NEW YORK, Jan. 11--PRNewswire- AsiaNet/InfoQuestScholastic Inc. Will Provide More Than $5 Million in Educational Resources and Financial Support Through its Well-Established International Operations as well as a Partnership with UNICEF to Help Rebuild Schools in the Affected Region Scholastic News Online and Classroom Magazines Offer Timely, Age-Appropriate News for Children and Advice for Parents and Teachers on Talking to Kids About the Disaster Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, today announced its support of long-term recovery efforts for children whose lives have been impacted by the tsunami disaster. A leader in providing reading and learning materials to children around the world, Scholastic has pledged a donation of books and educational materials with a U.S. market value of approximately $5 million as well as a commitment of financial support to be administered through its well-established International offices in Asia. In addition, working with The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the company has established a UNICEF/Scholastic relief fund that will be supplemented by employee contributions and will be earmarked for assisting in the long-term rebuilding of schools in the affected region to help area children begin to recover from the disaster. Scholastic has unique insight into the needs of children and families affected by the disaster because of its extensive operations and a dedicated employee-base of more than 2,000 people working in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand as well as China, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. Scholastic employees in the region responded quickly to the disaster, offering urgently needed financial support to local relief efforts. These local charities will also receive additional financial and in-kind contributions from Scholastic corporate headquarters in New York. "Children, in many ways, will be the most greatly affected by the tsunami disaster, and they are in critical need of both immediate and long-term relief services that will help restore some level of comfort and stability to their lives," said Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO. "Through our strong relationships in Asia and by joining with UNICEF, Scholastic is committed to helping reestablish area schools and providing children with the quality reading and learning materials that will help them begin the important work of carrying on their educations and their lives." In addition to committing financial support and educational materials to aid in the long-term recovery in the impacted countries, Scholastic is providing timely, age-appropriate news coverage and resources for children, parents and teachers through Scholastic News Online (http://www.scholastic.com/news) and Scholastic classroom magazines. The articles encourage children and classrooms to exchange ideas on how they can support fund raising efforts and provide links to information about various relief organizations, including UNICEF. In addition, teachers and parents can find advice on how to talk with children about the disaster and background information that explains how a tsunami occurs. Scholastic has a longstanding relationship with UNICEF. Founded in 1946, the organization works in 157 countries around the world to advocate for the protection of children's rights, seeking to meet children's basic needs and to expand their opportunities for reaching their full potential. Scholastic International operations in Asia include companies in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Scholastic Asia has growing businesses in education, trade, home continuities, and Scholastic Book Fairs and Book Clubs and provides English language reference materials and local language product through its local companies whose strong employee base is supplemented by a network of approximately 2,000 independent sales representatives. About Scholastic 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, http://www.scholastic.com. SOURCE: Scholastic Corporation CONTACT: Kyle Good, +1-212-343-4563, [email protected], or Aimee SpenglerDolan, +1-212-343-6570, or [email protected], both of Scholastic Corporation FCMN Contact: [email protected] Web site: http://www.scholastic.com --Distributed by AsiaNet (www.asianetnews.net)--