional, he will serve as lead advisor, providing strategic guidance to the leadership team as they expand offerings and build capacity. Ernie's background includes more than 30 years in education.  He began as an English teacher in Massachusetts, became the Assistant Superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools while also serving as the Director of Project Upward Bound and faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, and served as Superintendent of schools for 20 years in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Dr. Lois Bridges, Vice President & Publisher of Scholastic Professional

• Dr. Lois Bridges began her career in education nearly 40 years ago as a first grade teacher. With a focus on language and literacy, she later became an in-school literacy consultant and teacher educator. Lois entered educational publishing with the release of her first professional book in 1989 and has since authored and edited numerous professional books and articles while holding editorial positions at Heinemann, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, American School Publishers and the Galef Institute. Throughout her career, she has established relationships across the academic author community, having worked with fellow literacy experts Nancie Atwell, Pam Allyn, Irene Fountas, Linda Hoyt, Phyllis C. Hunter, Lester Laminack, Gay Su Pinnell, Michael Smith, Alfred Tatum and Jeffrey Wilhelm. Lois has been with Scholastic since 2006 and in her new role will lead the editorial and publishing team responsible for Scholastic professional books and resources.

Becky Bone, Vice President of Professional Learning Services

• Becky Bone has more than 23 years of experience in education, combining her years in the classroom with roles at Scholastic as a National Literacy Consultant, Director of Professional Development and most recently, Director of Literacy. She has consulted with school districts nationwide on K–12 literacy and professional learning initiatives, and has presented at the national conferences of the International Literacy Association, National Council of Teachers of English, ASCD and many others. Becky is a former teacher and curriculum coordinator and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on curriculum and instruction, writing, and children's and young adult literature. In her new role, Becky will continue to work directly with schools while leading the Scholastic Professional field services team to ensure high-quality implementation.

James "Jimi" Cannon, Director of Professional Learning Programs

• Jimi Cannon began his teaching career in 1982 and has since trained in and taught all aspects of literacy instruction at all grade levels. His success in raising achievement for his students then led him to a position as an instructional literacy coach. Jimi's expertise in supporting underserved student populations stems from his time in the classroom and from research he undertook while earning his Masters in Reading focused on second language learners. For nearly 10 years, Jimi has been supporting struggling schools across the country as a literacy consultant. He joined Scholastic in 2012 to expand this work, and in his new role will be focused on the creation of new professional learning courses and programming to support teachers.

Michael Haggen, National Consultant for School Transformation Services

• Michael Haggen brings more than 20 years of academic experience, having served as a teacher, principal, chief academic officer and direct report to superintendents in three school districts where his hands-on approach led to significant change, most recently as Deputy Superintendent in East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Under his leadership, 70 percent of East Baton Rouge schools increased their academic performance; in St. Louis, Michael created the Office of Innovation while developing and implementing a turnaround model for 11 schools, which led to the district's first provisional accreditation in more than a decade; and while serving New Orleans' Recovery School District, he put systems in place to allow regular improvements to curriculum and the inclusion of learning supports to remove barriers to learning. Michael joins Scholastic to oversee the creation of customized professional learning models for school leadership and to contribute to the development of curriculum.

In announcing these appointments, Scholastic Education President Greg Worrell shared, "As part of Scholastic's Comprehensive Literacy Solution services, Scholastic Professional will lead the way in creating high-quality resources to meet the wide-array of every educator's professional learning needs—from hands-on training in the classroom or central office to professional books that provide actionable strategies and supporting curricular resources. Lois, Becky, Jimi and Michael bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge of how to help educators with their immediate needs and bring about long-term transformational change. Their leadership, with expert guidance from Ernie, will ensure a well-rounded approach to providing professional learning to educators and school leaders."

For more information on the extensive professional learning services provided by Scholastic, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/scholasticprofessional. Additional information about Scholastic is available on the Company's media room: mediaroom.scholastic.com.  

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Contact: Anne Sparkman, [email protected], (212) 343-6657

SOURCE Scholastic Inc.

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