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Parenting Magazine Launches the Mom Congress(TM) on Education and Learning, a Prosocial Initiative Celebrating and Connecting Moms Advocating for Education Reform

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 March 2009, 11:00 CDT

Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies to serve as educational provider

MomConnection(R) survey identifies the areas that moms would fight hardest to keep funded in the face of budget cuts: Class size, teacher salaries and arts programs top their lists

WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parenting Group, publisher of Parenting and Babytalk magazines, today announced the launch of the Mom Congress(TM) on Education and Learning (MCEL), a new prosocial initiative developed to celebrate and connect moms advocating for education reform. Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies will serve as educational provider for the initiative, and will work with Parenting to develop the intellectual aspects of the program.

"The Mom Congress initiative is driven by the ever-increasing role parents play in implementing positive change in our nation's schools," said Susan Kane, editorial director of The Parenting Group and editor-in-chief of Parenting magazine, which recently launched a new edition for moms of school-age children - Parenting School Years. "Since the economic stimulus bill has earmarked a significant amount of financial support for public education, we have a unique opportunity to help moms advocate for funding for the resources that really matter to today's families. With the help of an advisory board made up of the country's leading education experts and advocates, Mom Congress will give parents the tools they need to ensure their voices are heard - not just at the local level, but ultimately by our receptive new administration."

The Mom Congress on Education and Learning will serve its purpose by:

1. Connecting moms through an online community forum on Parenting.com (www.parenting.com/momcongress) where they can share ideas, discuss strategies for effecting change, and hear from other families who have been successful in their efforts.
2. Giving moms direct access to leaders in the field of education and the policymakers responsible for reforming our nation's schools. MCEL advisory board members include:
3. Lily Eskelsen, Vice President, National Education Association
4. Carol Evans, CEO and President, Working Mother Media
5. Melinda George, Senior Director, PBS TeacherLine and National Education Partnerships
6. Supriya Jindal, First Lady of Louisiana, and Founder, Supriya Jindal Foundation
7. Robert Manuel, Dean, School of Continuing Studies, Georgetown University
8. David Markus, Editorial Director, George Lucas Educational Foundation
9. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Co-Founder and Executive Director, MomsRising.org
10. Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
11. Celebrating moms who have successfully implemented positive changes through regular editorial coverage in Parenting School Years magazine.
12. Rewarding moms who have made a difference with 10 scholarships per semester to be used towards tuition for a variety of courses at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies.
13. Gathering mom advocates from every state for the inaugural Mom Congress on Education and Learning conference in Washington DC in 2010.

"The School of Continuing Studies is committed to helping people in their pursuit of a lifelong learning experience, and we've been inspired by parents' efforts to ensure their children reap the benefits of a quality education," said Robert Manuel, Dean of Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies. "We're thrilled to work with Parenting to help moms deepen and broaden their educational opportunities and understanding of important issues in their children's lives."

Georgetown is developing educational opportunities just for Mom Congress, and in addition will offer 10 scholarships each semester. Students will be able to choose from a range of classes offered by the School of Continuing Studies.

The Mom Congress on Education and Learning initiative was announced today at a press conference at Georgetown University, where Parenting magazine revealed the results of a survey of 460 moms of school-age children conducted by the nationally-representative MomConnection(R) research panel. Key findings of the survey included:

Budget cuts: With the economy putting extreme pressure on school funding, moms identified five areas that they'd fight hardest to protect. *Each respondent chose her top three priorities.

1. Class size (56%)
2. Teacher salaries (43%)
3. Arts programs (34%)
4. Technology (30%)
5. Special education programs (25%)

Advertising on school property: When asked if they would allow advertising in schools to offset some of the anticipated budget cutbacks, most moms were willing to make trade-offs in order to provide financial support for programs that would otherwise lose funding. Only 6% felt that advertising through the school channel was unacceptable.

School advertising with the highest comfort levels among moms included:

1. Ads on scoreboards at school-sponsored sporting events (94%)
2. Advertising in school newsletters for parents (94%)
3. Free school supplies carrying advertiser logos (92%)
4. Advertiser-sponsored school events with an education theme (89%)
5. Ads in free educational magazines distributed to students (86%)

School advertising with the lowest comfort levels included:

1. Commercials airing during in-classroom TV and radio broadcasts (22%)
2. Commercials airing on school bus radios (31%)
3. Advertising on report cards, book covers and other printed school materials (34%)
4. Advertising on the inside of school buses (34%)

Parent involvement: The majority of moms (78%) consider themselves to be "involved" in their child's school, but one-quarter found it challenging to figure out how to participate in the school's parent organization. The biggest roadblock for increased participation in schools' parent organizations is lack of time - 43% feel that "parents who do not have time to get involved" is the most significant problem. Moms also cited "tendency of those in control to restrict input from the wider parent body" and "conflicts between moms who work outside the home and those who do not" as major obstacles.

Standardized testing: Moms were overwhelmingly opposed to evaluating schools' effectiveness based on state-mandated standardized testing. 43% felt that forcing schools to teach curriculum based on standardized testing guidelines does more harm than good, and 55% felt that schools should be evaluated based on other criteria besides test scores.

Too much pressure? The older children get, the more likely moms are to be unhappy with their child's school experience. Of the moms surveyed who had children in 4th grade or higher,

• 42% think that their kids get too much homework
• 53% feel that school is too demanding, and puts too much pressure on children at an early age
• 19% think that their children are unhappy about going to school on most days

Overall performance: Moms give schools a 3.29 GPA

While moms gave their schools an average grade of B+ for overall performance, only one-third felt that their children were having a better school experience than they did when they were kids. School safety efforts got the highest grades from moms, while availability of after-school activities ranked lowest.

For more information about the Mom Congress on Education and Learning, visit www.momcongress.com.

About The Parenting Group

The Parenting Group, home of the Parenting and Babytalk brands, reaches moms over 15 million times every month through magazines, digital media, custom content, and events. TPG's monthly publications include: Parenting School Years, for moms with children in kindergarten through elementary school; Parenting Early Years, for moms of infants, toddlers and preschoolers; and Babytalk, for new moms and moms-to-be. TPG's other media properties include: the Babytalk Pregnancy Planner; the Parenting.com web site; MomConnection(R), a nationally-representative online research network; and a custom content unit. The Parenting Group is a division of Bonnier Corporation.

About The Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies

The Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies provides a Georgetown education to students at every stage of learning, including high school programs for adolescents; summer school programs for college students; bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs; certificate programs for professionals; and continuing education courses for seniors age 55 and older. Founded in 1956 as the School of Summer and Continuing Education, it graduated its first students in 1975. The school offers an undergraduate degree in liberal studies, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree, and a Doctor of Liberal Studies degree, the first known doctorate of its kind in the world. The school also offers Master of Professional Studies degrees in journalism, real estate, public relations/corporate communications, sports industry management, human resources management, and beginning in August 2009, technology management. Another branch, the Georgetown University Center for Continuing and Professional Education, offers certificate and custom corporate/government programs in paralegal studies, financial planning, project management, executive leadership, organizational development, and other areas related to professional advancement. Most SCS courses are designed to cater to nontraditional adult students and professionals, with most classes being held in the evenings and on weekends. Visit http://scs.georgetown.edu for more information.

SOURCE The Parenting Group

Source: PR Newswire

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