THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE WITH THE LONG REACH
Founded in 1993, Schoolwide was propelled onto the scene by a feature article in Parade Magazine that highlighted its student-run school bookstore program. The program was designed to help economically disadvantaged students and families gain access to, and ownership of, new, high-quality children’s books at low cost. Schoolwide exclusively supported and serviced student-run bookstores for the first five years of its existence, supplying collections of books called “bargain bundles” for an average price of $1.00 each.
OUR FIRST BOOK CATALOG
In 1999, led by Educational Director Rory Cohen, Schoolwide published its first wholesale trade book catalog. Since its inception, Schoolwide’s book catalog has consistently focused on supporting best practices in literacy teaching and learning. Over the years, Schoolwide has successfully supported and fulfilled book projects large and small, ranging from districtwide classroom library initiatives (in both English and Spanish) to individual collections to support guided reading, reading and writing workshops, science and social studies, and foundational skills.
CURRICULUM PUBLISHING - FUNDAMENTALS UNITS OF STUDY
As the book distribution business grew so did the requests and inquiries for lesson plans and teaching resources. In 2006, Schoolwide assembled a team of literacy experts, writers, editors, and graphic designers to develop its first proprietary curriculum product, Writing Fundamentals Units of Study for Grades K–5.
Released in 2007, the units received rave reviews and were immediately implemented and adopted by numerous schools and districts, including the New York City Department of Education, Fort Worth ISD, and Omaha Public Schools, to name a few.
The success of Writing Fundamentals charted a new course for Schoolwide. It has not looked back since! Schoolwide’s research-based and proven-effective literacy curriculum has been utilized in tens of thousands of classrooms in over 40 states and now includes: Writing Fundamentals Units of Study for Grades 6–8; Spanish Writing Units of Study; the Fundamentals of Grammar and Conventions; Reading Fundamentals; Content Literacy Units of Study; Fundamentals Guided Reading Collections; Assessment Fundamentals; and Foundational Skills.
INTO THE DIGITAL AGE: FUNDAMENTALS UNLIMITED – DIGITAL CURRICULUM PLATFORM
In the fall of 2017, Schoolwide launched Fundamentals Unlimited, its first fully digitized curriculum platform. Fundamentals Unlimited provides access to the entirety of Schoolwide’s database of curriculum resources including, but not limited to:
- 100+ units of study for Grades K–8
- Includes the newly released (2020) eLearning Units of Study and Remote Teaching and Learning Modules, explicitly designed for use in a remote environment.
- 10,000+ individual lessons and assessments.
- Over 1,000 short texts and eBooks.
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS to substantial growth and technological advancement over two decades, Schoolwide has been responsive to the needs of teachers and students. It remained steadfast in its mission to effect positive and lasting change in literacy teaching and learning.
