Contact: Brittany Sullivan, 212-343-4848, bsullivan@scholastic.com

New York, NY – April 4, 2018 – Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced the winners of the Leveled Bookroom Transformation Contest, which encouraged K–6 educators from across the country to submit their stories, detailing how a literacy makeover would benefit their school and students. The grand prize winner, Hillcrest Elementary School in Frederick, MD—selected for its outstanding resilience and dedication to achieving reading success—will receive a Leveled Bookroom 4.0, customized professional development, as well as classroom and family engagement resources from Scholastic.

According to findings from the recent Scholastic Teacher & Principal School Report: Focus on Literacy, the overwhelming majority of teachers and principals agree that “providing year-round access to books at home is important to enhancing student achievement” (96%) and “students should have time during the school day to read a book of their choice independently” (94%). To meet this need and help build a lasting culture of literacy at Hillcrest Elementary School, the grand prize will include:

• Leveled Bookroom 4.0: This new comprehensive literacy resource increases student access to reading materials with more than 6,000 authentic texts, containing both full-length, leveled popular books and engaging Short Reads for close-reading lessons.
• Professional Development: Educators will receive two full days of customized professional development focused on Guided Reading strategies and hosted by Scholastic facilitators.
• Scholastic Classroom Magazines: Students will receive copies of Let’s Find Out® for kindergarten and Scholastic News® for grades 1–5.
• Literacy Event: A Scholastic Summer Literacy Event will be hosted for grades K–5, designed to engage and empower families to support their children’s academic achievement and help avoid the “summer slide”—the learning loss that takes place during the summer—which research has estimated can account for as much as 85% of the reading achievement gap between lower-income students and their middle- and upper-income peers.
• Learning Supports: Educators and administrators will participate in two full days of Learning Supports workshops focused on identifying and removing barriers to learning that affect student achievement.

“For effective literacy instruction that nurtures reading growth, it’s critical for educators to have access to engaging professional learning and high-quality resources,” said Michael Haggen, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic Education. “Through Scholastic’s unprecedented Leveled Bookroom School Transformation Contest, we are thrilled to recognize Hillcrest Elementary School’s enthusiasm for guided reading and commitment to family engagement through literacy. With these tools and rich collection of fiction and nonfiction texts, the Hillcrest Elementary School learning community will flourish and help all students discover the power of independent reading.”

Kimberly Seiss, Co-Principal of Hillcrest Elementary, said, “We are thrilled to have these valuable resources in the hands of our teachers and students! The Leveled Bookroom Transformation Contest will allow our students to have a variety of engaging texts for guided reading and for our families at home to practice reading more often with their children. We hope to reignite a focus on reading achievement and use these tools to prevent the summer slide!”

Naranca Elementary School in El Cajon, CA was selected as first runner-up in the contest and will receive Scholastic Guided Reading Short Reads Digital for grades K–6. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Milwaukee, WI was named second runner-up and will receive a selection of Guided Reading materials. Guided Reading is a research-based method designed to help all students become strategic, joyful, and independent readers. Teachers select engaging books for students based on reading behaviors, interests, and skill levels, allowing them to understand and enjoy the story while using problem-solving strategies to tackle any challenges during independent reading time and small group instruction. To learn more about Scholastic Guided Reading Programs, visit: www.scholastic.com/guidedreading.

A 2017 EdWeek Market Brief survey of teachers and district leaders ranked Scholastic highest among four major educational companies, with 85% expressing positive sentiments about Scholastic. For more information about Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), visit the Company’s media room: //mediaroom.scholastic.com.

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