Scholastic Media Announces Winners of National Clifford The Big Red Dog(R) BE BIG(TM) in Your Community Contest to Support Civic Engagement

Scholastic Media Announces Winners of National Clifford The Big Red Dog(R) BE
BIG(TM) in Your Community Contest to Support Civic Engagement
The BE BIG Fund Awards $50,000 In Community Grants To The BIGGEST Ideas
Inspired By Clifford's Big Ideas

NEW YORK, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It only takes a little...to BE BIG!
Scholastic Media (Nasdaq: SCHL) today announced the winners of the first
annual "BE BIG In your Community Contest" as part of its ongoing Clifford The
Big Red Dog® BE BIG!(TM) campaign to support civic engagement. Six hundred
entries representing more than 16,000 children, parents, teachers and
community leaders ranging in age from 8 to 67 poured in; 12-year-old Madelon
Kerns' BIG idea for a special needs accessible playground will be awarded the
$25,000 grant from the BE BIG Fund. The West Virginia student will see her
idea come to life with the support of the Volunteer Action Center of the
Mid-Ohio Valley, an affiliate of the HandsOn Network. The national contest
invited everyone to submit a BIG idea that demonstrates Clifford's Big Ideas
(Share, Help Others, Be Kind, Be Responsible, Play Fair, Be a Good Friend,
Believe in Yourself, Have Respect, Work Together and Be Truthful) to enter for
a chance to win a community grant to be used toward implementing the winning
proposals.

"Madelon, her team and their winning idea truly embodies the spirit of what it
means to BE BIG," said Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media and
Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc, the global children's publishing,
education and media company. "The BE BIG campaign is about inspiring people of
all ages to work together to embrace Clifford's Big Ideas; Scholastic is
delighted that so many children and families are committed to such creative
and innovative ways to improve the lives of others while taking pride in
service to their communities."

Kerns was inspired to submit her BIG idea when she was unable to play in the
local park with a friend who is in a wheelchair. With the help of her mother,
the Junior League of Parkersburg and Boundless Playgrounds(TM), the idea to
build a special needs accessible playground - "JuLePs Pathways" - was
developed. The grant from the BE BIG Fund will be used to build the entrance
to the park. In her contest submission, Madelon cited being inspired by an
episode of Clifford which tells the story of a three-legged dog and how
Clifford and his friends work collaboratively to ensure that they can all play
together.

"I'm thrilled and excited about this BIG prize," said Madelon. "Clifford
understands that all kids like to have fun - no matter what!"

Ten additional BIG ideas will each be awarded $2,500 Runners Up community
grants:

-- WATERLOO, IA: Mike Lind and his team will be working with the
Volunteer
Center of Cedar Valley on his BIG Idea for a "Mobile Food Pantry."
-- ASHEVILLE, NC: Susan Jensen will be working with Hands On
Asheville-Buncombe to create her "Readers' Oasis."
-- PHOENIX, AZ: Darren Chapman and his team will be working with HandsOn
Greater Phoenix to keep his "Organic Gardening" project active in his
community.
-- CEDAR RAPIDS, IA: Ian Watt and his team will be working with the
United
Way of Central Iowa to bring his "Music Mentoring" program to the
forefront.
-- NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR: Mattie Thacker and her team from the Mayor's
Youth Council will be working with the Heart of Arkansas United Way to
make progress on their "Picture Perfect Summer" project.
-- HILO, HI: Suzanne Nozaki and her team of students will be working with
Children for Children to make their "Eat Your Lawn" project a reality.
-- CORAL GABLES, FL: Adrianne Lage will work with Hands On Miami to bring
her two passions of kids and the sun together to make a BIG change
with
her "Sun Smiles" project.
-- WILTON, CT: Joseph A. Fiore will work with the Volunteer Center
serving
Western Connecticut to make his "Adopt a Grandparent" program a
priority
in local schools.
-- BURNSVILLE, MN: Fay Finn and her team of students will continue their
work on the "Brainpower in a Backpack" program with HandsOn Twin
Cities.

-- SAN DIEGO, CA: Skyler Pinto will work on continuing his peace pledge
and create "Kids Care Packs" for children in homeless shelters and
hospitals with the help of Excel Youth Zone.

The 11 winning BIG ideas were selected by a panel of judges based on the
following criteria: feasibility, creativity, sustainability and impact. The
2009 BE BIG In Your Community Contest judging panel included: Deborah Forte,
President of Scholastic Media / Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc.;
Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer Scholastic Inc., / Senior Vice
President of Scholastic Education; Karen Proctor, Vice President of Community
Affairs Scholastic Inc.; Marcia Bullard, President, CEO and Editor of USA
Weekend Magazine; Marilee Chinnici-Zuercher, CEO and President of FirstLink;
Shawn Wilson, President of Usher's New Look Foundation and Tracy Hoover, Chief
of Staff from the Points Of Light Institute.

A complete list of finalists and profiles about their BIG ideas can be found
at www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig.

The Big Ideas were borne out of the curriculum developed for the award winning
animated television series, currently airing on PBS KIDS®
(pbskids.org/clifford). Now in its ninth season, Clifford scores high ratings
with moms and is among the most popular PBS KIDS series for kids 2-5. Clifford
enjoys 96% brand awareness among parents. The brand continues to perform well
internationally with television episodes sold to more than 110 countries
worldwide.

With more than 126 million copies in print, Clifford books espouse the true
meaning of what it means to BE BIG and are literary classics embraced by
parents, teachers and kids. Norman Bridwell's new hardcover book, Clifford
The Champion, is being released this month.

ABOUT SCHOLASTIC
Scholastic Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and
distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology and
children's media. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining
materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's
books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television
programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and
services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based
book clubs and school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries,
television networks and the Company's Internet Site, www.scholastic.com.

ABOUT HANDSON NETWORK
HandsOn Network, a business unit of Points of Light Institute, creates
opportunities for people to apply their interests and passions to make a
difference in communities. The Network is leading people from impulse to
action turning their ideas for change into real projects like building wheel
chair ramps, watershed protection projects and tutoring programs. 250 plus
affiliates help nonprofits, community and government organizations manage and
develop the leadership capacity of volunteers. In 2007 alone, these HandsOn
Action Centers helped to deliver more than 33 million hours of volunteer
service valued at $1.2 billion dollars.

Online press kit available at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/clifford

SOURCE Scholastic Corporation

Brian Reinert, +1-212-689-6360, brian_reinert@bhimpact.com, or Ashley Gillen,
+1-212-689-6360, ashley_gillen@bhimpact.com, both of Bender/Helper Impact for
Scholastic Corporation