Kids Set A New World Record - Reading 304,749,681 Million Minutes In The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Children worldwide set a new world record for summer reading by logging 304,749,681 million minutes in the 8^th annual Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge (between May 5, 2014 and September 5, 2014), breaking the 2013 world record of 176,438,473 reading minutes. This summer, 7,334 schools, from across all 50 states and 29 countries, participated and helped set a new reading world record. In addition, Scholastic announced today the top 20 schools that read the most minutes and will be featured in the 2015 Scholastic Book of World Records. Two schools will receive special recognition: the #1 U.S. elementary school, Boggy Creek Elementary School in Kissimmee, FL, will receive a visit from bestselling author-illustrator David Shannon (Bugs in My Hair!); and the #1 U.S. middle school, Beacon Cove Intermediate School in Jupiter, FL, will receive a visit from bestselling author Gordon Korman (The Hypnotists).

The program, created by Scholastic and powered by EVEREADY^®, the maker of batteries and flashlights, is a free, global summer reading program designed to keep kids reading throughout the out-of-school months with the goal of preventing the effects of the "summer slide" – the learning loss that can occur during the summer.  Students logged their reading minutes online and via mobile app and earned digital rewards as they aimed to set a new world record for summer reading.

"Congratulations to all the students who made summer reading a top priority and rallied together to help set a new reading world record for summer 2014," said Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic. "Summer is a great time for children to discover the power and joy of independent reading and help prepare them for the new school year ahead. We continue to encourage children to continue reading all year long and open a world of possibilities through books."

Each of the top 20 schools will receive a personalized plaque to congratulate them on their success this year. In addition, the school in each state that logged the most reading minutes will receive a plaque acknowledging their students' summer reading achievements.

The Top 20 Schools in the 2014 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge are:

1. Boggy Creek Elementary School, Kissimmee, FL (10,925,325 minutes read)
2. Sun Valley Elementary, Monroe, NC (7,440,636 minutes read)
3. Jackson Elementary School, McAllen, TX (7,360,626 minutes read)
4. Beacon Cove Intermediate School, Jupiter, FL (7,062,077 minutes read)
5. Liberty Park Elementary School, Greenacres, FL (6,299,927 minutes read)
6. Our Lady of Mercy School, Rio DiJaniero, Brazil (4,721,405 minutes read)
7. Lake Nona Middle School, Orlando, FL (4,444,734 minutes read)
8. Heritage Elementary School, Greenacres, FL (4,208,329 minutes read)
9. Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy, Kenner, LA (4,126,669 minutes read)
10. Flora Ridge Elementary School, Kissimmee, FL (3,837,367 minutes read)
11. Ballantyne Elementary School, Charlotte, NC (3,534,504 minutes read)
12. Hunters  Creek Elem School, Orlando, FL (3,376,499 minutes read)
13. Reedy Creek Elementary School, Kissimmee, FL (3,334,409 minutes read)
14. Carroll Academy, Houston, TX (3,227,495 minutes read)
15. Newell Elementary School, Allentown, NJ (3,106,854 minutes read)
16. St. Aloysius Catholic School, Baton Rouge, LA (2,977,510 minutes read)
17. Oakridge Middle School, Clover, SC (2,795,663 minutes read)
18. Hill Intermediate School, Houston, TX (2,738,671 minutes read)
19. Odom Elementary School, Houston, TX (2,492,952 minutes read)
20. Bussey Elementary School, Houston, TX (2,472,933 minutes read)

To see the list of the Top 100 schools, visit www.scholastic.com/summer.

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Stats:

• 46 schools read more than 1 million minutes and 406 schools each read at least 100,000 minutes.
• The top five states with most minutes read are: Florida (77,402,944 reading minutes), Texas (57,443,905 reading minutes), North Carolina (15,153,741 reading minutes), New Jersey (11,038,696 reading minutes) and New York (10,871,417 reading minutes)
• 4 U.S. Governors and 42 Gubernatorial Spouses signed on as Summer Reading Ambassadors and helped spread the important messages about children reading throughout the summer.To learn more, visit: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/readingambassadors
• Scholastic donated more than 23,000 books to children as part of the Reading Ambassador statewide efforts to promote reading.
• The 2015 Scholastic Book of World Records will be available this fall through Scholastic Reading Club, Scholastic Book Fairs and bookstores nationwide.

Starting today, schools can sign-up for the Scholastic Read 100,000 challenge, a school-wide program designed to help schools strengthen student's reading skills and motivate young readers. Students can log and track every minute they read online with the goal of reading 100,000 minutes or more. It's  fun, it's motivating, and it's absolutely free. Schools can sign up at www.scholastic.com/minutes

For more information about Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL) and the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, please visit the Scholastic media room at mediaroom.scholastic.com.

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SOURCE Scholastic Inc.