Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, today announced the celebration of the 65th anniversary of Junior Scholastic®, the leading social studies and current events classroom magazine for middle school students. From the first issue of Junior Scholastic, which appeared in classrooms on September 18, 1937, to today, the magazine has provided age-appropriate coverage that helps students to understand and learn about the world around them, and offers teachers up-to-the-minute support for the entire social studies curriculum.

Scholastic will mark the anniversary with a special exhibit highlighting Junior Scholastic's 65 years of reporting for students on watershed events, political and cultural figures, trends and issues - including FDR's New Deal, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., Watergate, the Women's Movement, child labor, the collapse of the Soviet Union and communism, September 11, and the war on terrorism. The exhibit will incorporate historic covers from past issues, significant articles, and images of prominent people and events representative of key moments in U.S. and world history. The exhibit opens to the public on Monday, December 2, 2002, in the lobby of Scholastic's world headquarters, located at 557 Broadway in New York City, and will remain on display until January 3, 2003.

Junior Scholastic was launched in 1937 when Scholastic's founder, Maurice R. Robinson, already the successful publisher of The Scholastic, a news magazine for high school students, created a publication for younger students. In an effort to raise awareness about Junior Scholastic, Mr. Robinson sent the magazine to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, hoping that she would mention it in her nationally syndicated newspaper column. Mrs. Roosevelt not only mentioned the magazine in her column, but also praised it and encouraged teachers to buy the magazine to share with their classes. Virtually overnight, 45,000 subscription orders poured into Scholastic's New York offices.

Today, Junior Scholastic reaches more than 2 million students and their teachers each year with award-winning coverage. The magazine serves as a comprehensive supplement to the social studies curriculum, including U.S. government and history, world affairs and culture, and geography. Junior Scholastic boasts a subscriber renewal rate of more than 80 percent.

Commenting on the anniversary, Dick Robinson, Scholastic Chairman, President and CEO, said, "Sixty-five years after my father launched Junior Scholastic, it continues to be a valuable resource for students and teachers in today's classrooms. It is extremely gratifying to look back at the high quality, age-appropriate reporting on virtually every major news event of the last six decades, and to know we have helped generations of students across the country learn about and understand the contemporary world."

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher of educational magazines for grades pre-K through 12. Teachers rely on these publications to enhance instruction in such subjects as Reading and Language Arts, Math, Science, 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.

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