Contact:

Anne Sparkman
ASparkman@Scholastic.com
212-343-6657

Cameron Brenchley
cameron.brenchley@ascd.org
703-575-5756

New York, NY – August 18, 2016 – The inaugural, three-day Literacy Leaders’ Institute, hosted by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and ASCD, a global community dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading, begins September 22-24, 2016. This new, professional learning opportunity brings together the expertise of both leading organizations with renowned authors and superintendents who are actively addressing literacy improvement in their districts. Leadership teams in attendance will learn to develop the district, school, classroom, family, and community structures that are necessary to build strong comprehensive literacy programs, and optimize learning environments for all students.

To learn more about the Literacy Leaders’ Institute in San Diego, CA and register to attend, visit: http://www.scholastic.com/literacyleaders

During the Literacy Leaders’ Institute, superintendents, curriculum directors, literacy coaches, principals, and teacher leaders will experience peer-to-peer collaboration and receive personalized attention from Scholastic coaches and experts from the field. Keynote sessions will address topics such as creating responsive and responsible readers, what it means to be a literacy leader, cultivating literacy in diverse classrooms, improving literacy and instruction in high-poverty schools, and more. Featured speakers include:

• Tiffany Anderson – Superintendent at Topeka Public Schools, Kansas
• Kylene Beers – Past President of the National Council of Teachers of English, award-winning educator, and Scholastic author
• Deb Delisle – Executive Director and CEO, ASCD
• Douglas Fisher – Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University, teacher at Health Sciences High, and Middle College and ASCD author
• Nancy Frey – Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University, teacher at Health Sciences High, and Middle College and ASCD author
• Michael Haggen – Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic Education
• Cindy Marten – Superintendent at San Diego School District, California
• Ernest Morrell – Professor of English Education and Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and Scholastic author
• Robert Probst – Professor Emeritus at Georgia State University and Scholastic author
• Annie Ward – Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at Mamaroneck Union Free School District, New York and Scholastic author

“We know that strong literacy skills are the foundation for students to become lifelong learners and by equipping administrators and teachers with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to develop a comprehensive literacy plan, we are helping them bring this to scale within their districts,” said Michael Haggen, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic Education. “Scholastic is proud to provide ongoing professional learning opportunities for educators and in collaboration with ASCD, the Literacy Leaders’ Institute will combine the best leadership practices with high-quality literacy instruction for an intensive, transformative three days.”

“The Literacy Leaders’ Institute provides a highly-personalized process for teams to identify challenges in their own literacy plan, and collaborate to develop action plans to implement immediately following the Institute,” said Jim Hemgen, ASCD’s managing director of professional learning services. “It is exciting to be partnering with Scholastic to prove a hands-on and engaging experience where educators not only learn from leading experts, but collaborate and learn with district leaders who may face similar challenges.”

For more information about Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), visit: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.

For more information about ASCD, visit: www.ascd.org.

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