Introduction
Initially, the Rebuilding for Learning initiative was conceived as a way to provide support for Gulf Coast schools after the 2005 hurricanes. However, during Scholastic's initial research for the initiative, it became obvious that Gulf Coast districts were not the only ones facing serious "learning infrastructure" problems impeding teaching and learning. Thus, the initiative is now a national one. Scholastic is excited about expanding the scope of the work to make strategic investments focused on enabling all children to have an equal opportunity to succeed at school.
Scholastic has entered into a collaboration with a national center at UCLA to move the initiative forward.
The initiative is a strategic and personalized approach designed to move schools forward in developing a comprehensive and cohesive system to address barriers to teaching and learning. The aim is to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to succeed at school and a strong start toward being productive societal contributors. The immediate goal is to help school leaders "rebuild" systems and practices to better enable learning for all children.
EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSING BARRIERS
TO LEARNING IS ESSENTIAL
Most schools strain to address the various challenges faced by students, their families, and
school staff – challenges that often seriously interfere with learning and teaching. The notion
of “barriers to learning” encompasses both external and internal factors that negatively affect
student motivation and ability to benefit from classroom instruction. These factors include
the wide range of problems stemming from restricted opportunities associated with poverty
and disability, neighborhood violence, difficult family conditions, inadequate physical and
mental health care, acquiring English as a second language, experiencing crises and
disasters, and more.
Currently, student and learning supports are so highly fragmented and marginalized in policy
and practice that the resources allocated to address barriers to learning are not playing a costeffective
role in improving schools. Schools, districts, and state education agencies need to
redeploy existing resources and programs that are allocated for addressing barriers to
learning and must weave these together with the invaluable resources that can be accessed
from students, family members, and community stakeholders.
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