To let others read, they dig into books – For Every 100 Books Read By Participating Classrooms Scholastic Book Clubs Will Donate 100 Books to Children in Need

Outside of Jill Pereira’s fourth-grade class at Condon Elementary School in South Boston, book titles such as "Scooby-Doo! and the Sunken Ship," "The Apple Pie Tree," and "The Powerpuff Girls" are scribbled in ink on a colorful chart.

By Lisa Leigh Connors | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1223/p16s02-legn.html

The paperbacks are among more than 100 books that Ms. Pereira’s students read over the past few months for the Scholastic Book Clubs ClassroomsCare program. For every 100 books read, Scholastic is making 100 new books available to children who can’t afford them.

And since Condon Elementary is one of 100,000 schools participating, that means a whole lot of books. From now until February, Scholastic will deliver 2 million books to four different charities from Connecticut to California.

Pereira says the goal seemed daunting at first, but her students started from "the get-go" in September. Her class wrote minireviews and kept red folders that were stamped for each book read. They even surpassed their 100 mark.

"It gave them a real purpose, once I explained to them what it was," says Pereira. "The program helped them read every night [for 30 minutes] because they wanted to see their name on that chart. But then the chart filled up and I had to ask for another one." Students could choose any book, as long as it was approved by Pereira.

Reading programs such as ClassroomsCare not only help charities, they also challenge elementary schoolchildren to read every night. The younger they start turning pages, the better. According to a recent study by the National Center for Educational Statistics, children who experience reading difficulties by the end of first grade will feel less confident in their academic abilities. Thirty-eight percent of the nation’s fourth-graders cannot read at a basic level. In low-income urban school districts, that number is closer to 70 percent.

Nancy Berman says her program, Reach Out and Read, distributes books to pediatricians, who then hand out books to parents of children ages six months to 5 years. "If the child gets to school and hasn’t been exposed to print, they are at such a deficit," says Ms. Berman.

A lot of parents, adds Pereira, think they don’t need any books until their child can read. "They say, ‘Well, they have to be able to read before they can have a book.’ But it’s really the other way around."

When Berman stopped by Pereira’s classroom recently to hand out certificates, she posed a question to the fourth-graders: What are some of your favorite books? Students shouted out "Hiroshima," "Squanto," "mysteries," and "anything related to wolves."

Student Carlota Feliciano, who read about eight books for ClassroomsCare, credits the program for raising her grades. "Last year, I only got a 1 on reading on my report card [out of 4], but this year I got a 3," she says.

The accomplishments of Pereira’s class are even more remarkable when one learns that it’s an inclusion class, meaning some students are diagnosed with learning challenges, such as dyslexia.

"Some kids absolutely do not like to read because it’s a struggle," Pereira says. "They’re allowed to pick a book for themselves. So I try to make sure they’re enjoying it and that it’s not torture. I have a mix of students. Where they’re weak in one area, they’re strong in others."

Student Felisa Clarke certainly has the ability to tell a good story. When asked what her favorite book was, she responded "Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie."

She kept going.

"Abbie’s mother was ill and her father had to go away to get some medicine. Abbie had to do all the lighting of the candles every night. Then the flood came, and her chicken house was drifting out to sea, so she went with all her might to save her own chickens. When her father came back home, she was happy."

As this reporter turned to leave, student Kelvin said, "Wait, you forgot to ask us why we should read."

OK, fair enough.

"If you’re traveling around the US or in Canada, how are you going to read the street signs or read the map? And also, for college and to read a job application."

Well said.

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SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUBSTM “CLASSROOMSCARE” CAMPAIGN PARTNERS WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS NATIONWIDE TO PROVE THAT ‘READING IS GIVING’

http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/news/press_110303.htm

For Every 100 Books Read By Participating Classrooms Scholastic Book Clubs Will Donate 100 Books to Children in Need

Up to 2 Million Books to be Distributed Through National Charity Partners First Book®, The “I Have A Dream”® Foundation, Reach Out and Read® and Save the Children®

New York, NY (November 3, 2003) — Scholastic Book Clubs, a division of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing and media company, announced that it will donate up to 2 million books to children in need through ClassroomsCare, the 3rd annual philanthropy-based literacy campaign. ClassroomsCare is designed to teach children about the joys and importance of reading and giving. For each class that reads 100 books by Wednesday, December 31, 2003, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate 100 new books to underprivileged kids who cannot afford to buy books. Four charity partners will ensure that the books get into the hands of the hardest to reach and neediest children. First Book®, The “I Have A Dream” ® Foundation, Reach Out and Read®, and Save the Children® will receive and distribute the donations to children in under-served communities across the U.S.

“Through the ClassroomsCare initiative, hundreds of thousands of kids across the country are learning a powerful lesson — that the simple act of one child reading can actually make a difference in the life of another child who doesn’t own a book," said Judy Newman, Senior Vice President, Scholastic Book Clubs. “This year, in response to the overwhelming enthusiasm for the program from both teachers and students, we are delighted to double the number of books that will be donated from one million to two million. Over the past 3 years, ClassroomsCare has helped Scholastic Book Clubs make strides toward fulfilling our mission to put a book into the hands of every child."

This year, for the first time, Yellow Transportation, a leading transportation services provider, is donating the trucking and delivery of all two million books. Over the next several months, Yellow Transportation will arrange for the delivery of books to the four charity partners in 21 locations all across the country.

“Yellow is known as the company that says ‘Yes We Can’ to the transportation needs of our customers. We are delighted to say ‘Yes We Can’ to Scholastic, in support of the ClassroomsCare initiative to put millions of books in the hands of needy children,” said James Welch, President, Yellow Transportation.

The ClassroomsCare initiative is open to all classrooms nationwide through Scholastic Book Club catalogues and the Scholastic web site. Teachers of grades K-8 who order from Scholastic Book Clubs in September and October automatically receive a free ClassroomsCare participation kit, complete with a colorful poster to record classroom reading, as well as a take-home reproducible letter to get friends and family involved. Teachers along with their students can log onto http://www.scholastic.com/classroomscare to learn more about the four charities and to download a Certificate of Congratulations.

Each charity organization receiving books from Scholastic Book Clubs ClassroomsCare initiative will reach children in need in a different way.

First Book® gives new books to children from low-income families participating in existing community-based tutoring, mentoring, and family literacy programs. For more information visit http://www.firstbook.org.

The "I Have a Dream"® Foundation creates long-term programs of mentoring, tutoring and enrichment, with assured tuition assistance for higher education, for children in low-income communities to help them achieve their education and career goals. Visit http://www.ihad.org for more information.

Reach Out and Read® trains doctors and nurses to provide books to children ages 6 months to five years who are growing up in poverty and to educate parents about the importance of reading to their children at a very early age, which helps prepare these children for success in reading by the time they enter school. To learn more, visit http://www.reachoutandread.org.

Save the Children® works with children and families in America and around the world, focusing its domestic efforts on improving children’s literacy, particularly in rural communities. Learn more by visiting http://www.savethechildren.org.

For 55 years, Scholastic Book Clubs have provided monthly catalogues offering top quality books and reading materials from all publishers to teachers in pre-school through junior high. Today eleven different Scholastic Book Clubs reach one million teachers each month, providing the most sought-after titles at affordable prices for children in classrooms nationwide. The ClassroomsCare Campaign is available to teachers and classrooms through five of the Scholastic Book Clubs: Firefly® Book Club for pre-schoolers; Seesaw® Book Club for kindergarten and grade 1; Lucky® Book Club for grades 2-3; Arrow® Book Club for grades 4-6; and TAB® Book Club for grades 7 and up.

About Scholastic:
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, 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, school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company’s Internet Site, http://www.scholastic.com.

Contacts:
Susan Raisch
718-667-5576

Scholastic Inc.
Kyle Good
212-343-4563