At Skullastic, we eat, breathe, walk and talk education every day.
If it’s cool, school, new and now we’ll report on it, talk about it and (hopefully)
do something about it.
The current state of education SUCKS! Recently revealed facts and figures speak for themselves:
Drop-out rates are high. Schools need extensive upgrades to make them not only safe for students but to equip them with the tools required to offer a QUALITY education. Right now, there are more problems than solutions.
That’s why we choose to report on every aspect of education—the bad AND good—because ALL OF IT impacts educational progress and the kind of education a student today is going to receive.
10% of everything we make supports education. We also put the FUN back in fundraising.
Since Day 1 we’ve provided $$ to schools. Many weeks it hasn’t been much…but as far as we’re concerned, every little bit helps. One week we’ll give to a school that doesn’t have proper teaching materials… schools that needs money just to keep the front door open. The next week we give to a school doing something truly inspirational… that takes education to the next level… that sees the future and is preparing students for it today.
It’s not in our (or the schools) best interest to share the name of the school(s) we’re donating to each week. Since every school NEEDS money, it raises the question of “Why didn’t they pick MY school?” If we didn’t help your school this week, hopefully we will next week. The main thing YOU should know, is that every purchase you make from Skullastic benefits local schools in your area, in our area, in every area. ‘Nuff said.
And we also offer schools cool, fun, new ways to fund raise for their school. If you’re tired of selling cookie dough, gift wrap and magazines, call or email us! We’ve got LOTS of ideas and we’re always rrrrready to pitch in!
This is, without a doubt, the easiest part of our day…LET’S MAKE SOME NOISE!
Sure, we could spend our days sitting in local and state government legislation sessions, expressing our disdain for today’s educational failings. But at Skullastic, our goal is to create educational reform from the CURB! We’re loading up the Skullastic Store Bus, calling on our zombie cheerleading squad and reaching out to those PTA members who GET our mission. We’re here to help give a voice to the students. To show them that it’s their education to make or break. We’re pretty sure we’ll break a few things along the way. But what we MAKE out of our experiences and opportunities will be sooo much more rockin’ cool! The way we see it:
School is hard. Peer pressure sucks. You may not realize it now, but these ARE the best
years of your life. So make the most of it! Color outside the lines. Question authority.
Raise a little hell.
Class dismissed.
My name’s Don and I’m the Headmaster here at Skullastic. I’ve spent most of my life studying up for this. I grew up in a world of education. My mom and dad were school teachers. Their friends were school teachers. MY friends were children of school teachers.
In school, I had lot of friends, but didn’t really fit into a group. I played in the school band (trombone). I played on the school football team (not very well). I participated in student government. But I was super fat and, as a result, I was one of those kids that was laughed at, kicked around, picked on and picked last. This made me feel like an outsider… different. And therefore I liked to hang with people that were interesting…different. Translation: mostly freaks and geeks.
I’ve always been pretty artistic and crafty. I remember designing my first Skullastic project back in 1978. No joke! Remember Pee Chee folders? Well, I’d take a Pee Chee, cut the side pockets, flip it inside out, staple it and VOILA! have a blank canvas to create original designs. Started making them for myself, colored penciling and inking the whole thing with band logos and tricked out illustrations. Once my friends saw them, I started doing custom designs for them instead of doing my homework.
I moved to Los Angeles the minute I graduated from college. Couldn’t wait. Flipped my graduation tassel, loaded the U-Haul and floored it to L.A. Haven’t looked back. Since then, my professional life has been all about design… design… DESIGN. I work full-time as an Advertising Art Director for a pretty big company. I spend about 60-70 hours a week designing ads, collateral, websites, etc. for them. In my free time (free time?!!), I devote almost every minute to Skullastic.
When my friends see how much time I spend working they ask me WHY I would want to start a company like Skullastic when I already have a career. My answer: Because I have to. There’s always been this littttttle voice inside my head telling me to do this and NOW is that time. I really enjoy my full-time job and want to keep it as long as I humanly can so that the majority of the $$ made from Skullastic goes back INTO Skullastic…and to schools that need/deserve the $$ as well.
I’ve been lucky enough to find plenty of like-minded rockers, punks, freaks, geeks, outcasts and losers who also recognize the value of education and understand Skullastic’s mission. They agree that being in school (not necessarily learning…just BEING in school) was the best years of our lives. And we wished we’d made MORE of it. So we’re doing that now…
