Chapter 1 Teach Born to Pleasant Rowland was born in Chicago Illinois in 1941 She had three younger sisters and a younger brother Pleasant’s father ran a successful advertising agency Growing up Pleasant saw her father’s marketing ideas turn into realities He taught her the importance of patience and paying careful attention to details Pleasant would later use these skills to create the famous American Girl dolls As a child Pleasant loved reading and going to school She wanted to be a teacher when she grew up In 1958 Rowland attended Wells College in Aurora New York Wells was a small private school for women Rowland studied English there After graduating in 1962 she moved to Massachusetts She began teaching first and second graders at a school in Mattapan fun fact Wells College started admitting male students in 2005 4 Rowland was living her childhood dream But she was disappointed with the resources available for teachers Reading lessons were difficult and boring Her students were
struggling So Rowland got to work After a lot of research Rowland created a special system to teach reading She wrote the materials herself When she became a kindergarten teacher she adjusted this system for her younger students It was a tremendous success Rowland once said Reading is at the heart of all achievement Without it the American dream is out of reach With it anything is possible 5
Chapter 2 Textbook Titan Rowland loved helping children learn But in 1968 she decided to try something new That year she applied for a job at a TV station She began working as a reporter in San Francisco California Rowland was eventually promoted to news anchor It was a fun job But Rowland wanted to make a difference in people’s lives After three years she was ready for another change So she returned to the world of education Rowland gathered the materials she had created while teaching She turned them into a teacher’s guide Beginning to Read Write and Listen was published in 1971 The textbook became very popular It was the first organized system created to teach kindergarteners reading and writing Rowland published other textbooks over the next few years In 1977 Rowland married Jerry Frautschi They settled in Madison Wisconsin Frautschi owned a book-printing company there In Madison Rowland dedicated herself to writing and volunteer work In 1981 she bought the company that published the Children’s Magazine Guide 6
Frautschi’s family has lived in the Madison area since the 1860s They have donated millions of dollars to develop the city and expand art and education programs This was a library resource for elementary school children Rowland’s leadership boosted the guide’s sales dramatically It was clear she had talent for business 7
