Earlychildhood.com Expands Focus of Early Childhood News
Posted on April 14, 2000
Earlychildhood.com (ECC), a leader in the manufacture and distribution of educational materials and toys for young children, commences its magazine-publishing operations with the May/June issue of Early Childhood News. The magazine was acquired from the Peter Li Education Group (PLEG) of Dayton, Ohio. Although the official announcement of the acquisition was made at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Conference in New Orleans last November, actual operation of the publication passes to Earlychildhood.com with the issue mailing in late April.
``With the acquisition of Early Childhood News, Earlychildhood.com is building upon a tradition of giving back practical information that teachers can use to make their jobs easier and more fulfilling,'' said Ron Elliott, president and chief executive officer of Earlychildhood.com. ``Early Childhood News will be the vehicle to tie all of our informational efforts together and will be closely aligned with our website.''
Earlychildhood.com has plans to expand the magazine to target parents as well as educators. Qualified requestors may receive the magazine free of charge in order to make the communications tool available to everyone in the early-childhood community. Since content of the print magazine and of ECC's new website for teachers and parents will be tied closely together, the company plans to redesign the publication and to change its name to Earlychildhood.com News in October 2000.
Earlychildhood.com, founded in 1985 by Elliott, is a ``clicks-and-mortar'' company serving schools, day-care centers and individuals nationwide with high-quality educational supplies. The company distributes online at Earlychildhood.com and also mails some 2.5 million catalogs annually. The company employs more than 400 people and is based in Monterey. Early Childhood News is published six times annually, providing educators with articles and information on early-childhood topics.