Scholastic reviews

The business model, as is the leadership, old and broken. Although Scholastic gives the appearance of a publicly traded Company it is not governed as such. The publicly traded Class B shares hold no voting power. Thus the "public" shareholders have no voice in governance. The privately held Class A shareholder has all the power. As a result, management is inbred, stagnate, and focused on internal politics rather than doing the right thing to continue to grow revenue. Sales have been falling for some time. Only the "one hit wonders" help the sales on occasion. Seek other places of employment if you want to see your skills valued and nurtured.

It is unfortunate the Cons are numerous: - IT leadership is weak and it shows so clearly to anyone paying attention. It is often compared to an organized zoo, the clown gets 15 minutes fame then hides. The company has no CIO, and the person in charge is not up to par with the responsibilities of the position. You would expect top leaders to communicate a vision, energize the ranks, and show the path. It is unfortunate these qualities are not there. - Upper management made foolish and bad decisions in the past, and they keep strong hold to protect their posts. You see it with those who have been at this company for 20+ years. - Accountability is on paper, and it is rarely practiced in IT. Budgets are intentionally bloated, and the waste is very high. It is very surprising how upper management keeps getting away with it. Bigger the budget, more secure the position. - Organization is managed more like a family owned small business, complete with favoritism, nepotism, and no apparent focus on ROI and growth - Too many long term managers who have never worked anywhere else, and they bring no substance. New senior talent generally lasts less than two years either quitting out of frustration or being terminated for addressing the status quo. I have seen few courageous senior talents challenging the waste and the status quo, they gave hope to the rest of us, they brought fresh thinking to this dying organization. Unfortunately, these out of box thinkers didn't last. They are gone and took hope with them. - There are more than the normal share of people who are downright nasty. People that have been at the company for a long time feel entitled to do what they want and they dont want to be questioned. - Politics are incredibly high considering the size of the company - Micro management is highly used as a tactic to protect the interest of those long term managers - Siloed and combative organization with little to no collaborative spirit. No incentive to work towards common goals and financial success - every group for themselves. Often you hear people in the elevator referring to dog-eat-dog environment.