Parenting Magazine Launches the Mom Congress(TM) on Education and Learning, a Prosocial...

Parenting Magazine Launches the Mom Congress(TM) on Education and Learning, a
Prosocial Initiative Celebrating and Connecting Moms Advocating for Education
Reform

Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies to serve as educational
provider

MomConnection(R) survey identifies the areas that moms would fight hardest to
keep funded in the face of budget cuts: Class size, teacher salaries and arts
programs top their lists

WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parenting Group, publisher of
Parenting and Babytalk magazines, today announced the launch of the Mom
Congress(TM) on Education and Learning (MCEL), a new prosocial initiative
developed to celebrate and connect moms advocating for education reform.
Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies will serve as educational
provider for the initiative, and will work with Parenting to develop the
intellectual aspects of the program.

"The Mom Congress initiative is driven by the ever-increasing role parents
play in implementing positive change in our nation's schools," said Susan
Kane, editorial director of The Parenting Group and editor-in-chief of
Parenting magazine, which recently launched a new edition for moms of
school-age children - Parenting School Years. "Since the economic stimulus
bill has earmarked a significant amount of financial support for public
education, we have a unique opportunity to help moms advocate for funding for
the resources that really matter to today's families. With the help of an
advisory board made up of the country's leading education experts and
advocates, Mom Congress will give parents the tools they need to ensure their
voices are heard - not just at the local level, but ultimately by our
receptive new administration."

The Mom Congress on Education and Learning will serve its purpose by:
1. Connecting moms through an online community forum on Parenting.com
(www.parenting.com/momcongress) where they can share ideas, discuss
strategies for effecting change, and hear from other families who have
been successful in their efforts.
2. Giving moms direct access to leaders in the field of education and the
policymakers responsible for reforming our nation's schools. MCEL
advisory board members include:
3. Lily Eskelsen, Vice President, National Education Association
4. Carol Evans, CEO and President, Working Mother Media
5. Melinda George, Senior Director, PBS TeacherLine and National Education
Partnerships
6. Supriya Jindal, First Lady of Louisiana, and Founder, Supriya Jindal
Foundation
7. Robert Manuel, Dean, School of Continuing Studies, Georgetown
University
8. David Markus, Editorial Director, George Lucas Educational Foundation
9. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Co-Founder and Executive Director,
MomsRising.org
10. Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
11. Celebrating moms who have successfully implemented positive changes
through regular editorial coverage in Parenting School Years magazine.
12. Rewarding moms who have made a difference with 10 scholarships per
semester to be used towards tuition for a variety of courses at
Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies.
13. Gathering mom advocates from every state for the inaugural Mom
Congress
on Education and Learning conference in Washington DC in 2010.

"The School of Continuing Studies is committed to helping people in their
pursuit of a lifelong learning experience, and we've been inspired by parents'
efforts to ensure their children reap the benefits of a quality education,"
said Robert Manuel, Dean of Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies. "We're
thrilled to work with Parenting to help moms deepen and broaden their
educational opportunities and understanding of important issues in their
children's lives."

Georgetown is developing educational opportunities just for Mom Congress, and
in addition will offer 10 scholarships each semester. Students will be able to
choose from a range of classes offered by the School of Continuing Studies.

The Mom Congress on Education and Learning initiative was announced today at a
press conference at Georgetown University, where Parenting magazine revealed
the results of a survey of 460 moms of school-age children conducted by the
nationally-representative MomConnection(R) research panel. Key findings of
the survey included:

Budget cuts: With the economy putting extreme pressure on school funding, moms
identified five areas that they'd fight hardest to protect. *Each respondent
chose her top three priorities.
1. Class size (56%)
2. Teacher salaries (43%)
3. Arts programs (34%)
4. Technology (30%)
5. Special education programs (25%)

Advertising on school property: When asked if they would allow advertising in
schools to offset some of the anticipated budget cutbacks, most moms were
willing to make trade-offs in order to provide financial support for programs
that would otherwise lose funding. Only 6% felt that advertising through the
school channel was unacceptable.

School advertising with the highest comfort levels among moms included:
1. Ads on scoreboards at school-sponsored sporting events (94%)
2. Advertising in school newsletters for parents (94%)
3. Free school supplies carrying advertiser logos (92%)
4. Advertiser-sponsored school events with an education theme (89%)
5. Ads in free educational magazines distributed to students (86%)

School advertising with the lowest comfort levels included:
1. Commercials airing during in-classroom TV and radio broadcasts (22%)
2. Commercials airing on school bus radios (31%)
3. Advertising on report cards, book covers and other printed school
materials (34%)
4. Advertising on the inside of school buses (34%)

Parent involvement: The majority of moms (78%) consider themselves to be
"involved" in their child's school, but one-quarter found it challenging to
figure out how to participate in the school's parent organization. The biggest
roadblock for increased participation in schools' parent organizations is lack
of time - 43% feel that "parents who do not have time to get involved" is the
most significant problem. Moms also cited "tendency of those in control to
restrict input from the wider parent body" and "conflicts between moms who
work outside the home and those who do not" as major obstacles.

Standardized testing: Moms were overwhelmingly opposed to evaluating schools'
effectiveness based on state-mandated standardized testing. 43% felt that
forcing schools to teach curriculum based on standardized testing guidelines
does more harm than good, and 55% felt that schools should be evaluated based
on other criteria besides test scores.

Too much pressure? The older children get, the more likely moms are to be
unhappy with their child's school experience. Of the moms surveyed who had
children in 4th grade or higher,
-- 42% think that their kids get too much homework
-- 53% feel that school is too demanding, and puts too much pressure on
children at an early age
-- 19% think that their children are unhappy about going to school on
most
days

Overall performance: Moms give schools a 3.29 GPA
While moms gave their schools an average grade of B+ for overall performance,
only one-third felt that their children were having a better school experience
than they did when they were kids. School safety efforts got the highest
grades from moms, while availability of after-school activities ranked lowest.

Safety 3.47
Teaching values 3.32
Cooperation with parent organizations 3.29
Overall performance 3.29
Teaching good study habits/learning skills 3.28
Physical condition of the school building and property 3.27
Discipline 3.23
Parent/teacher communication 3.22
Preparing kids for today's world 3.21
Social culture 3.16
After-school activities 2.85

For more information about the Mom Congress on Education and Learning, visit
www.momcongress.com.

About The Parenting Group
The Parenting Group, home of the Parenting and Babytalk brands, reaches moms
over 15 million times every month through magazines, digital media, custom
content, and events. TPG's monthly publications include: Parenting School
Years, for moms with children in kindergarten through elementary school;
Parenting Early Years, for moms of infants, toddlers and preschoolers; and
Babytalk, for new moms and moms-to-be. TPG's other media properties include:
the Babytalk Pregnancy Planner; the Parenting.com web site; MomConnection(R),
a nationally-representative online research network; and a custom content
unit. The Parenting Group is a division of Bonnier Corporation.

About TheGeorgetown University School of Continuing Studies
The Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies provides a Georgetown
education to students at every stage of learning, including high school
programs for adolescents; summer school programs for college students;
bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs; certificate programs for
professionals; and continuing education courses for seniors age 55 and older.
Founded in 1956 as the School of Summer and Continuing Education, it graduated
its first students in 1975. The school offers an undergraduate degree in
liberal studies, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree, and a Doctor of
Liberal Studies degree, the first known doctorate of its kind in the world.
The school also offers Master of Professional Studies degrees in journalism,
real estate, public relations/corporate communications, sports industry
management, human resources management, and beginning in August 2009,
technology management. Another branch, the Georgetown University Center for
Continuing and Professional Education, offers certificate and custom
corporate/government programs in paralegal studies, financial planning,
project management, executive leadership, organizational development, and
other areas related to professional advancement. Most SCS courses are designed
to cater to nontraditional adult students and professionals, with most classes
being held in the evenings and on weekends. Visit http://scs.georgetown.edu
for more information.

SOURCE The Parenting Group

Catherine McManus, The Parenting Group, +1-212-779-5315,
catherine.mcmanus@bonniercorp.com; or Rachel Pugh, Georgetown University,
+1-202-687-4328, rmp47@georgetown.edu