    
          |
|
|
|
  |
|
Pearson Education Acquires LessonLab, the Premier Teacher Professional Development and Education Research Company Beth Wray Named As New President; Dr. James Stigler As CEO Upper Saddle River, NJ - September 18, 2003 - Pearson Education, the world’s leading educational publisher (NYSE: PSO), has acquired LessonLab, a pioneer in education research and state-of-the-art technologies for teaching and professional development. The agreement reflects the two companies’ continued commitment to the importance of teacher quality and professional development, both integral elements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. Pearson Education previously held a minority ownership in LessonLab, and in 2001 announced a partnership to deliver LessonLab’s online platform to Pearson Education’s K-12 customers. Concurrent with the acquisition, Pearson Education is integrating its Pearson Professional Development and Pearson Skylight units into the new LessonLab. Pearson Skylight has been the leader in K-12 best practice professional development for more than 27 years. It offers programs and products including 250 on-site and distance learning graduate courses that can be used for recertification, and nine education master’s degree programs in conjunction with four university partners. Dr. James Stigler, who will continue in his current role at LessonLab as CEO, cofounded the company in 1998 with a group of internationally renowned researchers. Dr. Stigler is Professor of Psychology at UCLA and Director of the TIMSS Video Studies (Third International Mathematics and Science Study), which involves videotaping and analyzing teaching practices in more than one thousand classrooms in various countries. He is also the co-author of two highly regarded books, The Teaching Gap and The Learning Gap. Beth Wray, in addition to her role as President of LessonLab, has been named President of the newly formed Supplementary and Professional Development Group at Pearson Education, where she will continue to have responsibility for the Pearson Learning Group. Replacing Wray as President of PLG is Dan Caton, formerly Senior Vice President, Product Development, Pearson Learning Group. Wray is a highly respected figure in the publishing industry. Recently named to the Board of Trustees of the National Teachers Hall of Fame, she began her career in the Chicago area, teaching at the elementary and college levels in Special Education for 10 years before entering the publishing industry. She joined Pearson from Scholastic and has held senior positions as President of Globe Fearon, the secondary supplemental and special needs publisher within Pearson Education; CEO of Computer Curriculum Corporation, Pearson’s curriculum technology company which merged with NovaNet after Pearson’s acquisition of NCS; and President of the Pearson Learning Group. LessonLab will retain its independence as an innovative company that combines proprietary technology and services with a research-based learning model. Its mission is to understand and improve classroom teaching and learning, and it is committed to the entire teacher-learning continuum, from pre-service to in-service to recertification to advanced degrees. LessonLab’s teacher learning programs are delivered in a variety of formats, including face-to-face, on-line, and a combination of both. Common across the programs is LessonLab’s innovative technology platform, which allows teachers to work with colleagues to: study video examples of classroom lessons focused on the teaching of critical content standards; better understand and analyze the content they teach; look for evidence of student understanding; and reflect upon and improve their own classroom practice. LessonLab has recently been awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education’s new Institute of Education Sciences. Dr. Ronald Gallimore, a UCLA professor and LessonLab’s Vice President for Research, leads LessonLab’s growing research organization. "In this age of increasing attention to teacher performance and student achievement, professional development is becoming the key component in helping educators achieve their goals," said Peter Negroni, Senior Vice President, The College Board. "LessonLab’s ground-breaking research and tools allow teachers to look at themselves and their colleagues in real-time settings, and make decisions on how to improve their work and that of their students." "LessonLab’s unique and effective approach to professional development is helping to address teachers’ specific local learning requirements in their districts, as proposed by No Child Left Behind," said Kathleen Madigan, President, American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence. "Teachers are looking for professional development that will help them impact student learning and administrators are looking for professional development that is ongoing and research based; LessonLab is perfectly poised to fulfill both needs." "I am delighted that LessonLab is becoming part of the Pearson family," said Dr. Stigler. "This acquisition gives LessonLab the critical scale, resources and connections it needs to fulfill its mission." "LessonLab's prestigious research institute, along with its unique teacher learning model and technology platform, deepens Pearson Education's professional development strength," said Wray. "Research demonstrates a significant improvement in student academic achievement when districts invest in teacher professional development. Combined with Pearson Education's resources, LessonLab will be able to offer unprecedented professional development possibilities for teachers at every stage of their professional growth." About Pearson Education Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is the global leader in educational publishing. With brands such as Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, Pearson Addison Wesley, and many others, Pearson Education provides quality content, assessment tools and educational services in all available media, spanning the learning curve from birth through college and beyond. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. Pearson's primary operations also include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. About LessonLab Founded in 1998, LessonLab unites internationally recognized research on teaching and teacher learning, with cutting-edge software and program development services to improve classroom teaching. The core of LessonLab's platform is a suite of web-based software tools that enable teachers to study videotaped classroom sessions to improve their own performance. LessonLab works with various partner organizations including states, large school districts, public and private sector providers of teacher professional development services, textbook publishers, and universities to build standards-based teacher-learning programs on its innovative technology platform. For more information on LessonLab, please contact the company at 310-581-2300 or on the Web at www.lessonlab.com. Media Contact |
|
|
| |
|
School | Higher
Education | Professional
| Global |
|
|
Copyright © 2002-2004
by 