School Specialty Early Childhood Book Advances Pre-K Literacy in Georgia
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GREENVILLE, Wis., March 12, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- School Specialty and well-known children's author John Archambault joined forces with the Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning to publish a children's book that commemorates the state's milestone of one million children served by its nationally recognized pre-kindergarten program. The book, A Million Starts with Me, was officially unveiled today during a book reading by Georgia First Lady Mary Perdue to about 140 Pre-K children at Zoo Atlanta. To help increase literacy in the home, every year the Governor and First Lady choose a book for Georgia's Pre-K students. The First Lady announced that A Million Starts with Me will be given next school year to every child participating in Georgia's Pre-K Program.
In addition to being authored by award-winning writer Archambault, best known for his children's classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, a major highlight of A Million Starts with Me are illustrations created by Georgia children. Bright from the Start officials put out a call for illustrations to Pre-K facilities across the state with the broad brush guidelines of having pictures related to the sky, oceans and "millions of things." The result was thousands of submissions, with the final selections for the book made by Mr. Archambault, the book's designer Sarah Hollander and the School Specialty publishing team.
"Creating this book has been an extremely rewarding project, personally and professionally," said Ginger Murphy, Vice President of School Specialty Early Childhood Product Development. "It has been an honor to work with the talented John Archambault, and the creative and energetic professionals at the Bright from the Start program. More than anything, the experience of helping create a book that advances child literacy and includes artwork by the very children it is intended to serve has been extremely heartwarming and inspirational."
"We could not have formed a more perfect partnership," said Dr. Holly Robinson, Commissioner of Bright from the Start. "School Specialty has shown tremendous support for Georgia's Pre-K Program by providing the genius of John Archambault – and the phenomenal outcome is that thousands of Georgia's children will be the direct beneficiaries."
About 90,000 copies of A Million Starts with Me, under the School Specialty imprint Childcraft®, will be delivered in early August for distribution to Pre-K programs throughout the state. The book also includes a CD that offers read-a-long opportunities, as well as a musical rendition of the book by David Plummer and Mr. Archambault.
Georgia is the first state in the nation to serve more than one million Pre-K children in a voluntary, universal, lottery-funded program. Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning administers the state's Pre-K program. In existence for 16 years, Bright from the Start emphasizes high-quality learning experiences for every participating child. During the 2009-2010 school year, 82,000 children in approximately 4,100 classrooms in every Georgia county are being served.
About School Specialty
School Specialty is a leading education company that provides innovative and proprietary products, programs and services to help educators engage and inspire students of all ages and abilities to learn. The company designs, develops, and provides preK-12 educators with the latest and very best curriculum, supplemental learning resources, and school supplies. Working in collaboration with educators, School Specialty reaches beyond the scope of textbooks to help teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators ensure that every student reaches his or her full potential. School Specialty Early Childhood provides educators of young children with everything they need to create a joyful, focused environment that promotes learning and development. For more than 60 years, its proprietary Childcraft® brand has offered the early childhood education professional with a wide range of supplemental educational products in math, reading, science and social studies. The Childcraft® brand also includes a host of published book products designed to advance the literacy skills of early learners. For more information about School Specialty and School Specialty Early Childhood, visit www.schoolspecialty.com.
About Bright from the Start
Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia's children and their families. It administers the nationally recognized Georgia Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers federal nutrition programs, and manages voluntary quality enhancement programs. The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education. For more information, go to www.decal.ga.gov.
CONTACT: School Specialty, Inc.
Ginger Murphy
717-653-7510
Corporate Communications
Mark Fleming
920-882-5646
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