 Logo used since 1986 | |
 TheScholastic Building inNew York City, the headquarters of Scholastic Corporation | |
| Formerly | Scholastic Inc. (1981–2011) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Nasdaq: SCHL S&P 600 Component | |
| Industry | Children's literacy and education |
| Founded | October 22, 1920; 104 years ago (1920-10-22), inWilkinsburg,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founder | Maurice Robinson |
| Headquarters | Scholastic Building 557 Broadway,New York City,New York 10012, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | Books, magazines, pre-K to grade 12 instructional programs, classroom magazines, films, television |
| Revenue |  US$1.7 billion (2022)[1] |
Number of employees | 8,900 (2019)[2] |
| Divisions | Imprints and corporate divisions |
| Website | scholastic.com |
Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. Products are distributed via retail and online sales and through schools viareading clubs and book fairs.Clifford the Big Red Dog, a character created byNorman Bridwell in 1963, is the mascot of Scholastic.
Scholastic was founded in 1920 by Maurice R. Robinson nearPittsburgh, Pennsylvania to be a publisher of youth magazines. The first publication wasThe Western Pennsylvania Scholastic. It coveredhigh school sports and social activities; the four-page magazine debuted on October 22, 1920, and was distributed in 50 high schools.[3] More magazines followed for Scholastic Magazines.[3][4] In 1948, Scholastic entered the book club business.[5] In the 1960s, scholastic international publishing locations were added in England 1964, New Zealand 1964, and Sydney 1968.[6] Also in the 1960s, Scholastic entered the book publishing business. In the 1970s, Scholastic created its TV entertainment division.[3] From 1975 until his death in 2021,Richard Robinson, son of the corporation's founder, was CEO and president.[7] Scholastic began trading onNASDAQ on May 12, 1987. In 2000, Scholastic purchasedGrolier for US$400 million.[8][9] Scholastic became involved in a video collection in 2001. In February 2012, Scholastic boughtWeekly Reader Publishing fromReader's Digest Association, and announced in July 2012 that it planned to discontinue separate issues ofWeekly Reader magazines after more than a century of publication, and co-branded the magazines asScholastic News/Weekly Reader.[10] Scholastic sold READ 180 to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015. in December 2015, Scholastic launched the Scholastic Reads Podcasts. On October 22, 2020, Scholastic celebrated its 100th anniversary. In 2005, Scholastic developed FASTT Math with Tom Snyder to help students with their proficiency with math skills, specifically being multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction through a series of games and memorization quizzes gauging the student's progress.[11] In 2013, Scholastic developed System 44 with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to help students encourage reading skills. In 2011, Scholastic developed READ 180 withHoughton Mifflin Harcourt to help students understand their reading skills.[12]
The business has three segments: Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. Scholastic holds the perpetual US publishing rights to theHarry Potter andHunger Games book series.[13][14] Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and print and digital educational materials for pre-K to grade 12.[15] In addition toHarry Potter andThe Hunger Games, Scholastic is known for its school book clubs and book fairs, classroom magazines such asScholastic News andScience World, and popular book series:Clifford the Big Red Dog,The Magic School Bus,Goosebumps,Horrible Histories,Captain Underpants,Animorphs,The Baby-Sitters Club, andI Spy. Scholastic also publishes instructional reading and writing programs, and offers professional learning and consultancy services for school improvement.Clifford the Big Red Dog is the official mascot of Scholastic.[16]
The Scholastic Art & Writing awards was Founded in 1923 by Maurice R. Robinson,The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards,[17] administered by theAlliance for Young Artists & Writers, is a competition which recognizes talented young artists and writers from across the United States.[18]
The success and enduring legacy of theScholastic Art & Writing Awards can be attributed in part to its well-planned and executed marketing initiatives. These efforts have allowed the competition to adapt to the changing times, connect with a wider audience, and continue its mission of nurturing the creative potential of the nation's youth.
In 2005, Scholastic developedFASTT Math withTom Snyder to help students with their proficiency with math skills, specifically beingmultiplication,division,addition, andsubtraction through a series of games and memorization quizzes gauging the student's progress.[30] In 2013, Scholastic developed System 44 withHoughton Mifflin Harcourt to help students encourage reading skills. In 2011, Scholastic developed READ 180 with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to help students understand their reading skills. Scholastic Reference publishesreference books.[31][32]
Scholastic Entertainment (formerly Scholastic Productions and Scholastic Media) is a corporate division[33]led byDeborah Forte since 1995.It covers "all forms of media and consumer products, and is comprised of four main groups – Productions, Marketing & Consumer Products, Interactive, and Audio."Weston Woods is its production studio, acquired in 1996, as wasSoup2Nuts (best known forDr. Katz, Professional Therapist,Science Court andHome Movies) from 2001 to 2015 before shutting down.[34]Scholastic has produced audiobooks such as the Caldecott/Newbery Collection;[35] Scholastic has been involved with several television programs and feature films based on its books. In 1985, Scholastic Productions teamed up withKarl-Lorimar Home Video, a home video unit ofLorimar Productions, to form the line Scholastic-Lorimar Home Video, whereas Scholastic would produce made-for-video programming, and became a best-selling video line for kids, and the pact expired for two years, whereas Scholastic would team up with leading independent family video distributor and a label ofInternational Video Entertainment,Family Home Entertainment, to distribute made-for-video programming for the next three years.[36]
| Title | Airdate | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery at Fire Island | November 27, 1981 | CBS | |
| The Haunted Mansion Mystery | January 8–15, 1983 | ABC | |
| The Magic of Herself the Elf | July 30, 1983 | Syndication | Nelvana,Those Characters from Cleveland (owner) |
| The Great Love Experiment | February 8, 1984 | ABC | |
| A Different Twist | March 10, 1984 | ABC | |
| The Almost Royal Family | October 24, 1984 | ABC | |
| The Exchange Student | January 22, 1985 | CBS | |
| The Adventures of a Two-Minute Werewolf | February 23-March 2, 1985 | ABC | |
| High School Narc | December 4, 1985 | ABC | |
| Getting Even: A Wimp's Revenge | March 19, 1986 | ABC | |
| The Incredible Ida Early | May 29, 1987 | NBC | |
| Read Between the Lines | June 3, 1987 | ABC | |
| Song City USA More Song City USA | September 1989 | Direct-to-video | |
| Floor Time: Tuning In to Each Child | 1990 | Direct-to-video | |
| Riding the Magic School Bus with Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen | September 1992 | Direct-to-video | |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories | 1993 | Direct-to-video | U.S. version ofThe World of Eric Carle |
| Stellaluna | 2002 | Direct-to-video |
Scholastic Book Fairs began in 1981. Scholastic provides book fair products to schools, which then conduct the book fairs. Schools can elect to receive books, supplies and equipment or a portion of the proceeds from the book fair.[37]
In the United States, during fiscal 2024, revenue from the book fairs channel ($541.6 million) accounted for more than half of the company's revenue in the "Total Children's Book Publishing and Distribution" segment ($955.2 million),[38] and schools earned over $200 million in proceeds in cash and incentive credits.[39]
In October 2023, Scholastic created a separate category for books dealing with "race, LGBTQ and other issues related to diversity", allowing schools to opt out of carrying these types of books. Scholastic defended the move, citing legislation in multiple states seeking toban books dealing withLGBTQ issues orrace.[40] After public backlash from educators, authors, andfree speech advocacy groups, Scholastic reversed course, saying the new category will be discontinued, writing: "It is unsettling that the current divisive landscape in the U.S. is creating an environment that could deny any child access to books, or that teachers could be penalized for creating access to all stories for their students".[41][42]
Scholastic Book Fairs have been criticized for spurring unnecessary purchases, highlighting economic inequality among students, and disruption of school activities and facilities.[43][44]
Scholasticbook clubs are offered at schools in many countries. Typically, teachers administer the program to the students in their own classes, but in some cases, the program is administered by a central contact for the entire school. Within Scholastic, Reading Clubs is a separate unit (compared to, e.g., Education). Reading clubs are arranged by age/grade.[45] Book club operators receive "Classroom Funds" redeemable only for Scholastic Corporation products.[46][47][48]
In January 2025, claims of a data breach affecting Scholastic came from a group calling themselves Puppygirl Hacker Polycule.[49] The breach affected an estimated 8 million customers consisting of names, email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses. The breach was provided toHave I Been Pwned? in an effort to inform customers.[50]
Where can classroom funds be spent? Classroom Funds can be spent online only at Scholastic Book Clubs (clubs.scholastic.com)
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