Deborah Crimmins Named Senior Vice President for Learning and
   Market Strategy and Melissa DeLay Named Vice President, Brand
              Strategy in New Marketing Appointments

GREENVILLE, Wis., July 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- School Specialty,
Inc. (Nasdaq:SCHS), a leading K-12 education company with the broadest
array of products in the market, announced today two new senior
marketing roles and appointments.

Deborah (Debi) Crimmins has joined School Specialty as Senior Vice
President for Learning and Market Strategy and will lead the company's
efforts to define new market and product opportunities. Crimmins was
most recently the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales at
Reading Plus, Taylor Associates.

Melissa DeLay was also named Vice President Brand Strategy of School
Specialty and will manage the company's corporate branding and
communication initiatives. DeLay was most recently a Vice President,
Group Account Director at Ogilvy and Mather.

"These new marketing positions will enhance our ability to meet
changing customer and market needs," said Kathryn Pepper Miller, Chief
Marketing Officer. "In their new roles, Debi and Melissa will be
instrumental in helping us identify priority markets, add meaningful
product line extensions and strengthen our brands."

"Building our product management capabilities is one of our top
priorities, and doing this requires that we have a deep understanding
of our markets and a renewed focus on our brands," added Michael P.
Lavelle, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are transforming
the organization to one that is more market centric and balanced, and I
am pleased to have Debi and Melissa join our team to support these
initiatives."

Background on Deborah Crimmins and Melissa DeLay

Deborah Crimmins was most recently the Senior Vice President of
Marketing and Sales at Reading Plus, Taylor Associates. She was
previously Vice President of Strategic Sales at Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, at Cambium Learning, and at Voyager Expanded Learning, as
well as Vice President of Product Development at Scholastic. Crimmins
holds an Educational Doctoral Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and
a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from the
University of Central Florida, Orlando.

Melissa DeLay was most recently a Vice President Group Account Director
at Ogilvy and Mather. She previously held senior roles at Mullen
Advertising, JWT and Lowe Worldwide, and worked with brands such as
Levi, Hanes and Domino's Pizza, as well as education companies
including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Teach for America. DeLay earned
an MA in Communications from Michigan State University, Lansing and a
BS degree in Marketing from Syracuse University.

About School Specialty, Inc.

School Specialty is a leading education company that provides
innovative and proprietary products, programs and services to help
educators engage and inspire students of all ages and abilities to
learn. The company designs, develops, and provides preK-12 educators
with the latest and very best curriculum, supplemental learning
resources and school supplies. Working in collaboration with educators,
School Specialty reaches beyond the scope of textbooks to help
teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators ensure that
every student reaches his or her full potential.

Accelerated Learning's major products include: Wordly Wise 3000(R),
Premier(TM) Agenda, Delta Education(TM), FOSS(R), CPO Science(TM), Frey
Scientific(R), Educator's Publishing Service, Academy of Reading(R),
Think Math!(TM), MCI(R), S.P.I.R.E.(R) and SPARK(TM) . Educational
Resources proprietary brands include: Education Essentials(R),
Sportime(R), Childcraft(R), Sax(R) Arts & Crafts, Califone(R), abc(R),
Abilitations(R), School Smart(R), Classroom Select(TM) and Projects by
Design(R).

For more information about School Specialty, visit
www.schoolspecialty.com.


CONTACT: Kathryn Pepper Miller
         Chief Marketing Officer
         920-243-5354