The document discusses an upcoming opportunity for textbook publishers in social studies programs across several states from 2009-2012. It introduces Green Comma, a strategy company that can help publishers develop customized, cost-effective social studies products for these state adoptions. Green Comma's founding partners, Tom Barber and Amit Shah, have decades of experience in social studies publishing. They offer various partnership models and services to help publishers strategize and produce programs for these state opportunities.

1. Your Port in the Storm
Tom Barber has spent much of his working Stormy
Weather
life in the textbook publishing field. On his
first day in the business, at Allyn & Bacon,
he was asked to write captions for a book
Ahead
heretofore unknown to him: Magruder’s
American Government. The market-leading
textbook, which was first published in
1917, was part of the publishing list that
Tom eventually managed when he headed
the Social Studies department at Pearson
Prentice Hall many years later. He has also
managed Social Studies departments at
Houghton Mifflin and Holt. In addition, he
was Editor in Chief at Prentice Hall and
Publisher at Holt.
email: tombarber46@gmail.com
Telephone: 617.895.9503
Amit Shah has been involved with some
form of educational enterprise all of his life.
He grew up on the campus of one of the
first schools for the blind in India, which
was founded by his great-grandfather in the
late nineteenth century and where his father
was the principal. His publishing career
spans three decades in trade, reference,
and textbook publishing. He headed Social
Studies departments at Pearson Prentice
Hall and Holt and managed Advanced
Placement and Electives at Pearson Prentice
Hall. He was also Editor in Chief overseeing
Your Port in the Storm
Social Studies and Language Arts at Holt
and head of the Adult Education and GED
department at Harcourt Supplemental.
email: amitshahbos@gmail.com
Telephone: 617.999.3975
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2. A Perfect Storm is Coming A Georgia K-12 Social Studies call in 2010.
A Florida K-12 and California K-8 call in 2011.
It’s a one-two-three punch that presents And a Texas K-12 call in 2012.
educational publishers with the largest Social
Studies adoption opportunity in years.
Along with meeting the recent growth in
Clear the Deck Set a Course
customization expectations and managing Green Comma can help. Green Comma will meet with publishers Green Comma can help publishers
the disparity in curriculum requirements and complete a needs analysis based on conceptualize, plan, and/or produce winning
Green Comma is a market-oriented strategy
and grade-level expectations, publishers philosophy, existing content, staffing, and programs in any of the following areas:
company that will help publishers build
need to offer competitive programs in all budget expectations for upcoming programs. • Developing differentiated strategies for
high-quality, cost-effective, customized
of these states—while producing them After the initial analysis, Green Comma will upcoming state programs, offering your
Social Studies products.
economically and almost simultaneously. create a customization strategy guaranteed customers distinctly visible strategies to
Founding partners Tom Barber and Amit to be cost-effective and market-driven. separate your product from the expected
Given the lull in Social Studies program
Shah have nearly 60 years of experience in and required.
development in recent years, the talent Unlike other services companies, Green
developing market-leading Social Studies • Rapid prototyping, providing multiple
pool among the publishers as well as in Comma has a flexible business model that
programs at Houghton Mifflin, Pearson concepts for your markets and for your
the services sector needs to be revitalized, includes:
Prentice Hall, and Holt, Rinehart and approval.
reconnected, and vetted by those who • Traditional work-for-hire
Winston. Both partners were the primary • Producing state histories. Many states
have specific experience and understanding • Royalty share
decision makers in market analysis, strategy, either require state history courses or offer
in this market. Publishers will save time if • Co-publishing and Intellectual Property
conceptual development, and full-scale them as electives.
there is a well-connected, experienced retention
program execution and production. • Developing middle grades geography
organization that can help them navigate • Adding innovative distribution channels,
programs. Apart from California, most
the approaching Social Studies storm. “If there is one thing that many years of e.g., open source and paid sponsorships
states call for world geography/cultures
experience have taught us,” Tom Barber
Our processes allow us to be cost-efficient, at Grades 6 and/or 7. The Florida
The Unprecedented states, “it is that up-front investment in
including: curriculum is different from the rest of the
strategy and prototyping is the single
Social Studies Opportunity • Organizing our research and data country and requires a separate program
best investment for publishers. The earlier
2009 develop 2010 develop 201 develop
1
collection so that new content can be configuration.
you plan, the more cost-effective products
2010 call 201 call
1 2012 call created and leveraged for multiple uses • Responding to electives markets, such as
become. The time for planning and
201 sales
1 2012 sales 2013 sales • Implementing a content database to make African American history, Latino history,
discussion is now.”
GA (K-1 2) FL (K-12) TX (K-12) searches and organization faster and more Asian American history, primary source
NM (K-1 2) CA (K-8) KY (K-12) “We leverage our industry expertise in accessible to all users packages, American history and literature
AL (K-12) SC (6-8) NC (K-12) developing award-winning programs,” Amit • Leveraging strategic partners’ technology, packages, interactive online review and
ID (K-12) OR (K-1 2) OK (K-12)
WV (K-1 2) MS (K-1 2) Shah continues. “Our strategic alignments experience, and databases both on- and prep programs, and AP programs.
SC (9-1 2) with partners, including well-known offshore
developers, e-learning companies, and
distributors, provide end-to-end solutions
for publishers.”
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