LeapFrog Spells Out Plan to Support 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee

LeapFrog Spells Out Plan to Support 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee

Leading Educational Products Vendor Extends Commitment to Lifelong Learning

EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LF), a leading vendor of technology-based learning products, today announced it has signed on as a national supporter of the 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, to be held in Washington DC on June 1st and 2nd of this year. LeapFrog, the maker of the award-winning LeapPad(R) learning platform and other educational products, is supporting and participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation's largest and longest-running educational promotion of its kind.

The championship round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be broadcast live, exclusively on ESPN, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 2. The live television broadcast will be sponsored by LeapFrog.

"LeapFrog is proud to be associated with the Scripps National Spelling Bee to promote a fun and challenging program that enriches student learning and celebrates academic achievement," said LeapFrog President Jerry Perez. "Our company is a natural fit with the Spelling Bee as LeapFrog is dedicated to inspiring the pursuit of learning and helping to unlock the learning potential within every child. Our products are used by millions of children in both homes and schools to enhance reading, writing, spelling, math, foreign languages and other subjects."

"We welcome LeapFrog and thank them for their support of the Scripps National Spelling Bee," said Paige P. Kimble, director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and 1981 national spelling champion. "LeapFrog is a proven supporter of key educational programs and encourages educational achievement in all they do. Both LeapFrog and the Scripps Spelling Bee have engaged a generation of children with fun and compelling academic challenges, and so we look forward to this partnership that will further promote and excite children to take learning to the next level."

Spelling is Key Component of LeapFrog Products

LeapFrog's product portfolio is designed to assist children in learning key subjects and core curriculum for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Based on input from its educational advisory board, many of the LeapFrog products include a strong focus on the development and mastery of fundamental spelling and vocabulary skills. For instance, LeapFrog's award-winning LeapPad learning platform offers more than 60 different LeapPad books that come to life for the child with a magic pen that can read and spell the words out loud.

Another award-winning learning product from LeapFrog is the iQuest(TM) Handheld -- a fun way for students to learn core school subjects based on over 260 of the most commonly used textbooks and a great way to practice vocabulary words with a 75,000-word Merriam-Webster Dictionary cartridge.

LeapFrog's new FLY(TM) pentop computer, available this fall, will offer a special spelling homework program to allow children to practice their weekly spelling words from school, or to just play favorite spelling games such as hangman and word scramble.

Additionally, LeapFrog's SchoolHouse division offers award-winning assessment and curriculum content developed with innovative technology to excite children about learning at a young age. These personal learning tools (PLTs) offered by SchoolHouse include The Literacy Center and Ready, Set, Leap(TM)! programs. Both learning platforms feature the LeapMat(TM) Learning Surface, the LeapDesk(TM) Workstation and LeapPad(R) PLT and its accompanying interactive books. The LeapMat Learning Surface, designed for use in pre-kindergarten to second grade classrooms, incorporates touch, sight, and sound to teach children letter-name recognition, letter-sound association, and spelling of three-letter words. The LeapDesk Workstation delivers explicit instruction in letter recognition, phonics, phonemic awareness, and word concepts. LeapPad PLTs and their accompanying interactive books help students increase their vocabulary, sound out unknown words, and provide unlimited reading and spelling practice.

About LeapFrog

LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is a leading designer, developer and marketer of innovative, technology-based learning products and related proprietary content, dedicated to making learning effective and engaging for all ages, at home and in schools, around the world. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog has developed a family of learning platforms that come to life with more than 100 interactive software titles, covering important subjects such as phonics, reading, writing, math, music, geography, social studies, spelling, vocabulary and science. In addition, the company has created more than 35 stand-alone educational products for children from birth to 16 years. LeapFrog's award-winning U.S. consumer products are available in six languages at major retailers in more than 25 countries around the world. The LeapFrog SchoolHouse-curriculum programs are currently in classrooms across the U.S. with over 200 interactive books and over 450 skill cards representing more than 6,000 pages of educational content. LeapFrog SchoolHouse(TM) products have won numerous awards from the education industry, including the Golden Lamp Award and Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers, the Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine and the Teacher's Choice Award from Learning magazine.

About The Scripps National Spelling Bee

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest running educational promotion. The competition is administered on a not-for-profit basis by the E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati and 264 local sponsors. The National Spelling Bee will be held in Washington DC, featuring top spellers from across the U.S., and including competitors from Europe, Guam, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, American Samoa, Canada and New Zealand.

About Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse media concern with interests in national lifestyle television networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television, television retailing, interactive media, and licensing and syndication. All of the company's media businesses provide content and advertising services via the Internet.

Scripps is organized into the five operating divisions: Scripps Networks, including the company's growing portfolio of popular lifestyle television networks; Scripps Newspapers, including daily and community newspapers in 19 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center; Scripps Television Station Group, including six ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates, and one independent; Shop at Home Network, the company's television retailing subsidiary; and United Media, a leading licensing and syndication company that is the worldwide licensing and syndication home of Peanuts, Dilbert, and about 150 other features and characters.

NOTE: LEAPFROG, LEAPPAD, FLY, READY SET LEAP, LEAP MAT, LEAP DESK and IQUEST are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.

CONTACT:
Liz Einbinder Shannon Eis
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. Kaplow Communications
510-420-5223 212-221-1713
leinbinder@leapfrog.comshannone@kaplowpr.com

Source: LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.

CONTACT: Liz Einbinder of LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc., +1-510-420-5223,
or leinbinder@leapfrog.com; or Shannon Eis of Kaplow Communications,
+1-212-221-1713, or shannone@kaplowpr.com, for LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.

Web site: http://www.leapfrog.com/

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