She Snoops for Scoops: The Personal Side of the EdNET Community

Greetings, friends, and happy Friday. There is lots of news this week, so I am not going to waste any time getting you into it! Read on….

Devereux Chatillon, SVP & General Counsel, for Scholastic Inc. has announced that Christopher Lick has joined the Legal Department as counsel and will be working on trademarks, including litigation, clearance, prosecution and other matters. Marian Steffens and Ian Roderick will work with Chris on trademark issues. Chris comes to Scholastic from Kilpatrick Stockton, where he worked in the Trademark and Copyright Group, an area he has been practicing since graduating from Cardozo Law School with honors in 2002. Please join me in welcoming him to the Scholastic team!

Also at Scholastic, following the realignment of the International businesses announced by Dick Robinson in May, the company has made some organizational changes in the finance groups supporting both Hugh Roome (Export, Latin America and Consumer Magazines) and Linda Gosnell (Major Markets). The company regrets to announce that Emily Begle, VP Finance International/Consumer Magazines, will retire. Emily has been with Scholastic for almost 15 years and has held a number of operating and corporate roles of increasing responsibility. In each of her assignments, she has been an excellent partner to both operating management and to corporate personnel. All who have worked closely with Emily will greatly miss her on both a professional and a personal basis.

Peter Sallese, VP/Controller, will also serve as the acting VP of Finance while maintaining his current responsibilities within the accounting organization for Scholastic. As a result, he will have a dual reporting relationship – to Bob Jackson, Chief Accounting Officer, on all accounting matters and to Ken Yamamoto on all business finance issues – and will retain his existing direct reports in accounting. Due to his experience in both consumer magazines and in other corporate environments, Peter will be able to make an immediate positive contribution to these important growth businesses.

Please join me in congratulating Emily for her many years of dedicated service and in congratulating Peter on his interim assignment.

Our friend Ileana Rowe, formerly of Atomic Learning and Learning.com, will be joining Lightspeed Systems as V.P. of Marketing effective August 1st. They are thrilled to have her join their team! Send congratulations to the talented Ileana on her new position at ileana@lightspeedsystems.com.

Ann Amstutz Hayes, Vice President, Scholastic Marketing Partners, Scholastic Inc. has announced the following promotions within Scholastic InSchool: Evan English has been promoted to Digital Marketing Manager, Alexis Coyle has been promoted to Junior Sales Associate and Greer Martin has been named Production Coordinator. Just over a year ago, Evan and Rob Hoskins took on the responsibility of working with the partners at e-Scholastic as well as vendors to help with the development of all of InSchool’s micro sites. They have established new pricing models, online packages, development processes and web analytic success metrics – all in an effort to help InSchool successfully reposition its online products in the marketplace. In her new role, Evan will continue to develop creative online sponsorship opportunities for the company’s proposal and sales teams to pitch, while simultaneously managing the e-resources necessary to build out the creative functionality of their new and improved custom micro sites.

Rob will continue to manage online estimating and vendor relationship management as well as database and online ad sales tracking. Given the increased interest and need for “out of the box” InSchool programs, Rob will also re-energize his focus on the manufacturing side of the business. 

Working as the Production Coordinator for Rob and Evan over the past 12 months, Alexis Coyle thoroughly learned key aspects of the manufacturing side of the InSchool business. She successfully managed both list and count selection as well as the task of managing InSchool’s growing online advertising business. With a keen interest in sales, Alexis will be transitioning over the next month into her role as a Junior Sales Associate. In her new role she will be working directly with Angie Banziger and Jason Omenn to grow both the print and digital InSchool business. 

Greer Martin, who joined Scholastic on a freelance basis in January 2008, has been named Production Coordinator for Scholastic InSchool. In her freelance role she has been supporting InSchool’s research efforts -- including pre- and post-program online surveys, BRC reporting and program analysis. In her new role, she will help support print and online program deliverables and will be responsible for distribution strategy (both email and direct mail), email marketing, online advertising operations and continued support in online/print production. 

Please join me in congratulating each of these individuals on their accomplishments and new roles!

Linworth Publishing, Inc. has announced the addition of Dr. Gail Dickinson as the new Editor-in-Chief to Library Media Connection (LMC) magazine, effective with the January/February 2009 issue. She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Educational Curriculum and Instruction at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, is very active professionally and serves as the representation from the American Library Association to the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). She has also published extensively on National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification for school library media and is active in the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). She is past co-chair of the AASL Learning Standards Task Force and is the current chair of the Educator of Library Media Specialists Section of AASL. LMC’s current Editor Carol Simpson will continue to be an integral part of Linworth Publishing, presenting Webinars, guiding the book publication program as part of the Linworth Books editorial committee and updating her indispensible books. In addition to the new editorial change for LMC, readers should look for a new design refresh from the cover to the index starting with the August/September issue. Also, to keep subscription rates down in the face of rising printing and postage costs and to keep the magazine more in line with educational calendars, LMC is moving from seven issues per year to six. In response to educators’ needs for the most up-to-date information and resources possible, the Linworth website is also growing. They are building content with contributions from experts in the field, examples of best practices from colleagues, plus industry news. Join me in sending congratulations to Gail on her new position at Linworth@linworthpublishing.com.

The national PTA selected ten new board members recently at the 112th Annual National PTA Convention in San Diego. PTA's National Board of Directors is comprised of 28 parents, education professionals, community and business leaders and other child advocates from across the country.

National board members serve two-year terms and are either elected member representatives by convention delegates or are appointed by the national president as at-large members. Board member positions are unpaid, volunteer roles. The new board members are:

• Vito Borrello (appointed at-large board member) 
President, EPIC-Every Person Influences Children

• Alberto Carvalho (appointed at-large board member)
 Associate Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

• Karen Donaldson (appointed at-large board member)
 Professor and Chairperson, Education Department Spelman College

• Stella Edwards (elected board member representative)
 Substitute Teacher, Chesterfield County

• Frank Gallagher (appointed at-large board member)
 Director of Education and Media Literacy, Cable in the Classroom

• Jean Krieger (elected board member representative) 
Principal, Woodlake Elementary School, Mandeville, LA

• Tibby Milne (elected board member representative)
 CEO, Utah Council for Crime Prevention and National Mc Gruff® House Network

• Aurelio Montemayor (elected board member representative)
 Director, Texas Parent Information Resource Center; and Senior Associate and Leader Trainer, Intercultural Development Research Association

• Nicholaus Nelson-Goedert (appointed at-large board member)
 Student, Georgetown University

• Carla Niño (elected board member representative)
 Assistant Hospital Administrator IV at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services

The national board works in concert with the national CEO and staff to continue long-term strategies and priorities that benefit families nationwide. The board and CEO also ensure the execution of the association's strategic plan to speak for every child with one voice. Congratulations to each of these Board members for their generous donation of time and expertise to the PTA!

You may be aware of the Strategic Management of Human Capital in Public Education: A Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) Project. This project, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Gates Foundation, seeks the strategic redesign of human capital management systems for teachers and other leaders in the nation’s largest 100 public school districts and is headed by Allan Odden, co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education and Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and James Kelly, who was the founding president and chief executive officer of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), where he helped to create National Board Certification (NBC), an advanced professional certification program for accomplished elementary and secondary school teachers. Featuring a prestigious Task Force, chaired by Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, the project will: 1) define strategic management of human capital in public education; 2) create a network of leaders actively reengineering human capital management systems in public education, 3) document the nature and impact of leading-edge human capital management systems in several districts and states, 4) establish Strategic Management of Human Capital (SMHC) as a prominent issue on the nation’s education reform agenda, and 5) advance local and state policies to support widespread adoption of SMHC in public education. Their goals are to improve the quality of classroom instruction and student outcomes in K-12 classrooms by radically improving the strategic management of teaching and instructional leadership talent – human capital – in large, public school districts. Join me in commending the task force for their work:

• Joseph A. Aguerrebere, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

• Jo Anderson, Illinois Education Association

• Sir Michael Barber, McKinsey and Company

• Yvonne Chan, Vaughn Next Century Learning Center

• Carl A. Cohn, College of Education, San Diego State University

• Antonia Cortese, American Federation of Teachers

• Jack D. Dale, Fairfax County Public Schools

• Timothy Daly, The New Teacher Project

• Susan Fuhrman, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Beverly Hall, Atlanta Public Schools

• Susan Hiles-Meadows, Cincinnati Public Schools

• Thomas J. Kane, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

• Joel I. Klein, New York City Department of Education

• Janet M. Knupp, Chicago Public Education Fund

• Matthew Kramer, Teach for America

• Edward E. Lawler, Center for Effective Organizations, University of Southern California

• Francine Lawrence, Toledo Federation of Teachers

• Josh Reibel, Wireless Generation

• Michelle Rhee, District of Columbia Public Schools

• Sharon P. Robinson, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

• Eric Smith, Florida Department of Education

• LaVerne E. Srinivasan, New Leaders for New Schools

• Gerald N. Tirozzi, National Association of Secondary School Principals

• Dennis Van Roekel, National Education Association

• Gene Wilhoit, Council of Chief State School Officers

Leaders from two of educational publishing's oldest and most respected businesses will be honored this year with induction into the Educational Publishing Hall of Fame. The Class of 2008 includes Frank and William Sadlier Dinger, Chairman of the Board and President, respectively, of Willam H. Sadlier, Inc., and Martha (Marty) Smith, who recently stepped down as President of the School Curriculum Group at Pearson. The induction ceremony will take place December 4 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The 2008 inductees are recognized for their innovation, community outreach and lifelong dedication to creating better resources for education.

Marty Smith's career is marked by dedication and innovation aimed at meeting the needs of all students as well as programs to support the professional development of teachers. A former high school and middle school history teacher herself, Marty got her start in educational publishing at Scott Foresman in 1973, where she helped develop a number of leading geography and history series. She was recruited to Prentice Hall in 1986, where her accomplishments included the creation of one of the first technology product groups in the industry, anticipating by many years the demand for digital products and developing Prentice Hall¹s strategy, which set the trajectory for Pearson¹s leadership in educational publishing. In 1997, she was named President of Prentice Hall, and during her tenure, Prentice Hall grew from a from a $70m enterprise in 1986 to an almost $500m company today. Marty became President of Pearson's Curriculum Group in 2002. Her innovation and leadership in developing programs to address issues in education were further reflected as co-founder of Pearson's Hispanic Leadership Council, a member of Pearson's Global Diversity Council, and Founder and Director of Pearson's Instructional Leadership Councils. She has also served on numerous boards and councils including the Florida Governor's Council, the LessonLab Research Institute's Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) School Division.

Frank and William Sadlier Dinger are the great-grandsons of William H. Sadlier, whose uncles, Denis and James Sadlier, founded the family-owned publishing company in 1832. During the tenure of Frank and Bill as the company's top executives, Sadlier has grown significantly in the number and diversity of titles it has published, increased in sales volume, expanded its employee base, and implemented innovative technological applications for its products and Web sites. 

Frank joined the company in 1964 as a purchasing agent in the manufacturing department and was subsequently the Director of the Art and Production Department, Comptroller, Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer. He was elected Chairman of the Board in 1991. He has been a member of the Board of Directors at William H Sadlier, Inc., since 1975. Frank's commitment to educational publishing goes well beyond his 40-plus years of service at Sadlier. He has been an active member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), a member of the International Reading Association¹s "Issues in Literacy Assessment Committee," a participant in the Annual Meetings of the Advisory Commission on Textbook Specifications, Inc. / National Association of State Textbook Administrators (ACTS/NASTA) and a judge for the 2006 New York Bookbinders¹ Guild Book Show. In 2006 St. John¹s University School of Education honored Frank with their Leadership in Education Award.

Bill got his start in the business in 1963 as a sales representative and held various positions at Sadlier, including sales manager, Director of Marketing, and National Sales Manager. He also joined the Board of Directors in 1975. Among his activities outside the company are the Early Literacy Development Commission of the International Reading Association, the Families Achieving New Standards Literacy Project at Rutgers University, and the Mid-Atlantic Schools Consortium. For his contributions to education and to the community, he has been honored with the Leadership Award from the University of San Francisco Institute for Educational Leadership and the MAC Award from the New York State Conference. Additionally, in September 2007, Bill and his wife, Maureen, received the Child of Peace Award from the Guardian Society and Home Bureau of New York.

Please join me in congratulating Marty, Frank and Bill on this most deserved honor. I know you will want to be in New York in December to congratulate them on being inducted into the AEP (the Association of Educational Publishers) Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to those who have made remarkable and lasting contributions to education and educational publishing. 

Dr. Beatriz Beltran, now retired but formerly International Coordinator of the Instructional Methodologies Department at SIL International, sent me an update this week on her travels. She will be off this weekend to Orlando for a University Conference and also for some work with Wycliffe Bible Translators. In may, she and a friend went to Alaska and visited with friends from Chile while in Vancouver and Fairbanks. She spent June at home, continuing with her task of downsizing, part of which involves getting rid of many computers books dated since 1995! She just returned from a trip to Branson, Missouri and Hot Springs, Arkansas. It all sounds wonderful, and Bea continues to stay very busy – I loved seeing pictures of all of her travels. You can drop a note to say hello to her at beatriz_beltran@sil.org.

Last weekend, Educational Systemics Vice President David Longdon was part of a 4-man team called the "RAOd Warriors" that won the 535-mile (bicycle) Race Across Oregon. "RAO" is the acronym for Race Across Oregon, hence the misspelled team name. They made it a company event! The company’s president Michael Jay and their MatchMaker K12 product manager, Shane Balkovetz, were part of the support crew as was Michael's grandson, Cameron. Both racers and crew were fiercely competitive, and I understand it was an experience of a lifetime for everyone. The winning time was 28 hours and 53 minutes with the next team only 15 minutes behind...a race all the way! Check it out yourself at:

• http://tinyurl.com/6qedxf (the race results)

• Flickr feed: http://tinyurl.com/6fzncx (for most of the race, their team wore red jerseys with a nuclear explosion graphic)

• http://tinyurl.com/62vuar (an interview with Michael and David near the approach to the finish)

This weekend, David is cycling the gorgeous Skagit Valley north of Seattle with others who have been touched by ALS. Together, they will be riding to benefit the ALS Association and to promote awareness about the misery of ALS. ALS has hit David's family particularly hard. His mom, an uncle and a cousin all died from complications related to ALS. The educational community is invited to find out more about the charity bike ride by visiting David's donation page (http://tinyurl.com/6sycyq), and if it's something you'd like to support, you can give online by clicking on the "Sponsor Me" link. If you'd prefer to send a check, contact David at david@edusystemics.com, and he'll tell you where to send it. Nice job, David!

I caught up this week with our friend Larry Nelson, who is leaving his position of Director of Global Sales and Marketing with Sun Microsystems, effective July 27th, to explore his next opportunity in life. He has greatly enjoyed his experiences at Sun and is proud of the many accomplishments he and his teams were able to achieve over the seven and a half years he was there. He has been taking time off to travel a bit and spend some time with his family while also starting his search for the next adventure. He traveled to New Mexico for his sister's wedding and was vacationing with his family in Michigan this week when we spoke. They were at a cottage on a lake enjoying what he described as a sixth generation family event that happens each summer and were enjoying boating, golfing, tennis and a lot of relaxation – sounds wonderful! But what was the most fun to hear about was a recent trip he and his oldest son Lawrence, who is fifteen, made to Scotland. They planned this father/son golf trip, which would have been amazing on its own, but they had an incredible experience as part of the trip. Larry’s mother-in-law’s first cousin happened to be knighted into the Order of the Thistle, a most serious and prestigious occurrence, and Larry and his son were on hand to witness the event. The Queen of Scotland was there, as was Princess Ann and the Duke of Edinborough. Larry said the feeling as the trumpets heralded the start of the event in the cathedral was unbelievable. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime memory he and his son will share forever! Larry is enjoying his summer but in also focused on his search. You can connect with him about his work and his travels at l-nelson@pacbell.net. I know you join me in wishing him every continued success with his next adventure!

I am so sad to bring you news that Paul Li, twin brother of our friend Peter Li, Peter Li, Inc., passed away last week after a battle he had had for several months with stomach cancer. Many of us had the chance to meet Paul – an identical twin and a lovely man, quite gregarious and charming. You may have well been tricked at some time by the twin switch that they loved to pull on people! I know you join me in keeping Peter and his family in our thoughts and prayers. You can drop Peter a note through his assistant Cyndi at cynpleg@aol.com or let me know if you would like a postal mailing address by dropping me a note at bighamv@aol.com.

I learned from Peter’s daughter and our friend Lisa (lisali_03@yahoo.com) that the twins celebrated their 70th birthdays earlier this month! Peter’s family was all together at Peter & Joy's new place in Palm Coast (I saw pictures when I was at NECC, and it looks fabulous!). Paul's family was able to join him in Tucson, so the good news is that they were able to have everyone together before he died. So we also wish Peter congratulations on his birthday milestone – he looked fantastic when I saw him in San Antonio! You, Lisa and your family are in our hearts and prayers, Peter!

Yes, a lot of news this week. I am off this weekend with a number of women to celebrate the milestone birthdays this year of Ellen Bialo and Maggie Sherrod. Look out, Vegas, because here we come – and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! Enjoy your weekend wherever you are, friends. Till next week….Vicki, the Snoop