Dive Brief:
- During the Association of American Publishers’ PreK-12 Learning Group conference, Principal Lisa Ciaranca Kaplan told executives how to best support struggling schools.
- Market Brief reports Kaplan’s advice included asking principals for teacher recommendations to populate focus groups and ensure better feedback about course materials and supporting writing projects at schools like sponsoring a student newspaper or a playwriting or poetry month.
- She also told publishers to sponsor an after-school book club or a speaker series and consider becoming a community partner, which schools have come to rely on because of damaging budget cuts.
Dive Insight:
One of the prime expenses schools face is acquiring learning materials. The K-12 publishing industry reaches tens of billions of dollars. Asking publishers to give back is a fair strategy in the search for additional support for schools. Funding cuts have limited the options for schools intent on sponsoring after-school activities. These extracurriculars give students exposure to future career paths, give them something to do while their parents may still be working and allow them to practice academic skills in fun environments.
When extracurriculars improve student feelings of connectedness to the school, it could also have health benefits. Research from the Centers for Disease Control shows students who feel more connected to their schools have better health and educational outcomes than their peers who do not.