Scholastic Corporation

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Scholastic Corporation
TypePublic company
Nasdaq: SCHL
S&P 600 Component
IndustryChildren's literacy and education
FoundedOctober 22, 1920; 100 years ago (1920-10-22)
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, US
FounderMaurice Robinson
SuccessorScholastic Inc. (1981–2011)
HeadquartersUnited States
Number of locations
New York City, New York, US
Key people
Peter Warwick, CEO, president; Kenneth Cleary, CFO
ProductsBooks, Magazines, pre-K to grade 12 instructional programs, classroom magazines, films, television
RevenueIncrease US$1.6 billion (2016)[1]
Number of employees
8,900 (2019)[2]
DivisionsImprints and corporate divisions
Websitewww.scholastic.com

Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education and media company that publishes and distributes comics, books and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and online sales and through schools via reading clubs and book fairs.

History[]

Richard Robinson served as the corporation's CEO and president from 1975 until his death in 2021

Scholastic was founded in 1920 by Maurice R. Robinson near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to be a publisher of youth magazines. The first publication was The Western Pennsylvania Scholastic. It covered high school sports and social activities; the four-page magazine debuted on October 22, 1920 and was distributed in 50 high schools.[3] In the 1940s, Scholastic entered the book clubs business. In the 1960s, international publishing locations were added in England (1964), New Zealand (1964) and Sydney (1968).[4] Also in the 1960s, Scholastic entered the book publishing business. In the 1970s, Scholastic created its TV entertainment division.[3] In the 1980s, Scholastic entered the book fair business.

From 1975 until his death in 2021, Richard Robinson who was the son of the corporation's founder, served as CEO and president.[5]

In 2000, Scholastic purchased Grolier for US$400 million.[6]

In February 2012, Scholastic bought Weekly Reader Publishing from Reader's Digest Association, and announced in July that year that it planned to discontinue separate issues of Weekly Reader magazines after more than a century of publication, and co-branded the magazines as "Scholastic News/Weekly Reader".[7]

Company structure[]

The business has three segments: Children Book Publishing & Distribution (Trade, Book Clubs and Book Fairs), Education, and International. Scholastic holds the perpetual US publishing rights to the Harry Potter and Hunger Games book series.[8][9] Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and print and digital educational materials for pre-K to grade 12.[10] In addition to Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, the company is known for its school book clubs and book fairs, classroom magazines such as Scholastic News and Science World, and popular book series: Clifford the Big Red Dog, Goosebumps, The Magic School Bus, Captain Underpants, Animorphs, The Baby-Sitters Club, and I Spy. Scholastic also publishes instructional reading and writing programs, and offers professional learning and consultancy services for school improvement. Clifford the Big Red Dog serves as the official mascot of Scholastic.

Marketing initiatives[]

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards[]

Founded in 1923 by Maurice R. Robinson, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards,[11] administered by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, is a competition which recognizes talented young artists and writers from across the United States.[12]

James Patterson Pledge[]

In March 2018, author James Patterson announced an increase in his annual donations for classroom libraries from $1.75 million to $2 million, in a program run in conjunction with the Scholastic Book Clubs. Patterson is also distributing 4,000 gifts of $500 each to teachers around the country.[13]

Imprints and corporate divisions[]

"Omnibus Books" redirects here. For the independent publisher, see Omnibus Press.

Trade Publishing Imprints include:

  • Arthur A. Levine Books, which specializes in fiction and non-fiction books for young readers. The imprint was founded at Scholastic in 1996 by Arthur Levine in New York City. The first book published by Arthur A. Levine Books was When She Was Good by Norma Fox Mazer in autumn of 1997. The imprint is most notable as the publisher for the American editions of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.[14][15][16] In March 2019, Levine left Scholastic to form his own new publisher. Scholastic will retain Levine's back catalogue.[17]
  • The Chicken House
  • Klutz Press
  • Orchard Books
  • Scholastic Australia made up of Koala Books, Margaret Hamilton Books, Omnibus Books, and Scholastic Corporation.[18][non-primary source needed]

Corporate divisions[]

Children's Press (spelled as Childrens Press until 1996). Founded in 1945[19] and originally based in Chicago, Illinois, this press published various publications such as the Rookie Read-About series, A True Book series, the 20-volume Young People's Science Encyclopedia, and Young People's Science Dictionary and also has a secondary imprint, Franklin Watts. In 1996, Children's Press became a division of Grolier, which became an imprint of Scholastic Corporation in 2000.

FASTT Math[]

In 2005, Scholastic developed FASTT Math with Tom Snyder to help students with their proficiency with math skills, specifically being Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction through a series of games and memorization quizzes gauging the student's progress.[20][citation needed]

Scholastic Media[]

Scholastic Media is a corporate division[21] led by Deborah Forte since 1995. It covers "all forms of media and consumer products, and is comprised of four main groups – Productions, Marketing & Consumer Products, Interactive, and Audio." Weston Woods is its production studio, acquired in 1996, as was Soup2Nuts from 2001–2015 before shutting down.[22] Scholastic has produced audiobooks such as the Caldecott/Newbery Collection;[23] Television adaptations such as Clifford the Big Red Dog, Animorphs, The Magic School Bus, Goosebumps and His Dark Materials; and feature films such as The Indian in the Cupboard, Tuck Everlasting, Clifford's Really Big Movie, Goosebumps, The Golden Compass, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween and Mortal Engines. It will produce two new feature films Clifford the Big Red Dog and The Bad Guys, and for Pixar Animation Studios Down and Dug as Scholastic Media produced the series Voyagers!, My Secret Identity, and Charles in Charge.

Book clubs[]

Scholastic book clubs are offered at schools in many countries. Typically, teachers administer the program to the students in their own classes, but in some cases, the program is administered by a central contact for the entire school. Within Scholastic, Reading Clubs is a separate unit (compared to, e.g., Education). Reading clubs are arranged by age/grade.[24] Book club operators receive "Classroom Funds" redeemable only for Scholastic Corporation products.[25][26][27]

Scholastic Parents Media[]

Scholastic Parents Media publishes the Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. The group also specializes in online advertising sales and custom programs designed for parents with children aged 0–6.[28]

Criticism[]

In July 2005, Scholastic determined that certain leases previously accounted for as operating leases should have been accounted for as capital leases. The cumulative effect, if recorded in the current year, would be material. As a result, it decided to restate its financial statements.[29] Scholastic has been criticized for inappropriately marketing to children. Also, Scholastic now requires parents to submit children's names with birth dates to place online orders,[30] creating controversy. A significant number of titles carried have strong media tie-ins and are considered short in literary and artistic merit by some critics.[31]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Scholastic Form 10-K Annual Report". Scholastic Corporation. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  2. ^ "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Neary, Lynn (2013-07-15). "How Scholastic Sells Literacy To Generations Of New Readers". NPR. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  4. ^ "United States Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K Annual Report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities exchange Act of 1934, For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2002, Commission File No. 0-19860: Scholastic Corporation". 2002. pp. 6, 7. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Richard Robinson". Scholastic.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "French Plan to Sell Grolier," PublishersWeekly.com, 11/29/1999; "Scholastic to Acquire Grolier," press release, Scholastic Inc., 4/13/2000.
  7. ^ "Scholastic to End Independent Publication of Weekly Reader – Bloomberg". bloomberg.com. 2012-07-23. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  8. ^ "Scholastic profit rises on Hunger Games sales". Reuters. 2012-07-19. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  9. ^ Reaney, Patricia (2012-07-31). "J.K. Rowling launches Harry Potter book club online". Reuters. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Global Publishing Leaders 2018: Scholastic". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  11. ^ Williams, John (2017-09-20). "Richard Robinson of Scholastic Honored for Lifetime of Work in Children's Publishing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  12. ^ "Scholastic Art and Writing Awards | Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts". www.promotionandarts.org. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  13. ^ "James Patterson donating $2 million to classroom libraries". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
  14. ^ "Welcome To Arthur A. Levine Books!". Arthur A. Levine Books!. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  15. ^ "Potter Publisher Predicted Literary Magic". NPR.
  16. ^ "The Wizardly Editor Who Caught the Golden Snitch". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ Whyte, Alexandra (March 13, 2019). "Harry Potter publisher leaves Scholastic". Kidscreen. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  18. ^ "Publishing Channel". www.scholastic.com.au. Scholastic Australia. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  19. ^ "Children's Press".
  20. ^ "Access Denied". www.hinds.k12.ms.us. Retrieved Jun 24, 2020.
  21. ^ "Welcome". Scholastic Corporation: About Scholastic. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  22. ^ "Media & The Mission". Scholastic Corporation: About Scholastic. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  23. ^ "Weston Woods Caldecott/Newbery Collection." Archived 2012-04-23 at the Wayback Machine English language teaching: listening practice. Scholastic Corporation. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  24. ^ "Our Businesses". scholastic.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Terms & Services". scholastic.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-04. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Raise Classroom Funds". scholastic.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  27. ^ "FAQ: Raising Money for Your Classroom". Scholastic Corporation. Salesforce. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 10 June 2021. Where can classroom funds be spent? Classroom Funds can be spent online only at Scholastic Book Clubs (clubs.scholastic.com)
  28. ^ "Parent & Child Magazine". Scholastic.com. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  29. ^ Taub, Stephen (Mar 3, 2006). "Restatements Surged in 2005, Says Study". Retrieved Jun 24, 2020.
  30. ^ "Scholastic Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Rights". www.scholastic.com. Retrieved Jun 24, 2020.
  31. ^ Meltz, Barbara F. (2006-11-20). "Taking consumerism out of school book fairs". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2014-03-12.

External links[]

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