Pearson Scott Foresman

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Pearson Scott Foresman is an elementary educational publisher for PreK through Grade 6 in all subject areas.

[edit] Company History

Scott Foresman and Company was founded in 1896 by Erastus Howard Scott, Editor and President; Hugh A. Foresman, Salesman and Secretary; and his brother, William Coates Foresman, Treasurer.

The company’s first publication was Bellum Helvetium, a high-school Latin book, copyright 1889. Although the firm known as Scott, Foresman was formed in 1896, one of the founders, E. H. Scott, had started in business in 1889, when he and C. J. Albert of the Albert Teachers Agency formed a partnership, Albert and Scott. During this early period, the company occupied less than 100 square feet in an office on Wabash Avenue in Chicago.

In 1894, Hugh Foresman purchased the interest of Mr. Albert and joined E. H. Scott. The following year, Albert and Scott, then a corporation, purchased the publishing business, rights, and stock of George Sherwood and Company, who also published textbooks. In this year, the firm moved its business to larger quarters at 307 S. Wabash Avenue in Chicago. Then, on Tuesday, February 13, 1896, W. Coates Foresman decided to join his brother and Mr. Scott in the business, and the corporate name was changed to Scott, Foresman and Company.

During 1896, the young company purchased S. C. Griggs and Company. Their catalogue included a long list of miscellaneous books among which was Robert’s Rules of Order.

When the company had been in business for only one year, it secured its first large state adoption. In 1897, the state of Kansas awarded Scott, Foresman and Company a 5-year contract for eight publications. The following year, the firm moved to 623 S. Wabash Avenue. In 1898, Hugh Foresman was elected Vice President. At this time, the company decided to publish books in the elementary field.

The Dick and Jane series began in the 1930s and was the creation of Zerna Sharp, a Scott, Foresman reading consultant. In 1966, Scott, Foresman moved from Chicago into its current location in Glenview, Illinois and a new Distribution Center was opened in Pinola, Indiana. Scott, Foresman became a public corporation and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Pearson Scott Foresman's corporate headquarters remain in Glenview today.

In 1998, Scott Foresman, along with more than 100 other educational brands, merged to become Pearson Education, with Scott Foresman adopting the new name, Pearson Scott Foresman.