Scholastic Corporation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Scholastic Corporation

Logo used since 1986
The Scholastic Building in New York City, the headquarters of Scholastic Corporation
Formerly	Scholastic Inc. (1981–2011)
Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: SCHL S&P 600 Component
Industry	Children's literacy and education
Founded	October 22, 1920; 104 years ago (1920-10-22), in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Founder	Maurice Robinson
Headquarters	Scholastic Building 557 Broadway, New York City, New York 10012, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Peter Warwick (CEO, president) Kenneth Cleary (CFO)
Products	Books, magazines, pre-K to grade 12 instructional programs, classroom magazines, films, television
Revenue	US$1.7 billion (2022)
Number of employees	8,900 (2019)
Divisions	Imprints and corporate divisions

Scholastic Corporation is a big American company. It publishes and shares books, comics, and learning materials. These are for schools, teachers, parents, and kids. You can find their products in stores, online, and through school book clubs and book fairs. Clifford the Big Red Dog, a famous character, is Scholastic's mascot. He was created by Norman Bridwell in 1963.

Scholastic's Story: A Look Back

Richard Robinson was the CEO and president from 1975 until 2021.

Scholastic started in 1920 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maurice R. Robinson founded it to publish magazines for young people. The very first magazine was The Western Pennsylvania Scholastic. It came out on October 22, 1920. This four-page magazine covered high school sports and social events. It was given out in 50 high schools. More magazines soon followed.

In 1948, Scholastic began its book club business. During the 1960s, Scholastic started publishing books. It also opened offices in other countries like England, New Zealand, and Australia. In the 1970s, Scholastic created a TV entertainment part of the company. Richard Robinson, the founder's son, became CEO and president in 1975. He led the company until 2021.

Scholastic shares began trading on the NASDAQ stock market in 1987. In 2000, Scholastic bought another company called Grolier. In 2012, Scholastic bought Weekly Reader Publishing. They later combined Weekly Reader magazines with Scholastic News. Scholastic also created learning programs. For example, FASTT Math was developed in 2005 to help students with math skills. System 44 (2013) and READ 180 (2011) were made to help students improve their reading. Scholastic celebrated its 100th birthday on October 22, 2020.

How Scholastic Works

Scholastic has three main parts. These are Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, Education Solutions, and International. Scholastic owns the rights to publish the Harry Potter and Hunger Games books in the U.S. It is the world's largest publisher of children's books. It also creates print and digital learning materials for kids from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.

Besides Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, Scholastic is famous for its school book clubs and book fairs. They also publish classroom magazines like Scholastic News and Science World. Many popular book series come from Scholastic. These include Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Magic School Bus, Goosebumps, Horrible Histories, Captain Underpants, Animorphs, The Baby-Sitters Club, and I Spy. Scholastic also offers programs to help schools improve.

Helping Young Artists and Writers

The The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards started in 1923. Maurice R. Robinson founded them. This competition finds talented young artists and writers across the United States. It is run by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

Scholastic's Publishing Brands

Scholastic has many different publishing brands, also called imprints.

• Some of their trade publishing brands include:
  • Arthur A. Levine Books: This brand publishes fiction and non-fiction books for young readers. It was started in 1996 by Arthur Levine. It is well-known for publishing the American versions of the Harry Potter series.
  • The Chicken House
  • Graphix: This brand focuses on graphic novels and started in 2005.
  • Klutz Press
  • Orchard Books
  • Scholastic Australia: This includes brands like Koala Books and Omnibus Books.
• Children's Press: This brand started in 1945. It publishes series like Rookie Read-About and A True Book. It also has another brand called Franklin Watts.
• 9 Story Media Group: This is a media company in Canada. Scholastic bought a part of it in 2024.

Scholastic Reference publishes reference books.

Scholastic Entertainment: Movies and TV Shows

Scholastic Entertainment is the part of the company that creates movies and TV shows. It also handles consumer products. This division has been led by Deborah Forte since 1995. It includes groups for productions, marketing, interactive games, and audio. Weston Woods is a production studio that Scholastic bought in 1996.

Scholastic has made audiobooks, like the Caldecott/Newbery Collection. They have also created many TV shows and movies based on their books. In the 1980s, Scholastic worked with other companies to make videos for kids.

TV Series from Scholastic

Scholastic has helped create many popular TV shows.

Movies from Scholastic

Scholastic has also helped make several movies based on books.

Scholastic Book Fairs

Scholastic Book Fairs started in 1981. Scholastic sends books and supplies to schools. The schools then hold book fairs. Schools can choose to get books and supplies for their libraries. Or, they can get a part of the money earned from the fair.

In the United States, book fairs bring in a lot of money for Scholastic. Schools also earned over $200 million from these fairs in 2024.

In October 2023, Scholastic tried something new. They made a separate group of books about topics like different cultures and identities. Schools could choose not to have these books at their fairs. Scholastic said they did this because some states had laws about which books could be in schools. But many people, including teachers and authors, were upset. They felt it might stop kids from reading certain stories. Scholastic listened to the feedback. They decided to stop this new category. They said it was important for all children to have access to all kinds of books.

Some people have also said that book fairs can make kids buy things they don't need. They also pointed out that not all students can afford books. Book fairs can also sometimes interrupt school activities.

Scholastic Book Clubs

Scholastic book clubs are available in schools around the world. Usually, teachers help students join the clubs in their classes. Sometimes, one person at the school manages the club for everyone. Book clubs are organized by age or grade level. Teachers and schools who run book clubs earn "Classroom Funds." These funds can be used to buy more Scholastic products.

2025 Data Incident

In January 2025, there were reports of a data incident at Scholastic. A group claimed they had accessed information from about 8 million customers. This information included names, email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses. Scholastic worked to inform affected customers about this situation.

See also

In Spanish: Scholastic Corporation para niños

• List of English-language book publishing companies
• Books in the United States