After concerned readers sent more than 57,000 emails to Scholastic CEO Richard Robinson through an online petition, the publisher has decided to reduce its InSchool program and cut back on its pool of corporate sponsors.
According to the publisher, InSchool will see about a 40 percent reduction in programs this year. Boston nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) led the online campaign after Scholastic distributed a “Shedding Light on Energy” curriculum with American Coal Foundation sponsorship. The publisher has since pulled the series.
In a statement, Scholastic explained the new changes: “First, we are focusing on working only with a carefully selected list of non-profit, corporate and government partners, each of whom who will be vetted by a newly formed Partner Review Board. This reduction primarily in the pool of corporate partners will likely result in about 40% fewer programs this year; Second, we are appointing a Partner Review Board consisting of a curriculum editor, a teacher, a school administrator, a child psychologist, and a parenting expert to evaluate potential partners and review the content of sponsored programs; Third, we are strengthening the editorial review of sponsored supplemental educational content and putting additional checks in place to ensure the accuracy and impartiality of the content, including final approval by the Partner Review Board.”