WHAT'S NEXT

Tell Scholastic: Stop Pushing Corporate PR in Classrooms
  1. Signatures
    57,094 out of 75,000
    Petitioning
    1. CEO, Scholastic (Richard Robinson)
  2. Created By
    Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
How We Won

Aug 01, 2011

After more than 55,000 people joined the Campaign For a Commercial-Free Childhood's campaign on Change.org, Scholastic, Inc. has moved to drastically limit its practice of partnering with corporations to produce classroom materials.

Major changes to the "InSchool Marketing" program include: a projected 40 percent decrease in the program, with significantly deeper cuts to corporate partners, and the creation of a curriculum review board to approve future sponsored curriculum.

"This is a major victory for children everywhere. Thanks to tens of thousands of you who have taken action, students will find less corporate influence in their classrooms this fall," said Josh Golin, Associate Director of the CCFC. 

Petition signers also got involved in additional measures to push this campaign to victory, including posting on their Facebook wall and calling CEO Richard Robinson. You can read more about this victory in The New York Times.

Trusted children's publisher Scholastic is abusing its privileged position in schools. Scholastic’s InSchool Marketing division offers its services to corporations as a curriculum producer for hire.  Its mission is “to promote client objectives” and “make a difference by influencing attitudes and behaviors.” Scholastic’s clients have included McDonald’s, Cartoon Network, Shell, SunnyD,  Nestle, Disney and the corporate-funded Chamber of Commerce.

We know that Scholastic is listening right now. Bowing to pressure from members of the CCFC, Rethinking Schools, and environmental groups around the country, Scholastic has already agreed to stop distributing coal industry-funded teaching materials in elementary school classrooms.  But Scholastic’s commercialization of children’s classrooms runs much deeper than coal.

So please, tell Scholastic: Stop pushing corporate PR in classrooms.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Stop Distributing Corporate and Industry Materials in Schools

Dear Mr. Robinson,

I am writing to urge you to stop distributing all corporate and industry-sponsored materials in schools.

I am pleased that Scholastic has ended its arrangement with the coal industry to distribute sponsored teaching materials in classrooms. Scholastic’s commercialization of education, however, extends far beyond this one partnership. In addition to the American Coal Foundation, Scholastic’s InSchool Marketing clients have included, among others, Cartoon Network, Nestle, SunnyD, Disney, McDonald’s and the corporate-funded Chamber of Commerce.

I understand that you are currently reviewing your policy and editorial procedures on sponsored classroom materials. I urge you to stop the practice altogether. Since you state that only “a tiny percentage” of Scholastic’s classroom materials are sponsored, it should be easy for you to make the ethical decision. Promoting ‘client objectives’ to a captive student audience isn’t education; it’s predatory marketing.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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