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Today, Scholastic officially welcomed 28 student journalists from around the world to the award-winning Scholastic Kids Press program for the 2023-2024 academic year. Fifteen new and thirteen returning Kid Reporters, ages 10-14, will interview newsmakers and cover the topics that interest them and their peers most. Each year, these budding journalists receive invaluable real-world experience as they develop critical thinking, researching, and reporting skills.
The student journalists represent 17 U.S. states and 8 other countries: Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea. Their stories will spotlight local and international events on a range of topics, including government, entertainment, sports, and the environment. Bylines will appear in the Kid Reporters’ Notebook found on the Kids Press website and in select issues of Scholastic Magazines+, which reach more than 13 million students in U.S. classrooms.
"Scholastic Kids Press has opened doors for me to meet and interview remarkable people who are shaping our world, and it's an incredible opportunity to learn from them," said 11-year-old Kid Reporter Xander Dorsey, who joined Kids Press in 2022. "The experience has taught me the importance of curiosity, critical thinking, and the power of storytelling to inform and engage others."
“Over the past 23 years, the Kids Press program has helped students better understand their world by sharing stories about events that matter to them and their peers,” said Suzanne McCabe, editor of Scholastic Kids Press. “Now more than ever, it’s important for young people to cultivate media literacy skills, which will help them analyze information and stay informed.”
According to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™, the majority of parents (93%) say it's important that their child learns how to think critically to understand what they see, read, or hear online. Through the program, Kid Reporters will not only cover the ever-changing media landscape, but also deepen their knowledge and literacy skills.
During the 2022-2023 program year, Scholastic Kid Reporters covered the G7 summit in Japan, San Diego Comic-Con, National History Day, and hotly-contested runoff elections in the U.S., among many other topics. Throughout the program’s history, Kid Reporters have interviewed several influential figures, including Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai; CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper; Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda; conservationist Jane Goodall; former First Lady and President of the United States, Michelle and Barack Obama; Captain Underpants and Dog Man creator Dav Pilkey; and more.
