It claims to have already fulfilled a literacy promise, but Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher of children’s books, commits to do it over and over again — that is to get children to read.
“We have been at the forefront of literacy education for the longest time. We are more than just a company that sells books but first and foremost, we are an education hub that partners with schools to make teachers more dynamic reading educators,” explains Linda Warfel, vice president for Education of Scholastic, Inc. in Asia and the Pacific. Warfel was the keynote speaker at the Scholastic Reading Expo ’08 held recently at St. Paul College Pasig. Scholastic is a publicly-listed company in the U.S. and has been operating in over 46 countries including Hong Kong, France, Canada, Mexico, and Italy.
The 88-year-old company is relatively young in the Philippines, being only eight years old. All over the world, Scholastic is popular as the publisher behind the wildly successful Harry Potter series, and lately its critically-acclaimed titles such as the Inkheart series, Chasing Vermeer, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
These titles have spawned a new generation of book lovers – young adults and parents, but Warfel is quick to point out that Scholastic’s main competence is in churning out reading education materials for both children and teachers. For instance, Warfel reveals that the Harry Potter series comprise only 10 percent of the company’s $US2 billion revenue business worldwide.
Here in the Philippines, Scholastic has already gained headway in spreading the love for reading among school children through two innovative reading programs: Preschool Literacy Program (PLP) and Assessment and Enrichment Program (AEP). The initial partner schools already implementing PLP and AEP have already attested to the benefits of these two reading programs both to students, the teachers and the school administration.
Warfel further names the two major gains that Scholastic has already made in the Philippines. ‘’First, is that we have created awareness about books and reading among parents, that children should celebrate literacy; and second, that we have fostered an ongoing relationship with schools who share in our vision,’’ the former first grade teacher notes.
Warfel takes pride in saying that Scholastic is on the forefront of professional development and teacher coaching, especially with PLP and AEP. Aside from the intensive training the company provides on reading instruction theories and strategies.
‘’Our consultants, all experts in reading education, visit schools to conference with teachers, re-train them if necessary, conduct classroom demonstrations…all the support that teachers would need to learn the science of teaching reading. Our training program is not a one-shot deal but we work with the teachers throughout the year to make sure that they learn the concepts and implement it in the classroom.’’