Contact: Anne Sparkman, 212-343-6657, asparkman@scholastic.com

New York, NY – November 8, 2017 – Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, and the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) today announced combined efforts to raise awareness of pervasive barriers to student learning and provide school districts with increased access to professional development, including research-based strategies that systemically address these challenges, improving opportunities for all students to achieve. The barriers affecting student success take many forms, including social-emotional or behavioral challenges, factors related to poverty, lack of family engagement, school climate, safety, and attendance. According to the Scholastic Teacher & Principal School Report:

• 87% of educators surveyed agree many of their students face barriers to learning that come from outside the school environment.
• Educators in higher-poverty schools are even more likely to agree, with a nearly unanimous 98% saying this, yet it is also still prevalent among 66% of educators in low-poverty schools.

As an Innovation Partner, Scholastic will collaborate with NDPC to provide online and in-person opportunities for educators and district leaders to benefit from the resources available around learning supports from both organizations in the coming year. This targeted support will help identify and remove barriers to learning that affect student achievement while encouraging practices that support students’ development, such as learning to optimize community resources, effectively engage families, utilize on-campus counseling, and more. For ongoing thought leadership on the topic of learning supports, visit http://edublog.scholastic.com.

“It is more important than ever that there is a concerted effort to ensure that young people fully develop the social, emotional, and academic skills needed to graduate and lead productive lives,” said Dr. Sandy Addis, Executive Director, National Dropout Prevention Center. “Scholastic is an ideal partner to help us fulfill and expand our mission and we look forward to working together to reduce barriers to learning and reengage students in the learning process, cultivating the pathway for increased student success.”

“Scholastic is working in schools every day and we are witnessing growing recognition of the importance of social emotional learning, the challenges presented by learning barriers from outside the classroom, and the imperative for learning supports,” noted Ron Mirr, Senior Vice President of Learning Supports and Family and Community Engagement (FACE), Scholastic Education. “The National Dropout Prevention Center is a respected leader in this movement to better support students and we are honored to partner with them so that all learners have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of the challenges around them.”

Together, Scholastic and NDPC will author content and present at regional and national conferences throughout the year to share school improvement models that have had significant results in districts across the country. Dr. Rhonda Neal Waltman, Senior Director of Consultancy Services—Learning Supports, is among the many Scholastic Education experts who will be facilitating professional development opportunities. The next upcoming event organized by Scholastic and NDPC will be:

National Dropout Prevention Network Webcast: Solutions to the Dropout Crisis
Ensuring All Students Succeed: The Imperative for a Learning Supports Framework

• Presented by: Dr. Rhonda Neal Waltman
• Date: November 14, 2017, 3:30–4:30 p.m. ET/12:30–1:30 p.m. PT
• Visit: http://dropoutprevention.org/webcast/ensuring-all-students-succeed

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About Scholastic:
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, a leading provider of core literacy curriculum and professional services, and a producer of educational and entertaining children's media. The Company creates quality books and ebooks, print and technology-based learning programs for pre-K to grade 12, classroom magazines and other products and services that support children's learning both in school and at home. With operations in 14 international offices and exports to 165 countries, Scholastic makes quality, affordable books available to all children around the world through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom collections, school and public libraries, retail and online. True to its mission of 97 years to encourage the personal and intellectual growth of all children beginning with literacy, the Company has earned a reputation as a trusted partner to educators and families. Learn more at www.scholastic.com.

About National Dropout Prevention Center:
National Dropout Prevention Center established in 1986 with a mission to reduce dropout rates, NDPC shares solutions for student success and dropout prevention through its clearinghouse function, active research and evaluation projects, publications and a variety of professional development activities and conferences. The organization’s website—www.dropoutprevention.org—is the nation’s leading resource in providing effective, research-based solutions to engaging students and reducing dropout. The NDPC is housed in the College of Education at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. Learn more at www.dropoutprevention.org.