Michael Haggen Named Chief Academic Officer for Scholastic Education
New York, NY – March 15, 2016 – Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced the appointment of Michael Haggen as Chief Academic Officer for Scholastic Education. In this new role, Michael will be based in New York and report to Greg Worrell, President of Scholastic Education.
As Chief Academic Officer, Michael will apply his experience as a former senior school district administrator, responsible for school improvement in several major districts, to ensure that Scholastic Education is best able to support educators improve student learning through its focus on: instructional materials for literacy achievement, professional learning programs for teacher effectiveness, family and community engagement initiatives, and consulting services designed to strengthen integrated systems of learning supports. He will also oversee the alignment of products, programs and services to essential student skills, keeping Scholastic Education a responsive, comprehensive literacy partner at the forefront of addressing the specific needs of pre-K to grade 12 districts nationwide. Michael will continue to lead the Research and Validation Department for Scholastic Education and keep the editorial, marketing, communications and field teams informed on the latest trends in education affecting administrators, principals and teachers.
Michael Haggen brings more than 20 years of academic experience, having served as a teacher, principal, chief academic officer and direct report to superintendents in three school districts. He first joined Scholastic last summer as the National Consultant for School Transformation Services and has since traveled extensively, consulting with districts on how to bolster their effectiveness in literacy instruction. He has also worked on product research and validation programs for Scholastic Education, while enhancing the division’s work in professional learning and informing the development of new products.
Prior to joining Scholastic, Michael served as Deputy Superintendent in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, driving significant change that included leading efforts which ultimately yielded increases in academic performance in 70 percent of schools. In St. Louis Public Schools, he developed and implemented a turnaround model for 11 schools, which led to that system’s first provisional accreditation in more than a decade. As Deputy Superintendent of New Orleans’ Recovery School District, Michael led the system-wide organization of an integrated learning supports program, designed to remove barriers to learning for students, including those returning home post-Hurricane Katrina. He also managed the district’s family and community engagement and extended day programs, as well as volunteer and donation initiatives. His accomplishments in this role extended to putting systems in place to allow regular evaluations of and improvements to district-wide curriculum.
In announcing the appointment, Greg Worrell shared, “Michael Haggen is the ideal person to partner with schools and districts across the country on behalf of Scholastic Education, increasing student performance by aligning our offerings to the needs of both educators and students. Since joining Scholastic, he has exemplified our mission of opening a world of possible for all students and has displayed a clear understanding of and compassion for the unique needs of schools. The entire Scholastic Education team will benefit greatly from his leadership as Chief Academic Officer and from his guiding voice on how we can continue to strengthen our position as a comprehensive literacy partner.”
Additional information about Scholastic is available on the Company’s media room: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.
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