NEW YORK, May 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic, the
global children's publishing, education and media company, today
announced the launch of Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza, a nation-wide
movement to unite kids, parents, educators, public librarians,
community partners, and booksellers in efforts to get books into
the hands of more kids during the summer, keeping every child
reading. The Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza is a re-energized
approach to the Company's longstanding commitment to prevent the
effects of the "summer slide"— the learning loss children
frequently experience while school is out and that research
suggests can accumulate to a two-year reading achievement gap by
middle school. For the first time, kids are empowered to help other
kids through summer reading, unlocking 200,000 books donated by
Scholastic. Through a national collaboration with United Way
Worldwide, the world's largest privately funded non-profit, the
donated books will be distributed across the country to select
locations where access to more high-quality books is needed most.
Local retailers and libraries are also committing to additional
book drives to support summer reading and book access in their
local communities.
To learn more about Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza, visit:
www.scholastic.com/readapalooza.
According to findings from the Scholastic Kids & Family
Reading Report™: 7th Edition, there is a rising
trend of kids ages 6–17 reading zero books over the summer: 15% in
2016 vs. 20% in 2018. Among 9–11- year-olds, this percentage has
doubled (7% to 14%), and among teens ages 15–17 it has increased by
ten points (22% to 32%). To help turn this trend around, the report
reveals that if parents are aware of the summer slide, their
children are less likely to read zero books (16% vs.25%). Yet, 47%
of parents with school age children are not aware of the summer
slide and this percentage increases sharply to 63% among families
with household incomes under $35,000.
"It is an undeniable equity issue that many kids don't have
access to books when school is not in session and too many kids are
missing out on rich summer reading experiences. This must be
addressed to ensure no matter where a child lives, they have the
books and reading time needed to ensure they return to school
reading-ready and on grade-level," said Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and
CEO of Scholastic. "Through Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza
and working with United Way, booksellers, and libraries nationwide,
we will expand access to books across the country while supporting
parents and educators in their effort to keep kids reading this
summer."
"United Way believes that children deserve a strong start in
life and we help to make that possible by empowering parents,
improving the quality of early learning environments, and offering
solutions, like our work with Scholastic, to challenges outside the
classroom," said Mary
Sellers, U.S. President, United Way Worldwide.
"United Way is honored to be a part of the Scholastic Summer
Read-a-Palooza, and its worthwhile mission: to put more books in
the hands of more children everywhere, especially those who need
them most."
The 2019 Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza consists of three key
components:
- The Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Give Back
empowers kids to unlock book donations for other kids in two ways.
Every minute read over the summer counts on the Summer Reading
Challenge website, as kids work together to reach Give Back minute
milestones. Upon reaching 25, 50, and 100 million minutes,
Scholastic will donate 200,000 books to kids through United Way! In
addition, Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Celebrations
will bring the experience to participating local bookstores and
libraries, welcoming kids and families to drop off books to be
donated to an organization in their own community, chosen by the
retailer.
- The Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Challenge
is back for its 13th year with a continued focus on
keeping kids reading. Through September
6, kids can enter their summer reading minutes online and
unlock digital rewards by completing weekly reading activities,
gain access to book excerpts, videos, and content from beloved
titles, and more! Minutes will also unlock the Scholastic
Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Give Back book donations. In
September, the school in each U.S. state, territory, and
District of Columbia that has
entered the most reading minutes will be named "Best in State,"
featured in the 2019 Scholastic Book of World Records, and
will receive a commemorative plaque as well as an official
Scholastic party kit to celebrate their achievement. Special
recognition will also be given to the top ten public libraries and
community literacy partner organizations overall nationwide with
the most minutes read.
- Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Celebrations
will take place at participating stores and libraries nationwide to
bring communities together in the spirit of giving back.
Booksellers and retailers will have the opportunity to host reading
events in their communities, anchored around Scholastic
Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Give Back boxes while celebrating
students' summer reading milestones and encouraging them to keep
reading. Families who attend will be dazzled by a fun and engaging
event that brings literacy to life. Readers can engage in
activities, photo opportunities, and giveaways based on their
favorite characters and series. Select events will even have
appearances by both Scholastic favorites Clifford the Big Red
Dog® and Dav Pilkey's Dog
Man.
To learn more about Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global
children's publishing, education and media company, visit the
Company's media room: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.
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SOURCE Scholastic