Scott Foresman

Scott Foresman

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Educational publishing
Predecessor	Albert and Scott
Founded	1896 (1896)
Founder	Erastus Howard Scott, Hugh A. Foresman, William Coates Foresman
Fate	Acquired by Pearson PLC in 1996; brand now owned by Savvas Learning Company
Successor	Savvas Learning Company
Headquarters	Glenview, Illinois , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Erastus Howard Scott (founder and president), Hugh A. Foresman (founder), William Coates Foresman (founder)
Products	Educational materials for elementary students (PreK–6), including Dick and Jane readers
Owner	Savvas Learning Company (since 2020)
Parent	Savvas Learning Company
Website	www.savvas.com

Scott Foresman specialized in publishing educational materials for elementary students, covering grades PreK through 6 across various subjects. Currently, its publications are under the ownership of Savvas Learning Company, which emerged from the K12 division of Pearson Education. As of August 2020, the former headquarters located in Glenview stood unoccupied, amid reports concerning overdue mortgage payments on the facility.

Company history

Established in 1896, Scott Foresman and Company was founded by Erastus Howard Scott (serving as editor and president), Hugh A. Foresman (who took on sales and secretarial duties), and his sibling William Coates Foresman (treasurer). The origins of the enterprise trace back even further.

Early years

The business began in 1889 when E. H. Scott partnered with C. J. Albert to create "Albert and Scott," operating from a modest office in Chicago. Their inaugural publication was Bellum Helveticum (1889), a Latin textbook aimed at high school students.

In 1894, Hugh Foresman acquired Albert’s share and joined forces with Scott. The following year, they purchased the publishing assets of George Sherwood and Company and relocated to larger premises at 307 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago. On February 13, 1896, W. Coates Foresman became part of the firm, leading to the renaming as Scott, Foresman and Company. That same year, they expanded their catalog by acquiring S. C. Griggs and Company, adding titles such as Robert’s Rules of Order.

By 1897, the company had secured a significant state contract—a five-year agreement with Kansas for eight different publications. In 1898, operations moved again to 623 South Wabash Avenue; Hugh Foresman assumed the role of vice president as the company increasingly concentrated on producing elementary education materials. In 1908, R. C. McNamara was hired from Princeton University to oversee operations, introducing progressive business methods that later influenced university bookstore practices.

Publisher of early readers series

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, William Scott Gray, who directed the Curriculum Foundation Series at Scott Foresman, co-created the Elson Basic Readers (subsequently known as the Elson-Gray Basic Readers), published in Chicago. Collaborating with Gray was reading specialist and editor Zerna Sharp, who played a key role in developing the influential Dick and Jane readers for the publisher. These characters first appeared in 1930 and dominated the early reading market for many years. Gray was responsible for authoring the texts while illustrator Eleanor B. Campbell produced most of the artwork; Sharp managed story development and production oversight.

The Dick and Jane collection maintained a dominant presence through the 1950s, being utilized by approximately 80% of first-grade pupils across the United States. A notable update in the 1965 edition introduced an African American family into a first-grade reader for the first time. By the 1970s and into the 1980s, this series gradually gave way to more contemporary reading programs.

Acquisitions and mergers

Scott Foresman evolved into a publicly traded entity known as SFN Companies, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It grew by acquiring other publishers such as William Morrow and South-Western Publishing in 1967; William Morrow was subsequently sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981. In 1985, SFN underwent a leveraged buyout that resulted in its privatization.

In 1986, Time Inc. purchased Scott Foresman, while International Thomson acquired South-Western Publishing. The company dropped its comma from its name during this period. Three years later, Time divested Scott Foresman to HarperCollins. In 1996, News Corporation sold Scott Foresman to Pearson PLC, which incorporated it into Pearson’s broad array of educational brands under Pearson Scott Foresman.

In February 2019, Pearson separated its U.S.-based K-12 courseware division as Pearson K12 Learning; this entity rebranded as Savvas Learning Company in May 2020. The trademark for Scott Foresman is now held by Savvas Learning Company, signifying ongoing transformation within this longstanding educational publisher under an international corporate umbrella.

External links

• Official Savvas website