NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE to Air 'Old School/New School' Special, 12/16

Kids receiving non-traditional educations share their stories in the brand-new NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE half-hour special, "Old School/New School," premiering Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The special profiles teens around the country who attend cyber, game-focused and real-world learning schools, and are finding out what it takes to be successful.

"New schools. Old schools. Where and how you learn is never going to count as much as what you learn," says Ellerbee.

Dylan, 12, of New York says before he started classes at Quest to Learn, a school in New York City that uses games to teach almost everything, he wasn't interested in his schoolwork. "I was really zoned out. I was like reading comics in class," he says. "But now I'm not even considering touching a comic book because I'm so scared that I'm going to miss a subject."

Bella, 15, of Bemidji, Minn., goes to school at TrekNorth where kids are required to go on wilderness trips to get a diploma. "They have amazing service learning trips (as well)," she says. "Sometimes (kids) go on weeklong trips to help the homeless."

Izabel, 14, attends Durango Big Picture High School in Durango, Colo., where students spend two days a week at internships and the rest of the time working on independent projects based completely on student interests. "I wanted to come here because I didn't like sitting in the classroom listening to a lecture all day," she says. "(Here) you're creating a future that you want."

Avianna, 12, of Drexel Hill, Pa., goes to school online through Connections Academy. "I learned that actually not having a lot of kids around me makes me thrive," she says. "Now that all the distractions are removed, I'm a lot more focused."

Lea, 15, attends Diablo Valley School in Concord, Calif., where there isn't curriculum, homework, tests or grades. "I've become a lot more confident with myself," she says. "And I think the best thing about this school is that there is no pressure to be anyone other than yourself."

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 23rd year and is the longest-running kids' news show in television history. It has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 21 Emmy nominations and recently won its tenth Emmy Award for Forgotten But Not Gone: Kids, HIV & AIDS in the category of Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children's programming include: Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics (2011); (The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer (2010); Coming Home: When Parents Return from War (2009); The Untouchable Kids of India (2008); Private Worlds: Kids and Autism (2007); Never Again: From the Holocaust to the Sudan (2005); Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan (2002) and What Are You Staring At? (1998). In 1995, the entire series won the Emmy. In 2009, Nick News was honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award for best Network News Documentary for Coming Home: When Parents Return from War - the first-ever kids' television program to receive this prestigious award. Nick News has also received three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for explaining the impeachment of President Clinton to kids, as well as a Columbia duPont Award and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 19 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).

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