Grand Rapids, MI (July 30, 2003) -- Middle and high school students from all fifty states demonstrated their patriotic spirit in Scholastic Book Clubs' “I'm A Patriot” essay contest, which was created in partnership with The Declaration of Independence Road Trip Across America not-for-profit initiative. Students were asked to select an inspirational phrase from The Declaration of Independence and write about how it relates to a current event. The grand prizewinner is Robert Conti, a thirteen-year old from San Francisco who will attend ninth grade at Archbishop Riordan High School this fall.
 
Selected from 5,000 entries, Robert's compelling essay read, “The ultimate patriot is not someone who just waves a flag, but a person who cares enough to voice his opinion and vote.” Robert's grand prize included an all-expense paid trip (with chaperone) to see The Declaration during the Road Trip Across America while it was displayed at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Robert had the opportunity to meet Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th president and Honorary Co-Chair for the Declaration of Independence Road Trip project. Robert's winning essay also appeared in the May 9th issue of Junior Scholastic Magazine.
 
Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, is the education partner of the prestigious Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a non-profit, nonpartisan project that is taking an original copy of The Declaration of Independence on a three-and-a-half year tour that is proudly sponsored by The Home Depot. Founded by producer Norman Lear, the goal of the project is to bring the “People's Document” to all Americans--- especially young people--- to inspire them to see citizenship as an opportunity to participate in civic life and to exercise their rights, especially to vote.
 
As the Declaration of Independence Road Trip travels to cities and towns across America, it is creatively combining elements of education, entertainment and community outreach. The Road Trip is taking one of the original copies of the Dunlap broadside versions of The Declaration of Independence — printed on the night of July 4th, 1776 — and a multi-media exhibition to libraries, museums, civic centers, universities, and state capitols across the nation through November 2004. Through Scholastic's involvement, the inspirational messages of The Declaration of Independence is going directly into classrooms of millions of children, where teachers can help bring them to life. More information is available on www.IndependenceRoadTrip.org.
 
Scholastic Classroom Magazines will provide year-round editorial coverage of The Declaration of Independence Road Trip in select middle and high school publications such as Scholastic News grades 4-6, Scope and The New York Times UPFRONT. Scholasticnews.com, the leading online news source for kids, will also offer classrooms information and educational materials on The Declaration of Independence to support students' learning.
 
About Scholastic
Scholastic is the world's largest publisher of educational magazines with 34 publications for grades PreK-12, reaching over 25 million students and teachers across the country. Teachers rely on these publications to enhance instruction in such subjects as science, reading and language arts, math, social studies, current events, history, geography, world languages, and art. ScholasticNews.com, the magazines' online companion gives teachers, students and parents an additional resource with which to learn about and discuss current events in the classroom and at home.

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