Program Creators
Core Clicks was developed by a talented and diverse team of over forty writers, editors, programmers, and nationally recognized education experts, including Nell K. Duke, Ed.D.
Kaaren Sorensen, Ph.D., Editorial Director
Kaaren is the editorial director of Core Clicks. Throughout 15 years with Scholastic, Kaaren has led the editorial development of a wide range of compelling products and programs for grades K–5 including Scholastic News Interactive, Scholastic News Nonfiction Readers®, the Election Skills Book series, and the Scholastic Holocaust Reader. Kaaren holds a doctorate in religion from Columbia University.
Hugh Roome, President of Scholastic Consumer and Professional Publishing
Hugh Roome publishes Scholastic’s 31 magazines and websites reaching over 25 million readers. Hugh is also publisher of various book imprints, including Enchantment of the World and Cornerstones of Freedom, as well as Grolier Online, the largest reference source for schools. He is a trustee of Tufts University and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the
Foreign Policy Association. Hugh holds a doctorate in international relations from the Fletcher School of Tufts University. He is an adjunct professor at New York University, teaching The Global Marketplace: Challenges and Opportunities.
Judith Christ-Lafond, Vice President, Creative Director
Judith is currently creative director for the Classroom Magazines division where she has worked for more than a decade. Her work has resulted in the successful launch of over 20 interactive educational products that are well-known among educators for their robust offerings, engaging multimedia content, and user-friendly interfaces. Judith holds a B.F.A. in Communication Design from Parsons.
Stephanie Smith, Editorial Director
Stephanie is the editorial director of upper-elementary news magazines for Scholastic's Classroom Magazines division. She and her talented team have developed engaging, complex informational texts for Scholastic News magazines for more than a decade. Stephanie holds a B.A. in English from the University of Connecticut.
Amanda Miller, Editorial Director
Currently the editorial director of the early childhood Classroom Magazines division, Amanda began her career as an elementary reading specialist. Since coming to Scholastic 13 years ago, she’s created a wide range of delightful nonfiction products for children in preschool to second grade. Amanda holds an Ed.M. from the University of Virginia.
Lauren Tarshis, Editorial Director
A 25-year veteran of Scholastic, Lauren is the editorial director for Scholastic Classroom Magazines’ language arts titles and editor of Storyworks® magazine. Author of the award-winning I Survived historical fiction series and dozens of articles for kids, Lauren holds a B.A. in English from Barnard College.
Program Consultant
Nell K. Duke, Ed.D
Nell K. Duke, Ed.D., is a professor of literacy, language, and culture at the University of Michigan. She received her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. A nationally recognized expert in literacy development, Duke is the author of numerous books for educators, including Reading and Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades: Research-Based Practices (Scholastic 2003) and Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K–8 Classrooms (Heinemann 2012). Duke's extensive collaborative work with Scholastic includes Nell Duke Presents Buzz About IT!, a read-aloud program based on informational trade books, as well as an all-new professional development program for transforming the teaching and learning of informational text, which will be available in 2014. She works closely with the Core Clicks editorial team on the program’s adherence to best practices in literacy development and in addressing the Common Core State Standards.