Parents Helping Teachers Have a C.O.O.L. Yule

(ARA) - As the holidays approach, parents everywhere are looking for the perfect gift for their childrens’ teachers. And while teachers everywhere appreciate the thought, chances are they really don’t need another scented candle, coffee mug or “world’s greatest teacher” plaque. What they do need and welcome are gifts of books for the classroom.

Joshua Plati, a fifth-grade teacher in Falmouth, Maine, believes that books are one of the best gifts a parent can give an educator. “You can never have too many books in the classroom,” he says.

Scholastic has made it even easier for busy parents to order books with Clubs Ordering OnLine, or C.O.O.L. (www.scholastic.com/cool). The order still goes directly to the teacher, but now with credit card payments, teachers don’t need to deal with order forms or calculations, and parents don’t worry about money getting lost on the way to school. As always, the books are delivered to the school in the familiar red and white box.

C.O.O.L. is the gift that keeps on giving, because for every book a parent orders, teachers earn valuable bonus points that can be used to get free resources for their classrooms. Many parents don’t know that teachers often spend their own money to buy materials, everything from classroom decorations to school supplies. But not only do teachers earn bonus points to outfit their classrooms with books and resources, kids get the books they love at home and at school.

“I’ve been using Scholastic Book Clubs for six years, and over half of the books in my classroom I’ve gotten because of bonus points,” said Plati. “Sometimes I’ll use my bonus points to get books for students as incentives to do better in class.”

Clubs Ordering OnLine also makes it easy for parents to get great books into the hands of all kids. According to the recently released Kids and Family Reading Report, a national survey of children ages 5-17 and their parents, kids say that the number one reason they do not read more is because they cannot find books they like to read, yet kids who read frequently say parents are a top source of book suggestions.

Each month Scholastic Book Clubs offer carefully reviewed books that appeal to kids’ varied interests and reading abilities, so families are sure to find books that kids will love to read.

“Our goal has always been to give parents and teachers real help in promoting the love of reading and ownership of good books,” said Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs. “With C.O.O.L., everyone wins. Parents save money, kids get books they love and teachers save valuable time, while earning bonus points for the books they desperately need for their classrooms.”

Courtesy of ARA Content