New York, NY (September 20, 2004) -- A new study evaluating three professional development programs designed to improve reading instruction found that teachers, reading specialists and principals in Arizona favored Scholastic Red over the programs offered by two other providers - VoyagerU and Con-ect/WestEd. According to the report, teachers who participated in Scholastic Red gained greater awareness of the key components of reading instruction and were more successful incorporating new techniques into their classroom than teachers enrolled in the other two programs. The study, conducted by the State of Arizona Department of Education, concludes that, “Scholastic Red was judged by teachers to be the most beneficial of the three programs.” Following presentation of the results of the study, the Arizona Department of Education announced a $500,000 grant for Scholastic Red professional development in reading instruction for more than 1,700 K-3 teachers across the state in the 2004-05 school year.
 
Scholastic Red is a research-based series of professional development courses that includes both online instruction and direct training by facilitators and is published by Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company. The Scholastic Red courses reviewed in the Arizona study are Putting Reading First in Your Classroom and Building Fluency.
 
Evaluation surveys for the report were completed by 155 teachers and 51 “non-teachers” (principals, reading specialists, reading coaches and teacher trainers). Analysis of the teacher ratings of five program components (Presentation of Information, Applicability to the Classroom, Materials, Group Assignments, and Format of the Instructional Deliver) showed Scholastic Red favored by teachers over both VoyagerU and Co-nect/WestEd in all five categories.
 
Analysis of teacher ratings on the effect of the programs on classroom implementation and on teachers' knowledge of the five key components of reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension) yielded a similar trend. Scholastic Red participants felt the instruction had a greater impact on both their awareness of key components and their classroom implementation than the teachers participating in the other two programs. The evaluation states, “Scholastic Red was the best received of the programs, and there are strong indications that Scholastic Red had the greatest impact on teacher practices.”
 
The report also states that, “non-teacher remarks were most favorable among the Scholastic Red responses.” One principal said, “The content and format from their company (Scholastic) was excellent…(teachers) appreciated this format and found the content to be applicable in their classrooms.”
 
“This comparative evaluation demonstrates that the Scholastic Red combination of convenient online instruction along with face-to-face facilitated learning is a winning formula for helping teachers master essential skills to improve reading instruction. In this age of increased focus on teacher quality and training, Scholastic Red once again has demonstrated that our courses not only meet the needs of busy teachers, but also have an immediate impact on what happens in the classroom,” said John Lent, Vice President, Professional Development Scholastic Education. “Providing the best and most effective professional development for teaching reading is at the heart of Scholastic's mission to help all children becoming great readers and life-long learners.”
 
The focus on professional development by the Arizona Department of Education is part of the state's AZ READS initiative, a comprehensive plan aimed at improving the reading achievement of every K-12 student in the state.
 
Scholastic Red faculty and national advisors include leading researchers and renowned specialists in the field of professional development and reading such as: Dr. Louisa Cook Moats, former director, District of Columbia Public Schools/National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development Early Intervention project; Dr. Ted Hasselbring, William T. Bryan Professor and Endowed Chair in special Education Technology at University of Kentucky; Phyllis Hunter, national reading consultant; and Laura Robb, professional development coach, author and educational consultant.
 
All Scholastic Red courses are aligned to national and state standards and are correlated to all major reading programs. For more information visit www.scholasticred.com .
 
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company's Internet Site, www.scholastic.com .

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