“We’re thrilled to be able to support public education through community service,” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K–12 President Mike Lavelle said. “Teachers give selflessly to enrich their students and we are committed to helping them, not just during the holidays, but all year long.”

Teachers were grateful for the donation and for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s commitment to California schools.

“As California struggles to balance its budget, teachers are struggling to acquire the resources they need to teach their students. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided hundreds of teachers in the LA area with teaching material they would have otherwise not had and I’m extremely grateful that my students will benefit from their charitable nature,” Mandy Gibbs, math teacher at Lakeview Charter Academy, said. “It’s clear that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s main purpose is to facilitate learning for California’s youth.”

“Our entire school is excited about the resources Houghton Mifflin Harcourt provided through the Los Angeles area giveaway,” said Dr. David Morrow, Director of High Schools for the Inner City Education Foundation Public Schools in South Los Angeles. “These resources will allow the Frederick Douglass Academy High School and 15 other schools to continue to serve our students in the most resourceful manner.”

In addition to the textbook donations, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has developed a low-cost alternative for school districts seeking to update their materials. Houghton Mifflin Reading – Medallion Edition is the only California State Board of Education-approved offering designed to address California’s budget crisis. 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 80 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. 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.