Primrose Schools Taps Four Early Childhood Education Experts for Newly Formed Education Advisory Board

ACWORTH, Ga., April 9, 2008 /PRNewswire/ — Primrose Schools, a leader in educational child care, today announced the formation of the Primrose Schools Education Advisory Board. The board will help Primrose Schools further enhance the high quality early childhood education it delivers nationwide, while also strengthening the relationship between Primrose and the communities it serves. Board members will specifically focus on issues that affect Primrose students and families, their communities, national initiatives, and Primrose’s Balanced Learning(R) curriculum.

The board includes four educational leaders with specific expertise in early childhood education and development: Dr. Joanne Nurss, Dr. Steven Sanders, Dr. Suzanne Thouvenelle and Ms. Donna Thornton. The group will provide strategic counsel for Primrose Schools by helping to set priorities, making recommendations for the continuous improvement of Primrose’s education and training programs, and by serving as a sounding board for initiatives and curriculum enhancements.

“The formation of this board provides a tremendous opportunity for Primrose Schools to work with and learn from the very best experts in the early childhood education field,” said Jo Kirchner, president and CEO of Primrose Schools. “Each member holds specialized expertise on issues that affect our schools on a daily basis, as well as our children and families. We look forward to working with and learning from our new partners so we can continually improve the trusted quality of education and care Primrose Schools is known for delivering.”

Primrose Education Advisory Board members are appointed by Primrose Schools, will serve two-year terms and can be reappointed for additional terms. Advisory Board members will attend meetings, act as liaisons to professional organizations in their areas of expertise, stay informed on current research, issues and industry policy changes as well as participate in advocacy efforts.

About Primrose Schools

Founded in 1982, Primrose Schools is the country’s leader in early childhood education. Primrose Schools’ foundation is based on providing quality, early education and child care services with a balance of learning, character development and play. Developed by and taught exclusively at Primrose Schools, the school’s Balanced Learning(R) curriculum dynamically blends child-initiated play and teacher-guided instruction. The company’s success, fueled by parents’ demand for quality child care, is sustained by individual school owners and teachers. It is the first educational preschool to achieve accreditation by CITA/SACS CASI and CITA/NCA CASI, the prestigious associations recognized as the gold standard in evaluating local public and private schools and universities. Primrose Schools currently operates more than 180 schools in 15 states.

The excellent reputation that Primrose Schools has enjoyed for over 25 years has allowed its growth as a franchising company to continue and flourish. For more information: http://www.primroseschools.com/.

About Primrose Educational Advisory Board Members:

Dr. Joanne Nurss: Joanne Nurss is Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta and is the former director of the Center for the Study of Adult Literacy. Joanne founded the Department of Early Childhood Education at Georgia State University and served as the Chairperson of the department for eight years. She served as the Associate Dean for Academic Programs for the Georgia State University College of Education and as a Professor of Early Childhood Education. Joanne has done extensive research in the fields of children’s literacy development, second language learning, and adult literacy and has published numerous articles related to these areas. She is author of the Metropolitan Readiness Test published by Psychological Corporation.

Although Joanne has retired from teaching and directing the Adult Literacy Center at Georgia State, her dedication and interest in literacy continues as she tutors and works with homeless and refugee families. She is also a regular volunteer at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Dr. Steven Sanders: Steve Sanders is a Professor and Director of the School of Physical Education, Wellness, and Sports Studies at the University of South Florida. The School has academic units in Physical Education Teacher Education, Exercise Science, and Athletic Training. Steve is closely involved with teacher preparation programs working to prepare teachers to assist children in becoming physically active for a lifetime. He has taught and promoted the concept of being physically active for life throughout his career while working with all age levels from university students to infant/parent and toddler movement classes, to teaching preschool, elementary, and high school physical education.

Steve is author of the Books “Designing Preschool Movement Programs (1992),” and “Active for Life: Developmentally Appropriate Movement Programs for Young Children (NAEYC, 2002),” along with over one hundred scholarly papers.

Dr. Suzanne Thouvenelle: As Director of Training and Development and co- founder of MOBIUS Corporation, Suzanne Thouvenelle has a variety of research, development, management, financial and administrative responsibilities. Since the inception of MOBIUS Corporation in 1983, she has directed a number of educational research projects. Additionally, she has worked directly with major business partners including Childcraft Education Corporation and the IBM Corporation in efforts to integrate computer technology in the field of early childhood education.

Suzanne served on the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Technology Panel that developed the Position Statement on Appropriate Use of Technology for Young Children. She has also held faculty positions at The George Washington University, Wheelock College and Johns Hopkins University.

Donna Thornton: Donna Thornton’s love and zeal for those who lead child care and its quality are infectious. Donna has spent the last 20 years motivating, sharing, and inspiring people to reach new levels of quality with relevant and practical training. She inspires, teaches, and equips child care professionals to make the small but important changes that make a big difference in their programs.

Donna is the author of Motivating Staff through Exceptional Personnel Policies; Stop Being a Chicken in a Buzzards World; and Child Care is a Business, too. She has written a Management Curriculum for Child Care Administrators and been published in Child Care Information Exchange and the Association of Christian Schools International.

   CONTACT:   Kim Englehardt   Primrose Schools   770.529.4100   kenglehardt@primroseschools.com    MEDIA CONTACT:   Joshua Steinfeld   Eric Mower and Associates   678.443.5613   jsteinfeld@mower.com  

Primrose Schools

CONTACT: Kim Englehardt of Primrose Schools, +1-770-529-4100,kenglehardt@primroseschools.com; Media: Joshua Steinfeld of Eric Mower andAssociates for Primrose Schools, +1-678-443-5613, jsteinfeld@mower.com

Web site: http://www.primroseschools.com/