Zaner-Bloser Announces More Than 200,000 Students Participate in 20th Annual National Handwriting Contest

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zaner-Bloser is proud to announce that more than 200,000 students have participated in this year’s 20th annual National Handwriting Contest. The company estimates that more than 2.5 million students have participated in the contest during its 20-year history.  

Winners in the contest will be announced at the International Reading Association Annual Convention on May 10 in Orlando. The annual Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest encourages legible handwriting by testing the abilities of students in Grades 1 through 8 in both Public and Private Schools who use the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting program.

Schools hold their own handwriting contests and enter the winning student for each grade level. The contest entries are judged according to the Zaner-Bloser Keys to Legibility: size, shape, spacing and slant.

“Students who have legible handwriting have advantages in their daily work and on standardized tests,” said Zaner-Bloser President Bob Page. “Since we started this contest 20 years ago, we’ve been pleased to see the great response increasing every year as it shows that teachers and their students are proud of the skills they have attained using our program.”

Judges will select state winners in grades 1-8 for both public and private schools. State winners will compete against each other to become one of the 16 public and private National Grade Level Winners. Then the National Grade Level Winners compete to be chosen as one of eight Grand National Champions.  

With more than $100,000 in cash and prizes, Grand National Champion students each take home $1,250 in cash and Grand National Champion teachers win a trip to the 2011 International Reading Association Conference in Orlando, Florida. In total, all winning schools will receive more than $55,000 in free Zaner-Bloser materials.

Sr. Mary Agnes, principal of a past Grand National Champion at St. Pius V School in Melville, NY said, “This is truly a win-win opportunity for both students and teachers. Students become more proficient in handwriting which is a lifelong skill, teachers receive a complimentary professional development opportunity, and schools receive free curriculum materials and well-deserved recognition.”  

About Zaner-Bloser

Zaner-Bloser, a division of Highlights for Children with more than 120 years of experience in education, is one of the premier publishers of research-based reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and handwriting programs. The Zaner-Bloser mission is to create dynamic, appealing and effective educational programs and services. Zaner-Bloser focuses on distinctive programs that inspire all students to become engaged, literate participants in the global society.

SOURCE Zaner-Bloser