Liberty Mutual Group News

Liberty Mutual and Pearson Education Unveil New Program to Help Teachers Make the Grade

BOSTON, June 30 PRNewswire — As students across the country enjoy the beginning of their summer vacation, tens of thousands of teachers are hitting the books to better their education and to increase their base salaries. Ironically, the cost of this professional development is most often their own burden. To provide support to teachers incurring this significant expense, Liberty Mutual Insurance, in collaboration with Pearson, the global leader in education publishing, today introduced "Learn Return," a discount and scholarship program for continuing education opportunities available through www.libertymutual.com/teachers.

Nearly 45 percent of all graduate courses from Pearson and its accredited university partners are taken during the months of June, July and August - the months when teachers have time to focus on their educational growth. Through Learn Return, these teachers can now receive an immediate 15 percent discount on more than 100 graduate courses in over 15 content fields offered through Pearson, and qualify for more than $200,000 in Liberty Mutual scholarships toward master's degree programs. In addition, schools can become eligible for an additional $100,000 in grants from Liberty Mutual to fund in-school development opportunities.

"The Learn Return program rewards those who are taking personal steps to enhance their professional skills by offering exclusive savings on courses they are otherwise fully funding," said Greg Gordon, senior vice president of Marketing at Liberty Mutual, which offers additional car and home insurance discounts to teachers who are an employee or member of one of more than 1,000 educational affinity partners. "By relieving some of the financial burden, we hope more teachers can satisfy their own passion for continued education, which in turn will benefit their future students."

"As professionals, many teachers make deep annual investments in career development so that they can stay current on instructional strategies and help their students succeed," said Keith Dunham, senior vice president and general manager, Professional Growth group of Pearson. "We commend Liberty Mutual for recognizing the importance of dedicated teachers with a scholarship and discount program designed to support their pursuit of professional growth in and out of school."

Recognizing Excellence - Scholarship and Grant Programs

As part of the Learn Return program, Liberty Mutual is launching a national search for 15 teachers to earn a scholarship for a fully funded master's degree program from one of Pearson's accredited university partners, with an average value of $13,400 each. Scholarship winners will be selected based on the following criteria:

— Demonstrates a commitment to teaching excellence;

— Strives to maintain a high level of personal competency and preparedness;

— Consistently demonstrates a commitment to students, parents, fellow teachers and administrators;

— Demonstrates a commitment to professional development and consistent personal enrichment;

— Exhibits a commitment to responsibility both in the classroom and in the education community; and

— Works to share and exchange within the broader education community.

Additionally, Liberty Mutual will award $10,000 grants to 10 schools to fund Pearson teacher development programs based on the following criteria:

— Demonstrates ongoing commitment to professional development;

— Demonstrates ongoing improvement in academic achievement thanks to professional development investments;

Scholarship and grant applications can be submitted at www.libertymutual.com/teachers through October 2008. Applicants will be chosen from an independent selection panel and announced in December 2008.

Liberty Mutual Group

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2007 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 94th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2007 revenue. The company has over 41,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (www.libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 10,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

Pearson

Pearson is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. For students preK-12, Pearson provides effective and innovative curriculum products in all available media, educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student information systems, and teacher professional development and certification programs. The company's respected brands include NovaNET, SuccessMaker, Waterford, KnowledgeBox, Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, AGS, PowerSchool, TeacherVision and many others. Pearson's comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

SOURCE Liberty Mutual Group

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