• Introduction
• NAF Collaboration Network
• National Student/Parent Mock Election
• Learning Teams Fellowship
• Pearson Foundation/CCSSO International Conference on Education
• Bridgeit
• Empowering the 21st Century Superintendent
• Learning to Change, Changing to Learn
• Familia: Action, Support, and Leadership
• Jordan Education Initiative
• Project Exploration Science Teacher Institute

National Student/Parent Mock Election

The Pearson Foundation is a proud sponsor and supporter of the 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election (NSPME), the national voter-education program for students and their parents that gives young Americans the chance to make their voices heard in the electoral process.

In the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, we joined together with a consortium of leading education, technology, journalism, advocacy, and communications partners—including Pearson, Google, USA TODAY, Declare Yourself, Strong American Schools, School Perceptions, and the National Association of Broadcasters—to extend the reach of the NSPME program.

The results were remarkable: more than five million ballots were cast in classrooms across the United States. As a result, Senator Barack Obama emerged as the presidential choice of the nation’s student ‘voters’. President-elect Obama received 67% of the vote and Senator John McCain 29%.

America’s young people identified the troubled economy, the war in Iraq, and global climate change/the environment - in that order - as the top priorities for the Obama administration, with other ballot issues ranking as follows: national security, high cost of energy, education, health care, and the war in Afghanistan.

In addition to President and the critical issues facing the new Administration, students voted their choices for Governors, the Senate, and House of Representatives.

With the election complete, the Pearson Foundation is also participating in related initiatives announced in conjunction with the National Student Mock Election Campaign:

Declaration of Independence Classroom Road Trip

Prior to the presidential inauguration, Declare Yourself and the Pearson Foundation are collaborating to sponsor a US tour of an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed July 4, 1776, and owned by Declare Yourself founder Norman Lear. With funding from the Pearson Foundation, the Declaration of Independence will visit the hometowns of six schools—two elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools—that have either the highest absolute number or the highest percentage of Mock Election votes. Find out more at www.declareyourself.com.

“Letters to the Next President” Online Writing and Digital Arts Program

Running now through January 20, 2009, the Letters to the Next President: The Video Campaign encourages students to continue to add their voices to the growing conversation about America's future.

Building on the strong teacher and student response to the Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future campaign launched this fall by the National Writing Project and Google Docs, this new video campaign invites young filmmakers to create and broadcast digital films that can be shared in classrooms across the country. On January 20th, two schools represented by these student submissions will be invited to host a showcase of written letters and digital films submitted during the Letters to the Next President campaign. Find out more at http://www.digitalartsalliance.org/partnerships/nwp/