New York, NY (September 5, 2007) -- Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter series, today announced the 40 New York City public schools that will participate in the “J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour,” where Ms. Rowling will read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, answer questions about the entire series, and sign a book for every student. New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Scholastic Chairman, President and CEO Richard Robinson handed out 40 Sorting Hats to representatives from participating schools (listed below) to help each select 40 lucky third through twelfth graders who will attend the event at Carnegie Hall on October 19th.

The NYC DOE selected public elementary and middle schools that showed the greatest gains on the statewide literacy test in each borough (from years 2005-06 to 2006-07), and the rest were schools showing the greatest gains citywide. Public high schools that were selected were those that showed the greatest gains in the state English Regents’ test for each borough (from years 2004-05 to 2005-06), then the greatest gains citywide.

Scholastic also announced that the Company will be donating 5,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book in J.K. Rowling’s series, to New York City public schools for students who have not yet read the books and are now ready to begin their Hogwarts journey.

“The Open Book Tour is a chance for Ms. Rowling to spend time with some very important people—the kids who love Harry Potter,” said Richard Robinson. “Scholastic is passionate about putting books into the hands of children, and with this gift of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone we are honored to introduce a new generation to the series that created millions of young, enthusiastic readers.”

“The love of reading has changed the lives of countless children,” said Chancellor Klein. “But it doesn’t always come naturally; it often takes a lot of effort. Our students have worked hard to build their reading skills during the past few years. We are proud to partner with Scholastic and the amazing Ms. Rowling to reward our students’ efforts and encourage their continued success.”

New York City Public Schools Participating in J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour

• Edward Bush School – Brooklyn
• Teunis G. Bergen School – Brooklyn
• Weeksville School – Brooklyn
• Pacific School – Brooklyn
• The Upper Carroll School – Brooklyn
• Acorn High School for Social Justice – Brooklyn
• Acorn Community High School – Brooklyn
• Enterprise, Business and Technology High School – Brooklyn
• Brooklyn Academy High School – Brooklyn
• Progress High School – Brooklyn
• The Sidney Silverstein, Little Sparrow School – Bronx
• Jonas Bronck Academy – Bronx
• New Millennium Business Academy – Bronx
• J.H. 080 The Mosholu Parkway – Bronx
• New School for Arts and Science – Bronx
• Academy for Careers in Sports – Bronx
• The Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music – Bronx
• Monroe Academy for Visual Arts – Bronx
• P.S. 347 American Sign Language & English Lower School – Manhattan
• East Village Community School – Manhattan
• The Lillian Weber School – Manhattan
• School for Academic and Athletic Excellence – Manhattan
• Technology, Arts and Sciences Studio – Manhattan
• University Neighborhood Middle School – Manhattan
• West Side Collaborative – Manhattan
• Clinton School for Writers and Artists – Manhattan
• Dual Language Middle School – Manhattan
• Leadership/Public Service High School – Manhattan
• Legacy School for Integrated Studies – Manhattan
• Landmark High School – Manhattan
• The Robert F. Wagner Jr. School – Queens
• Parsons School – Queens
• Springfield Gardens School – Queens
• I.S. 237 – Queens
• Daniel Carter Beard School – Queens
• High School for Arts and Business – Queens
• Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College – Queens
• Huguenot School – Staten Island
• Anning S. Prall School – Staten Island
• Concord High School – Staten Island

J.K. Rowling will appear in two other events for schoolchildren: in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theater on Monday, October 15th and in New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Auditorium at the Convention Center on Thursday, October 18th. (Please note there are no public tickets available for these school events.) Scholastic will announce the participating schools in Los Angeles during a press conference on Monday, September 10th. Participating schools in New Orleans will be announced at a press conference on Wednesday, September 12th.

The final event of the “J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour” will be held on the evening of October 19, 2007 in New York City. One thousand lucky fans are being selected from sweepstakes entries to receive a pair of tickets to the J.K. Rowling event at Carnegie Hall on Friday, October 19 at 7 p.m. (Please note: the sweepstakes closed August 31, 2007.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, released on July 21, 2007, had an unprecedented first printing of 12 million copies, followed by another record-breaker: 8.3 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were sold in the first 24 hours. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling’s sixth Harry Potter book, was released on July 16, 2005, with a first printing of 10.8 million copies. At the time, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the fastest-selling book in history, selling 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours. All six Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have been number one bestsellers in the United States, the U.K., and around the world. The American editions of the Harry Potter books are published under Scholastic’s Arthur A. Levine imprint.

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. 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, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site, www.scholastic.com.

Contacts:

Scholastic
Jennifer Boggs
212-343-6619
jboggs@scholastic.com

Scholastic
Kyle Good
212-343-4563
kgood@scholastic.com