Pearson Offers Live Webinar to Assist Districts Applying for Obama's $3.5 billion in School Improvement Grants

Open Discussion with Federal Grant Expert to Help Untangle Complexities of Applications

Chandler, AZ, March 2, 2010 — When President Obama met with the nation’s governors last week, he challenged them to take advantage of the billions in federal funding now available to improve education in their states. With $3.5 billion in School Improvement Grants (SIG) ready to be distributed this month, many states are still struggling with the application process. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has even announced that states can apply for waivers that would extend the period of availability of school improvement funds from the original date of September 2011 to September 30, 2013.

News Image To assist school districts in unraveling the complexities of applying for these funds, the education services and technology company Pearson is offering a free live webinar on Wednesday, March 10 (3:00 pm Eastern time, Noon Pacific time) hosted by its Grants and Funding Expert Grace Stopani. The web presentation, “School Improvement Grants – Explained” will be followed by an online Question and Answer session with participants. The event will be recorded for on-demand access at Pearson’s: www.fundingforschools.com website.

Among the issues Stopani will discuss in detail with participants are:

Which schools will be eligible to receive funding and which states have released eligibility lists
An explanation of the requirements for each of the four Federal models of school reform – Restart, Closure, Transformation, and Turnaround
Timelines for application deadlines and release of funding
Data and information required in district applications for the funds
Grant-writing tips and recommendations
A description of Pearson’s grant support process which includes sample narrative and grant reviews.

Grants Expert Stopani said, “We created our webinar series because we were hearing from school districts that they were confused and had many questions about the various government grants now available. Our “School Improvement Grants – Explained” webinar will answer any question that a district may have about the new wave of funding. If we don’t have the answer at our fingertips, we will find it.” She added, “This is a continuing service that we can now provide to schools which are all struggling with their own state and local funding issues in today’s tough economic environment.”

To register for the live Webinar,: click here or go to: www.fundingforschools.com.

Educators can find additional resources related to Government funding at: www.fundingforschools.com, including informational videos, funding training, specifics on funding categories, responses to frequently asked questions and an email hotline for all stimulus-related questions at grantexperts (at) pearson (dot) com.

About Pearson

Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education, teacher training, education technology and school solutions, provides innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry. For more information, go to: www.pearsoned.com