Jim Berk, CEO of Participant Media, said, “While there are already many successful sites for policy makers and education experts, we designed the WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’ Social Action site for non-experts – parents, students and teachers and anyone else inspired by the film– looking for pathways to action and knowledge about the issue. And thanks to the new interactive, education map developed by Bing, for the first time, people have the ability to find in one place in their community where they can donate, mentor and volunteer and browse school ratings and drop-out rates by location.”

Developed in partnership with TakePart.com, Participant Media’s Social Action network, the WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” Social Action site is a collective engagement platform where everyone will have a place to participate and exchange ideas and opinions. The site, mirroring Participant’s Social Action Campaign, focuses on four themes essential to the discussion of education reform: the need to celebrate great teachers, prepare our students and set high standards for them, explore innovative school models, and raise literacy rates. In addition, the site will continually be updated throughout the campaign with additional information and resources on organizations, schools, and teachers who are involved with this issue, so we encourage visitors to check back regularly.

Among the actions people can take on the site:

Send call-to-action letters to their elected officials, including a state-customized form letter to their Governors and gubernatorial candidates urging for the proper implementation of Common Core Standards.

Access individual city pages in the top U.S. markets and Canada that contain city-specific education actions, tips, news and statistics as well as contact information for local social action community organizers. (Currently rolling out)

Interact with a brand-new, all-in-one map app created by Bing for Participant that serves as a one-stop-shop to identify classrooms in need along with information on how to take action. With Bing’s Education Map, users can find opportunities to fund specific local teachers’ classroom projects on DonorsChoose.org, local mentoring opportunities via Mentoring.org, and local volunteer opportunities via AllforGood.org as well as ratings for local public and private schools via GreatSchools.org.

Use a debate tool to read differing views on various public education topics, such as longer school days, merit pay for teachers, charter schools, etc. and add their own views and participate in the debate. Find out myths and facts about the public education system.

Enter your school in Bing’s Our School Needs competition which invites schools to ask Bing to fulfill their dreams by sharing the tools and resources that their schools are lacking.

View Q& As and interviews with nationally-recognized educators and experts like Steve Barr, Jonathan Alter, Harriet Ball and Gregg Breinberg.

Read blogs by the film’s director, Davis Guggenheim, and producer, Lesley Chilcott.

Paramount Pictures, Participant Media and Walden Media said Friday 50,000 people have pledged to see the documentary when it opens this fall. As a result, First Book and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are teaming up to distribute 250,000 new books to schools and programs in low-income communities across the country.

In addition, the companies will donate an additional $100,000 worth of new books once the “Pledge Progress Meter” reaches 60,000.

“Waiting for Superman,” directed by Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”), examines the crisis of public education in the U.S.

The “Pledge Progress Meter” launched in May as a way for non-profits, foundations and corporations to match individual pledge levels with powerful action items aimed at helping both students and public schools. First Book was the first organization to take the pledge.

The film opens in New York and L.A. on Sept. 24, nationwide in October, via Paramount Vantage. It won the audience award for best documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is the world’s largest provider of educational materials for pre-K-12 schools. Since 1832, the Boston-based company has combined its tradition of academic excellence with a commitment to innovation for the future.

“We are proud to support this film because it shares our mission to promote literacy and an appetite for learning among the nation’s students,” said Barry O’Callaghan, Chief Executive Officer of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. “An essential first step to improving our education system is providing those students with better quality and more accessible literacy-based resources within and outside of the classroom.”

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is the fourth major organization to take the pledge and join the WaitingforSuperman.com “Pledge Progress Meter.” FirstBook, OfficeMax(R) and DonorsChoose.org have already committed to making a difference in education by taking the pledge.

WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” directed by Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) will be released under the Paramount Vantage banner and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It examines the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories. Designed to start a national conversation, the movie and corresponding “Take the Pledge” campaign aim to inspire everyone to create innovative and long-term solutions to help change the course of our kids’ lives for the better. The “Pledge Progress Meter” launched in May as a way for non-profits, foundations and corporations to match individual pledge levels with powerful action items aimed at helping both students and public schools.

The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on September 24, nationwide in October.

The film is produced by Lesley Chilcott, with Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as executive producers. It is written by Davis Guggenheim & Billy Kimball.

For more information about the movie, or to take the pledge go to http://www.WaitingForSuperman.com or text “PLEDGE” to 77177.

To join the conversation visit us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/WaitingForSuperman

What does your school need? Tell us by Tweeting #MySchoolNeeds at http://www.Twitter.com/WaitingSuperman

The gift cards can be used to fulfill requests made by public school teachers from every corner of America who post classroom project needs on DonorsChoose.org. The mission of DonorsChoose.org is to improve public education by empowering every teacher to be a change-maker and enabling any citizen to be a philanthropist.

“Thanks to our generous supporters, DonorsChoose.org is thrilled to provide $5 philanthropic gift codes to people that take the pledge to see Waiting for ‘Superman.’ Redeeming this code on DonorsChoose.org gives people an immediate and direct way to help students get the resources they need to learn. Making this personal connection to a classroom is an important first step towards greater involvement in education,” said Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org Founder and CEO.

WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” directed by Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) will be released under the Paramount Vantage banner and distributed by Paramount Pictures.  It examines the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories. Designed to start a national conversation, the movie and corresponding “Take the Pledge” campaign aim to inspire everyone to create innovative and long-term solutions to help change the course of our kids’ lives for the better. The “Pledge Progress Meter” launched in May as a way for non-profits, foundations and corporations to match individual pledge levels with powerful action items aimed at helping both students and public schools. First Book was the first organization to take the pledge, by agreeing to donate 250,000 new books to schools and programs in low-income communities across the country once the pledge meter reaches 50,000 pledges.

The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on September 24, nationwide in October.

The film is produced by Lesley Chilcott, with Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as executive producers. It is written by Davis Guggenheim & Billy Kimball.

For more information about the movie, or to take the pledge go to http://www.WaitingForSuperman.com or text “PLEDGE” to 77177.

To join the conversation visit us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/WaitingForSuperman

What does your school need? Tell us by Tweeting #MySchoolNeeds at @WaitingSuperman

Watch the trailer for the new documentary and PLEDGE to see the film. Visit walden.com regularly for updates on how you can join the campaign to help students in under-performing schools achieve better educational outcomes.

Make your Pledge!