Contact:
Kristen Joerger
212.389.3343
kjoerger@scholastic.com

New York, NY — December 3, 2012 — The award-winning Scholastic News Kids Press Corps™, following a busy year reporting on the race to the White House, including a sit-down interview with President Barack Obama, today welcomed 16 new Kid Reporters, ages 10 to 14, to the country’s oldest and largest student reporting program. They join 17 returning young journalists, who report “news for kids, by kids” with coverage of current events, breaking news, entertainment stories, and sports events from their hometowns and on the national stage. The 33 Kid Reporters hail from 23 states across the United States and one province in Canada.

The new reporters were chosen by the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps editors from more than 200 student applications that required students to submit a news report about their local community, ideas for future stories, and a personal essay explaining why they would like to be a Kid Reporter. See the full list of reporters here.

“For twelve years, teachers, parents and kids have turned to the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps to get a kid’s perspective on the news of the day. The Kid Reporter program is the perfect online supplement for readers of Scholastic News® magazines, which help to put contemporary issues in a context that is relevant and age-appropriate for young readers,” said Dante A. Ciampaglia, Editor of the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps. “I am looking forward to working with both the veteran and new members of the team to help them learn the importance of good journalism and to grow through their writing and reporting.”

In the past year alone, Kid Reporters have had the opportunity to interview politicians, entertainers, authors and sports stars including President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, Norman Bridwell, creator of Clifford the Big Red Dog®, and Amar’e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks. They’ve also gathered “Tips from the Pros” from journalists including Soledad O’Brien of CNN and Chief White House Correspondent, Chuck Todd, of NBC News.

For more than 12 years, the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps has delivered “news for kids, by kids”. The Kid Reporter videos and reports are available on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps site, and their stories are often published in issues of Scholastic classroom magazines that are read by more than 30 million students in classrooms nationwide. This fall they provided extensive coverage of the presidential election, which appeared on the award-winning Scholastic 2012 Election site and the devastation and recovery efforts in the northeast caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The 2012-2013 members of The Scholastic News Kids Press Corps are: * indicates new reporter

Alabama
Isabel Hope Retsinas – Tuscaloosa *

California
Matthew Ferreira – San Diego *
Anya Jensen – San Francisco *
Diego Magaña -- Oxnard

Connecticut
Cooper Boardman – Westport *

Washington, D.C.
Nell Leibovich – Washington, D.C.

Florida
Topanga Sena -- Orlando

Georgia
Madison Cruz – Woodstock *
 

Hawaii
Jessica Taylor -- Honolulu

Illinois
Natalie Wexler – Highland Park

Indiana
Grace Ybarra – Indianapolis

Kentucky
Robbie Keyes – Louisville *

Louisiana
Christopher Pate – Alexandria

Massachusetts
Coleman Hirschberg – Somerville

Maryland
Hannah Prensky – Middletown
Emily Shao – Rockville *

Michigan
Molly Pribble – Ann Arbor

Minnesota
Aaliyah Kellogg – Maplewood *

North Carolina Alexandra Pritchard – Raleigh *

New Jersey
Amiri Tulloch – Woodbridge