Textbook Publishers Venture Into Staff-Development Frontier

By David J. Hoff

Educators across the country will soon have access to a program designed by some top reading experts that will help them refine their teaching strategies.

But those experts aren't employed by colleges, universities, or nonprofit education groups—the leading sources of professional development for teachers. They work for Scholastic Inc., one of the nation's biggest publishers of children's books and educational materials.

"This is a very natural step for us to take to support teachers," said Margery Mayer, the president of Scholastic Education, the division of the New York City-based publisher that set up the reading professional-development program. "We believe teachers are...