Pearson Foundation announces 2012 Pearson Prize applications now being accepted.

Big news today: The Pearson Foundation has officially opened the application for the 2012 Pearson Prize for Higher Education, the award that recognizes and supports undergraduate student leaders who are distinguishing themselves by leading public service efforts that give back to their local communities.

The 2012 Call for Pearson Fellowship for Social Innovation Applications is Open!

The 12 Pearson Fellows of 2011 brought projects to reality on three continents in various categories like human rights, technology, health, environment, and education.

We’ve already received such strong response from the announcement of this year’s Pearson Prize for Higher Education, I thought it might be right to spread the word about the Pearson Foundation’s other youth recognition program: the 2012 Pearson Fellowship for Social Innovation.

150,000 Books Read and Donated!

Some remarkable news: Thanks to dedicated readers across the United States, We Give Books reached the Read for My School campaign goal—150,000 books to be shared among US classrooms in less than a single week!

We’re confirming achievements with each of the schools that took part and making plans for our next big announcement: details regarding this year’s upcoming Read for the Record Campaign.

In the meantime, please take a moment to share news of We Give Books with someone you know? We’re closing in on 1 million books read online at We Give Books. We’re already more than 80% of the way there.

We Give Books' Read for My School: The Pearson Foundation Shares 150,000 Books Nationwide

Here's some great news: On Tuesday, we launched the 2012 Read for My School campaign at We Give Books. The aim was to raise awareness about the importance of schools and school libraries while also giving readers the chance to give books to their local public elementary schools. If you go to the Read for My School campaign page, you'll see that we're off to a blistering start! We Give Books readers across the country have read more 89,000 books in just two days!

This first nationwide Read for My School campaign extends last year's introduction of this program in the state of Florida. We aim to give 150,0000 books through Read for My School, though it looks like this may happen in less than a single week.

What the excitement around this campaign shows, again, is how energized people are about supporting their local communities. It also shows how well school communities organize to get things done. More than 20 schools across the country have already reached the maximum allotment of 500 books donated to their libraries. In all, we've seen readers from all 50 states visit We Give Books, and traffic to the site seems to be picking up rather than slowing down.

There's still time to read for your school! Log on to We Give Books today to get started, and be sure to visit the Read for My School campaign page to learn more. And please spread the word. We'd like as many local schools and school libraries to benefit as possible.

The Pearson Prize 2012 Application—Now Live!

Again this year, the Pearson Foundation will offer the Pearson Prize to recognize 20 college and university students for their work in supporting local communities. As Pearson Prize National Fellows, these outstanding students will receive financial and other resources, including guidance to support their ongoing service to their communities, as well as opportunities to get to know one another and share ideas—which may be the best thing of all.

The application for the 2012 Pearson Prize for Higher Education went live today and will be available through March 16.

Just a word on why the Pearson Foundation created the Pearson Prize: We noticed that most college award programs and scholarships focus on graduating high school students and their academic merits. But there's a different, special kind of student who often emerges while in college—one dedicated to service and to the community.

By identifying emerging leaders who are already underway in their college careers, the Pearson Prize for Higher Education addresses the needs of students who have been doing great things under the radar. Every year, a number of the National Fellows say that they've never received any kind of award before, which is really amazing when you hear their stories.

To learn more about the Pearson Prize and see videos made by current Fellows, visit the Pearson Prize website.

To apply today, please visit the application page. Be sure to check out the eligibility requirements and FAQ for detailed application information.

Digital Learning Day Roundup

All the details aren’t yet in, but it’s clear that yesterday’s first Digital Learning Day was an important, in many ways remarkable, coming together to draw attention to all that’s already changing in classrooms across the country.

“It is time we stop asking students to ‘power down’ when they go to school and instead to ‘power up’ and use their interest in technology as a new way to learn,” said Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, which organized the event.