July 28, 2009
Education.com Announces 2009 A+ Award Winners
Key website for parents recognizes 53 toys, books, and experiences for kids that make the grade by being exceptionally educational, safe, and fun.
REDWOOD CITY, CA – July 28, 2009
Education.com, a leading web destination for parents of school-aged children, today announced its 2009 list of A+ Award winners. For the second year, Education.com commissioned a team of teachers, parents, curriculum specialists, members of its editorial staff, and kids to put hundreds of children’s toys, books, and experiences through their paces to find those that possess the unique combination of being exceptionally educational, safe and fun.
“Today more than ever, people want the biggest bang for their buck when they’re shopping for the children in their lives,” said Education.com Editor-in-Chief Danielle Wood. “In today’s economy, it makes sense to invest in the best products available, but it can be difficult to find products that are truly satisfying both to kids and the adults who love them. Parents want products that support kids’ development and are safe. Kids want products that are fun the first day they get them, and stay fun as they use them over time. A+ Award winners encompass all of this – they inspire imagination, creativity, and a healthy amount of competitive spirit. They have repeat play value and they’re interesting enough to grow with the child as his or her abilities improve. To make it on this list our panel of adult experts and kids has to say ‘this knocks our socks off’. Some of the toys on the list support reading or other curriculum-based concepts, while others work on whole-child developmental areas like sharing or physical fitness - but they all promote learning. And kids will probably never realize it because they’ll be focused on the fun.”
Education.com’s A+ Awards are unique to other seal of approval programs in that there is no charge for companies to be considered for the award, nor is there any fee for winners who use the A+ Award winner seal to promote their products. Wood explains: “The only way to influence your way on to this list is to create a really outstanding product. We don’t accept payment, read pitches, or involve our marketing or advertising teams in the selection process. We go through a pretty grueling process to find the products we think are worth considering. Then we take those products out of their packages, use them, and ask our selection panel to rate them based on very specific criteria. About 50 products make the list each year and hundreds that we’ve evaluated don’t.”
The A+ Award winners are organized on Education.com by nine grade levels – preschool through high school. The list of winners represents a wide variety of products including “experiences”, toys, and books. To see the 2008 and 2009 lists of A+ Award winners and to learn more about the A+ Award program, visit
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About Education.com: From kindergarten readiness to college prep, Education.com is the leading destination for involved parents. More than a million parents a month come to Education.com to get the information they need to support their children’s unique educational and developmental needs, and to find ideas for how to make learning more fun. The company has teamed up with leading universities, nonprofits, and research organizations to offer highly credible parenting, developmental, and educational information. The site also offers printable activities, community resources, access to best-of-breed educational services, and SchoolFinder – a tool that gives parents comprehensive data on the nation’s 125,000 public, private and charter schools. Education.com was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA. The company is backed by leading venture capital firms, Azure Capital Partners, TeleSoft Partners, and California Technology Ventures. For more information, please visit www.education.com.
2012 Press Releases
Education.com Introduces Wonder - in a Box!April 30, 2012
EDUCATION.COM REVEALS ONE THIRD OF PARENTS UNCERTAIN HOW TO HANDLE BULLYINGMarch 22, 2012
EDUCATION.COM LAUNCHES REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY'S FIRST FREE “SCHOOL BOUNDARIES” SEARCH TOOLFebruary 7, 2012
2011 Press Releases
Education.com Announces Appointment of Rich Yang as Vice President of MarketingOctober 27, 2011
Ten Thousand Parents to Receive Free Thank You Cards to Help Honor the Special Teachers in Their ChildrenMay 2, 2011
Travel Ticker Names the Top 5 Destinations for "Edutainment Trips"April 19, 2011
Education.com Launches 2011 Virtual Science FairJanuary 19, 2011
2010 Press Releases
Education.com Announces Appointment of Chris Bruzzo to Board of DirectorsDecember 16, 2010
Education.com's 2010 Gift Guide Let's Shoppers "Wow" On A BudgetSeptember 14, 2010
Education.com Launches 2010 Summer Activities ChallengeJune 9, 2010
Education.Com Announces 2010 Summer Reading Guide - Books To Get Kids Excited About Reading While Helping Avoid The Summer SlideMay 11, 2010
Education.com Announces 2010 A+ Award WinnersFebruary 16, 2010
2009 Press Releases
Education.com Launches 2009 Activities Photo ContestSeptember 24, 2009
Education.com Receives 2009 WebAward for Outstanding WebsiteSeptember 16, 2009
Nationwide Survey Shows Parents May Keep Healthy Kids Home During An H1N1 Outbreak Even If Schools Stay OpenSeptember 11, 2009
Education.com Announces 2009 A+ Award WinnersJuly 28, 2009
Education.com Named AlwaysOn Global 250 WinnerJuly 21, 2009
Education.com Launches 2009 Summer Activities ChallengeJune 19, 2009
Education.com Partners with Leading Organizations to Give Parents the Resources They Need to Become More InvolvedMay 18, 2009
Education.com and AASA Offer Free Bullying Web Seminar to School AdministratorsApril 24, 2009
Education.com Offers Parents Unique and Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Every DayApril 21, 2009
2008 Press Releases
Education.com and AASA Launch Free, Cutting-Edge Bullying Resources for ParentsNovember 19, 2008
Education.com’s 2008 Gift Guide Gives Holiday Shoppers a Cheat Sheet of Unique Gift IdeasOctober 6, 2008
Education.com Secures $9.75 Million in Series B Funding Led By California Technology VenturesAugust 5, 2008
Education.com Unveils SchoolFinder at DEMO 08 to Solve an Urgent NeedJune 18, 2008
Media Contact Info
Kat Eden
phone: (650) 362-4011
email: pr@education.com
