New Survey Reveals Parents Are Overlooking Essential Back to School Preparation – Most Going Shopping as Primary Back to School Activity

  GreatSchools Launches Initiative to Educate Parents About Essentials of

                            Back-to-School Prep



    SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13 /EMWNews/ -- Parents are more than twice as

likely to go shopping in preparation for the new school year than engage in

activities recommended by experts to help children effectively prepare for

the coming school year, according to the Back-to-School Benchmark Survey

released today by GreatSchools (http://www.greatschools.net), an independent

nonprofit organization that empowers parents to support their children's

educational success.



    While nearly all parents shop for back-to-school clothing and supplies,

fewer than half find out what their child will be learning, meet their

child's teacher, get their child on a nutritional breakfast schedule, or

increase their child's reading time and reduce their video/computer game

playing time.



    "Shopping has become synonymous with back to school but parents are

searching for more meaningful guidance about preparing their children to

transition back to the classroom," noted Bill Jackson, GreatSchools'

founder and CEO. "GreatSchools is having that conversation with parents by

connecting them with practical advice on how to effectively prepare their

children."



    The survey also found that while 80 percent of parents do seek out

educational advice -- most often from schools and teachers -- a surprising

majority are overlooking the Internet as a back-to-school resource. With

the launch of its Back-to-School online resource center, GreatSchools aims

to broaden the focus of back-to-school season beyond shopping and provide

parents with expert advice on all aspects of helping their children

successfully begin the new school year.



    "Schools are simply too over-taxed and under-resourced to provide

everything to every parent, so the web is a natural resource," said

Jackson. "GreatSchools is serving as a partner to parents by providing them

with easy, low-cost ways to help their children prepare mentally and

physically for back to school and return to the classroom with a positive

attitude."



    Some of the leading back-to-school preparation tips featured in

GreatSchools' Back-to-School Countdown (available at http://www.GreatSchools.net)

include helping children create a "summer brain workout," establish healthy

eating patterns and get organized for a school year routine.



    Used by one in three parents, Webby award-winning GreatSchools provides

parents with the resources they need to be fully engaged in their

children's education, from pre-school to college. More about GreatSchools

and its Back-to-School resource center is available at

http://www.GreatSchools.net.






    More than Shopping - Other Notable Results from Benchmark Survey



    Other notable Back-to-School Benchmark Survey findings include:

    -- A minority of parents engage in activities prescribed by education

experts in advance of school starting, such as increasing reading time (48



    percent), reducing TV/video time (39 percent) and starting a

nutritional breakfast schedule (29 percent).



    -- Parents spend more time and money on back-to-school shopping than

they do on school fundraising or volunteering for their children's schools.

Parents are twice as likely to spend more than $400 on back-to-school

shopping (17 percent) than they are in donations to their children's

schools (8 percent).



    -- Parents are more than three times as likely to think about how much

time they'll spend back-to-school shopping than how much time they'll spend

volunteering at their child's school. Merely two percent of parents said

they won't spend any time back-to-school shopping, compared to one in five

parents (18 percent) who said they won't spend any time volunteering at

their child's school.



    -- More than one-third (35 percent) of parents believe there is more

their children's schools can do to improve the back-to-school experience.

Parents desire more and different back to school activities, such as

school-hosted events for parents, students and teachers, and community-wide

back-to-school celebrations such as fairs, parades and school supply

donation programs for students in need.



    The Back-to-School Benchmark Survey was conducted June 28 to July 2,

2008, with online surveys of 1,308 parents of children ages 5 to 17 who

will attend school in the fall. Respondents were selected from a random,

nationally representative sample; the margin of error is +/- 2.7 percentage

points at the 95% confidence interval.

    About GreatSchools



    GreatSchools is an independent, non-profit organization that empowers

and inspires parents to participate in their child's development and

educational success. Parents choose GreatSchools to find the ideal schools,

get expert advice, share stories and to get their parenting and education

questions answered. In the past year alone, more than 35 million people

visited GreatSchools (http://www.GreatSchools.net). With hundreds of thousands of

ratings and parent reviews about schools across the country, and

unparalleled expert resources, GreatSchools empowers parents with

information and tools so they can choose the best school for their

children, support their educational success and improve schools in their

communities. A Webby award-winning site, GreatSchools is supported by

leading foundations and corporations, including the Doris & Donald Fisher

Fund, Robertson Foundation and Walton Family Foundation.






    GreatSchools - Involved parents. Successful kids.



    CONTACT

    Deborah Schneider - 415.277.6973 - [email protected]

    Brenda Dos Santos - 415.277.6974 - [email protected]