Houghton Mifflin Co. News Release - March 2, 2009

Houghton Mifflin Reading – Medallion Edition Is the Only Reading Program that Responds to California Budget Crisis

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt offers more reading program choices; sole publisher providing low-cost alternatives

Sacramento, Calif.— March 2, 2009 —California's budget crisis has school districts looking for ways to maintain their ability to provide quality instruction to their students while also reducing costs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is the only textbook publisher that is meeting this demand with action. 

Houghton Mifflin Reading – Medallion Edition was readopted by the California State Board of Education as part of the California Reading Language Arts adoption in November and is the only approved offering designed to address California's budget crisis. Houghton Mifflin Reading – Medallion Edition gives school districts the opportunity to save vital resources by simply building on the popular and successful Houghton Mifflin Reading California that is used in approximately eighty percent of California school districts. This unique submission is fully aligned to the new requirements of the California standards framework and criteria and is a significant upgrade of the previous program. It features enhanced academic vocabulary development and explicit writing instruction as well as many brand new components, including new electronic versions of the student book and teacher edition and a Technical Skills Toolkit to ensure that beginning readers master the important skills that are predictors of future reading success.

"We are dedicated to California educators and students and are proud to be the only textbook publisher to give schools the ability to meet their students' needs while also helping them manage their resources effectively," said Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K–12 President Mike Lavelle. "Medallion has everything students and teachers need while potentially saving districts sixty percent of their instructional materials funding."

Medallion can provide significant cost savings and enable districts to build on their investment of time, money, resources, and professional development. It can often take teachers two to three years to learn a new reading/language arts program. With the adoption of Medallion, teachers can continue the success they have already been experiencing with Houghton Mifflin Reading. 

When school districts adopt Medallion, they can continue to use their current Houghton Mifflin Reading student anthologies and boost instruction with the many enhancements and upgrades that come with the Medallion package. New components include a parallel and equitable Spanish edition, Edición Medallón, as well as the English Language Development System to help students learn English while mastering English language arts standards.

"We are offering far more choices than our competitors," Lavelle continued. "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is committed to partnering with all of our customers to develop the solutions they need. We are the sole publisher of a low-cost alternative."

• Many districts experience a slump in test scores the year a new program is implemented. Medallion helps avoid this.
  
• They will not have to invest hundreds (maybe thousands) of dollars per teacher in professional development training. Teachers will not have to be out of the classroom for this staff development.
  
• Districts have invested much in developing resources specific to Houghton Mifflin Reading: websites, instructional materials, even things like bulletin boards will not have to be "dumped" in order to start over.