Alison Indrisano Wagner Appointed President of Pearson’s School Achievement Services

Will Intensify Focus on School Transformation, District Consulting, and Educator Effectiveness

Boston, MA, August 29, 2011 — Today, the global learning company Pearson announced the appointment of Alison Indrisano Wagner as President of Pearson’s School Achievement Services group. The business works in partnership with U.S. schools in three key areas: providing district consulting on education issues and solutions; school transformation services for underperforming districts; and increasing educator effectiveness and career growth.

Pearson School CEO Peter Cohen said, “We focused our search on a successful education industry leader who was passionately committed to improving student achievement and helping teachers grow and progress in their careers.” He added, “Alison joins Pearson at a critical juncture in our evolution toward developing solutions that are integrated and interoperable to address the complex, challenging issues facing today’s schools and learners. Her broad experience in developing strong educational programs and running a large client service organization will provide our team with the leadership and experience to develop these new models.”

Wagner said, “School districts around the country are faced with unprecedented challenges. With a strong commitment to high quality, research-based solutions, Pearson is well positioned to be a trusted partner. I’m eager to take on the challenges of working with schools around the country to help teachers and students reach their full potential.”

Cohen noted that the School Achievement Services business is core to Pearson’s long-term strategy as the company transitions from a products-oriented business to a services partner to schools, all focused on improving student achievement and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of school districts.

Most recently, Wagner was President and CEO of National Geographic School Publishing, where she managed the successful merger of National Geographic and Hampton Brown. Before National Geographic, she spent 10 years at Thomson Learning (now Cengage Learning) in product development and running Thomson Prometric’s global client services. Before that she worked at Jostens Learning and McGraw Hill developing learning technologies. She began her career as a teacher.

Wagner succeeds Steven Dowling, who is retiring.

Photo available: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pearsoneducation/6080973554/in/photostream

About Pearson

Pearson has as its mission to work side-by-side with states, districts, teachers, students and parents to ensure that every child is prepared for college and career (NYSE: PSO). http://www.pearsoned.com.

Contact: kate(dot)miller(at)pearson(dot)com – 1.800.745.8489