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Pearson Prentice Hall Awards School Research Grants to Two Massachusetts Schools

Framingham High School and Framingham’s Cameron Middle School Chosen To Field Test Instructional Materials Prior to Publication

Upper Saddle River, NJ – March 30, 2004 – Pearson Prentice Hall, the nation’s leading secondary educational publisher, has entered into a research collaboration with two schools in Massachusetts. The two schools have been awarded School Research grants, worth up to $65,000 in textbooks, teacher materials and software. The grants are part of the publisher’s ongoing outreach to teachers and students for their participation in curriculum and product development.

The winning schools are Framingham High School and Framingham’s Cameron Middle School. Each will participate in the School Research Program during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years. The focus of the program will be on the development of skills in Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Math and Instructional Software. The grants have enabled the two schools to obtain new textbook programs in the areas of Social Studies, Math and Science.

Pearson Prentice Hall will work closely with the winning schools to field test academic materials in each research subject area. This testing will include classroom observations, teacher trial and adaptation of lessons, teacher and student surveys, teacher logs of day-to-day lessons, visits from textbook authors, and informal meetings with classes to discuss materials.

Ralph Olsen, Principal for Framingham High School, said, “This is a mutually beneficial collaborative effort that will enable us to shorten the time needed to adapt to changing Masschusetts’ curriculum frameworks, promote professionalism of our staff and, most importantly, improve learning.”

"As our school uses new instructional material, we receive excellent feedback from authors on products that supplement and provide varied instructional approaches to the textbooks," said Judith Kelly, Principal for Cameron Middle School. "These new materials efficiently cover the standards set by the State Department of Education, and they have been embraced by both veteran teachers and new staff members."

"Our School Research Program is critical to helping us develop materials that meet the needs of students and educators, from the standpoint of what works best in the classroom," said Christopher Brown, Senior Vice President, Pearson Education, PreK-12 School Group. "We work closely with these schools in a variety of areas, from day-to-day curriculum issues to helping to meet No Child Left Behind standards and beyond. It’s an important part of our multi-faceted approach to research."

About Pearson Prentice Hall

Pearson Prentice Hall is the nation's leading educational secondary publisher of scientifically researched and standards-based instruction materials for today's 6–12th grade classrooms. We create exceptional educational tools that ensure student and teacher success in language arts, mathematics, modern & classical languages, science, social studies, career & technology, and advanced placement, electives, and honors. In addition to School Research programs, our Academic Research division has employed a number of independent researchers to conduct longitudinal efficacy studies in school districts across the U.S., in accordance with What Works Clearinghouse research standards. Pearson Prentice Hall is part of Pearson Education (NYSE: PSO), the global leader in educational publishing.

Media Contact
Rod Granger
212-782-3486
rod.granger@pearsoned.com