We are witnessing an unprecedented amount of attention on education issues: The 2009 federal stimulus package included huge sums for innovations in education, and states have recently come together for the first time in history to collectively develop common standards. All this activity is shaking up public education and the communities of for-profit and nonprofit organizations that support it. Key areas such as assessment, teaching quality, standards, transparency, STEM and scalability are the talk of the town…and the nation. Widmeyer can help you influence or transform the dialogue.

We were working on Pre-K-12 education issues long before it became fashionable. In fact, we were the first public affairs firm in Washington to have a practice group wholly dedicated to the issue area. For more than 20 years we have been helping education reform organizations, corporations and federal agencies raise awareness about the challenges facing American public education. 

Our track record of client successes is paired with a deep bench of expertise and integrated with our Research and Digital/Creative teams. We can apply the lessons from past success, steer clear of historical pitfalls, and guide your organization to achieving beyond the objectives you came to us to meet.

Client Portfolio

Carnegie Corporation of New York / Institute for Advanced Study Commission on Math and Science Education
We informed the development of the Carnegie IAS Commission’s 2009 report, The Opportunity Equation, through research, counsel and communications support. We also launched a national mobilization of reform-minded corporations and non profits to support our client’s efforts to promote excellent, equitable math and science learning through established standards, high-quality assessments, improved teaching and redesigned schools and systems. To ensure long-lasting impact, Widmeyer built a highly engaging and interactive micro site, www.opportunityequation.org, as the hub for the effort.

National Center on Education and the Economy
Widmeyer first worked for the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) in 1990 when we re-released its report “America’s Choice: High Skills or Low Wages!” The report called for and led to the adoption of education standards for U.S. schools (i.e., “the standards movement”). 

Fifteen years later, recognizing the quickly changing pace of the worldwide economy and challenges to America’s current position, NCEE reconvened the Commission. The new Commission presented a series of recommendations that would lead to a call for a dramatic remaking of the country’s pre-K–16 system. The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce released its recommendations in December 2006 at a Washington, D.C., news conference. An accompanying book, “Tough Choices or Tough Times,” was published by Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint. 

TIME magazine editors elected to assign a cover story about “How to Build a Student for the 21^st Century.” We worked with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his staff to write and place an op-ed in support of the Commission in The Wall Street Journal. We also secured prominent and positive news coverage in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Christian Science Monitor, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. New York Times nationally syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman endorsed the Commission and its recommendations in a column shortly after the news conference, and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric did a full-length story about the Commission’s work and how it would impact schools.

America’s Choice/ACT, Inc.
Preparing students to be successful in college and careers is a national priority. Widmeyer was engaged by ACT, Inc. and America’s Choice to promote the 2009 Superintendents’ Symposium Series, which introduced district superintendents from across the country to practical solutions for increasing student college and career readiness, including ACT and America’s Choice’s Rigor & Readiness initiative. We engaged stakeholders via social media, conducted strategic media outreach and coordinated a live Webcast by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Celebration of Teaching & Learning
THIRTEEN & WLIW21, New York’s flagship public television stations, launched the first Celebration of Teaching & Learning conference in 2005, engaging educators, administrators and policy makers to come together to help shape the future of our schools. From the beginning, THIRTEEN & WLIW21 turned to Widmeyer to support programming and raise visibility. In 2009, we developed a brand identity for the Celebration driven by the theme “Where Knowledge Meets Inspiration.”  Each year we have generated significant Web site traffic and media coverage through both traditional and social media tools, ultimately driving record attendance in 2009. We’re already preparing for bigger things in 2010.

HHS’s Stop Bullying Now!
Since 2001, we have worked side-by-side with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on a national initiative that tackles one of the toughest issues faced by youth. The “Take a Stand. Lend a Hand. Stop Bullying Now!” Campaign is a first-of-its-kind effort to address bullying prevention among teens and tweens, while equipping adults with research-based materials to take on the issue of bullying. We are proud of the visibility we have achieved with educational and youth-serving partners, as well as the positive impact the popular campaign Web site has had on our nation’s youth.

Library of Congress
Teachers have an overwhelming array of choices when it comes to innovative resources to use in the classroom, some of high quality, some not. Widmeyer is helping the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, the Library of Congress, introduce more teachers to the benefits of primary source material and the Library’s archive of over 15 million artifacts available online. We crafted a strategic marketing plan to raise awareness among educators and policymakers using aggressive online outreach, Web-based materials, and new strategic partnerships to attract America’s leading educators.

Pearson
Pearson is the largest education company in the world, and has been at the forefront of innovations in teaching and learning in the United States.  Widmeyer is Pearson’s agency of record in North America. We provide counsel to senior management in the curriculum, teacher professional development, and assessment divisions to increase sales, draw attention to effective products and services, and support the causes Pearson and its foundation care most deeply about. These include early literacy, improvements in STEM education, and 21^st Century Skills.

Additional Representative Clients
American Museum of Natural History
Data Quality Campaign
ETS
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Learning First Alliance
MIND Research Institute
National Association of State Boards of Education
National Institute of School Leadership
SRI
State Educational Technology Directors Association
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
U.S. Department of Education
X Prize Foundation