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Relevant Facts

Over 40% of all U.S public school students are racially and ethnically diverse. This percentage is even higher in big city school systems: 89% in Baltimore, 90% in Detroit, 93% in New Orleans and 95% in the District of Columbia. Yet it is estimated that minorities represent less than 10% of the work force producing instructional materials for schools. Creating a diverse industry work force that more accurately represents the face of America’s classrooms will improve the chances of academic success for all students through learning resources that are relevant and engaging and free of unintended cultural bias.

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Industry Insights

 

Few sane people go into educational publishing to become rich. But the field is full of riches:
•Creative people
•Family/team environments
•Huge audience that depends on you
•Work that is constantly changing and interesting
•Work that is constantly challenging
•Work that helps you grow and change
•Work that makes a difference.

In today's fast-changing business environment, many sectors struggle to find the time, talent and resources to cultivate young talent. Like other industries, educational publishing, with its consolidation through mergers and on-going restructuring of middle management to reduce overhead, has seen it's "bench strength" diminish.

This talent gap is occurring precisely at a time when the educational publishing sector needs new blood most. Retirement of industry leaders, changing state and federal regulations that impact buying decisions, new research on how kids learn, and technological advances that offer a host of curriculum delivery systems make this an exciting and challenging time to enter the business. For smart talent looking to make their mark on American education through publishing, the opportunities to shape the future of an industry couldn’t be better.

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Advice for Candidates

Describing the educational publishing industry today requires a new definition of “publishing” to encompass the extraordinary breadth and depth of new formats for products and services that have evolved. Technology platforms, new software, innovation in printing and print materials, and a hardware revolution have enabled publishers to deliver instructional materials, instructional and classroom management, assessment, and professional development multi-dimensionally:  in print, through video and audio, on-line, in person or from a distance.  Educational publishers have become solution providers for educators, administrators, and parents.  They provide products and services that can be delivered across all content friendly platforms.  Educational publishers have become educational media companies.
 
To be successful in the educational publishing sector, a candidate must have a fundamental affinity for the overall mission of education.  While the educational publishing industry is a multi-billion dollar business category, it has always been led by individuals who believe in the imperative of empowering teachers to provide a gold standard education to every child.  A commitment to quality, to accuracy, to diversity, and to meeting special needs are foundational principles of the industry.  Truly embracing these are a pre-requisite to long-term career success and satisfaction in educational publishing.  With that being said we look for a strong sense of customer focus, superb communication skills (written and verbal), emotional maturity and good collaboration skills.  Subject category expertise is always a plus.  Prior experience as a teacher or within the administrative organization of a district or state education office is also helpful.  And of course for specific functional positions prior experience in that functional area is sought (e.g. marketing, sales, finance).
 
Willa Perlman
Managing Partner
Ligature Partners, Inc.
60 Ship Street
Providence, RI  02903
401-521-3993 (phone)
willa@ligaturepartners.com
www.ligaturepartners.com

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Advice for Companies

The first step in developing a diversity initiative is for management to agree on a definition and set goals.  The main thing to keep in mind is that diversity refers to more than just physical attributes such as race, gender, and age. Other facets of a candidate's background such as education and cultural upbringing are also important aspects of creating a diverse workplace.

People from different backgrounds will bring different perspectives to a project, which will create a workplace conducive to fresh ideas and unique solutions.  A diverse staff also enables a company to cater to the needs of diverse communities, a competitive advantage in any industry, but particularly important in education, where the target audience may come from a myriad of backgrounds.  For example, when writing a word problem for a math workbook, the names and situations could become less homogenous and more reflective of the actual diversity in schools.

Diversity can be a major factor in successful business strategy which is why larger companies such as Texas Instruments have endorsed corporate-wide diversity initiatives.  For smaller firms, it may simply be a recruiting strategy to keep in mind in the future, as staff members leave or numbers expand.

The most successful searches are those that start in the right place, such as a college with a historically diverse enrollment or professional organizations that develop diverse employees. Recruiting tactics such as internships, scholarships for potential future employees, and referral bonuses are also important.

Being sensitive to employees' needs is the key to employee retention in any workplace environment, but this becomes much more difficult when people from different cultural, ethnic, and/or religious backgrounds are brought together. Company-wide anti-discrimination policies and training must be put firmly into place, ensuring existing employees understand the value of diversity and the commitment behind it.

I recommend sponsorship/mentorship programs for new employees and frequent meetings, as often as every 4 to 6 weeks. Leaders and management staff also need to know what the culture of the workplace is really like. People tend to tell you what you want to hear, but it's up to you to know what's going on.

Dr. John Meeker
Founder
Meeker and Associates
7101 York Avenue Suite 315
Minneapolis, MN 55435
952-921-3262 (phone)
john@johnmeeker.com
www.johnmeeker.com

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Advice for Educators

We’re all familiar with the traditional faces of diversity: race, religion, and socio-economic background. There is another aspect of diversity that needs to be addressed in education:  age. The achievement gap that widens throughout children’s school careers often begins with the simple assumption that all children who enter kindergarten are ready to learn the same material at the same rate.
Some children who enter kindergarten have just turned five while others are closer to six years old. The older students are more likely to be further developed physically, socially, and intellectually. Yet, the standard starting point will be applied to all of the students. So, a motivated reader may be re-taught the ABCs while another student struggles with letters for the first time. Compounding the problem is that by the end of the year, all of the children are supposed to have attained the same level of knowledge.
Children progress through school on a broken front.  Different kids stay different over time, yet we still try to give all kids the same finish line. Moreover, the standard age-reliant school year does not take into account other important learning influences. For example, the family's education and verbal interaction, the amount of sleep the children get each night, being a premature baby, poor nutrition, access to technology, etc., will also affect educational progress.
Teachers recognize that individual instruction would help close these gaps, but there is not enough time for them to individually teach all students. Furthermore, they are required to teach a voluminous amount of curricula in only 36 weeks and need to make sure that the children pass assessments according to both state and federal standards. Finally, too many non-academic curriculum add-ons are being forced into the classroom which all must be taught by the regular teachers during regular class time--earthquake safety, save the whales, AIDS education, and abstinence education, to name just a few.
Supplemental educational publishers are the best solution to the age-diversity issue because these resources offer differentiated instruction that allow students to learn at their own rate. The goal is close the achievement gap for many and to narrow the gap for all.

Jim Grant
Founder and CEO
Staff Development for Educators
10 Sharon Road
PO Box 577
Peterborough, NH 03458
http://www.sde.com/index.asp

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