Scholastic Announces New Team Focused on Family and Community Engagement (FACE) to Raise Student Achievement

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognizing the critical importance of supporting learning and literacy development from birth to adulthood and outside of school, Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL) has created a new team within the company dedicated to family and community engagement called Scholastic FACE.  FACE will focus on creating programs and partnerships that support literacy anywhere a child encounters a caring adult - whether in classrooms or at home, in early childhood, after school, during the summer and through mentoring programs.

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According to teacher survey data released today by Scholastic, 98 percent of teachers said greater "family involvement and support" would have a strong impact on academic achievement. More teachers said they believed in the importance of family involvement than any other factor asked about in the survey.  The survey was conducted by Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Working in tandem with longtime partner organizations, school districts and education leaders, Scholastic FACE seeks to raise awareness of the critical importance of bridging the gaps between home, school and the community, and to contribute its 90 years of expertise in creating resources and programs that support schools and raise achievement. At a time when more than 1 in 5 school-age children are living in poverty, a wide array of research has demonstrated that outside-of-school factors and access to supports in the home and community have a direct impact on achievement and a child's chances at leading a happy, successful life.

"Children face an unprecedented number of obstacles to learning today, whether it's poverty, language barriers, high rates of mobility or inadequate health care.  Research shows that outside-the-classroom environmental factors affect performance in school.  Given this reality, it's even more important that we think of education and literacy development as everyone's job," said Greg Worrell, President of the Scholastic Classroom and Community Group. "Through Scholastic FACE, we provide programs, resources, and create partnerships that enable communities to reinforce learning for all young people.  We help kids overcome the obstacles that slow them down or hold them back."

Scholastic will introduce "FACE" at a Symposium attended by leaders of school systems and literacy-focused organizations in New York City today, October 20th. Scholastic has also appointed a national advisory council who will join the company in promoting the importance of family and community engagement initiatives and will advise Scholastic on how best it can support communities and children.

The members of the FACE Advisory Council are as follows:

• David C. Banks – President & CEO, The Eagle Academy Foundation
• Albert E. Dotson – Chairman, 100 Black Men of America
• Jodi Grant – Executive Director, After School Alliance
• Phyllis C. Hunter – President, PCH Consulting
• Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne – VP of Global Philanthropy, JP Morgan Chase
• Liza McFadden – President, Volunteer USA
• Gabrielle Miller, Ed.D. – Executive Director, Raising A Reader
• Dr. Pedro Noguera – Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, New York University
• Earl Martin Phalen – CEO, Reach Out and Read
• Susan L. Taylor – Founder, National CARES Mentoring Movement
• Ambassador Andrew Young – Co-Chairman, GoodWorks International

Scholastic FACE provides programs and supports in five priority areas:

1. Early Literacy: Scholastic provides affordable, quality board books and resources to early childhood education providers to help emergent readers reach developmental milestones.
2. Parent Support and Training: The Scholastic Read and Rise® program provides training for educators, workshops for parents, and take-home books to connect families, schools and communities and inspire literacy-rich environments in the home.
3. Access to Books at Home: Through Scholastic's long-lasting partnerships with literacy-focused organizations like Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and Reach Out and Read and through summer reading and MyBooks take-home book packs sold to school, districts, and local organizations, Scholastic helps ensure that every child has books in the home. Research shows access to books in the home leads to success in school and in life.
4. Expanded Learning: Scholastic After School Learning provides an engaging curriculum and resources to help students overcome learning gaps and build the social, imaginative and emotional skills they need to succeed in the classroom.
5. Mentoring Partnerships: Building upon research that shows students with positive adult mentors are more likely to pursue higher education and have a better attitude toward school. Scholastic created Scholastic R.E.A.L.: Read. Excel. Achieve. Lead.™, which provides a framework and the tools to launch a literacy-focused mentoring program in any community.

For more information about Scholastic, visit our Media Room: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com

SOURCE Scholastic Inc.