Jackson County (MS) School District Selected as National Reference Site
District is Recognized for Outstanding Implementation of Fast ForWord(R)
2/8/07
Media Contact:
Mary Anne Petrillo
Director of Marketing
Scientific Learning Corporation
(510) 625-2218
mpetrillo@scilearn.com
Investor Contact:
Jane A. Freeman
Senior Vice President
Scientific Learning Corporation
(888) 665-9707, ext. 5526
investorrelations@scilearn.com
OAKLAND, CA - 02/08/2007 - Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL - News) has announced that Mississippi's Jackson County School District has been designated a National Reference Site. Jackson County joins a select group of districts nationwide that exemplify the outstanding use of the company's computer-based Fast ForWord¨ family of reading-intervention products.
As a National Reference Site, the Jackson County district will serve as a real-life resource for other school districts seeking advice on how to best utilize the Fast ForWord products to provide dramatic changes to achievement trajectory for their students, enabling them to fully benefit from classroom instruction and attain reading and learning proficiency. Thanks to its broad, district-wide use of the Fast ForWord products, Jackson County will also provide a research base for new Scientific Learning products and services.
According to Sherrelle Walker, Scientific Learning's Chief Education Officer, Jackson County was selected due to its superior implementation of Fast ForWord, educational excellence and strong results. The district is just one of nine in the state to have received special recognition for having all 15 individual school sites meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) benchmarks in all subject categories. In addition, all 15 schools achieved the top state accreditation status of Level 5.
The achievement is all the more impressive considering that the district was hard-hit by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. According to Superintendent Rucks H. Robinson, the schools suffered approximately $30 million in damages, with two being totally submerged. Following the disaster, the district was forced to erect 91 portable classrooms, hundreds of district personnel suffered damaged or destroyed homes, and many students and their families were living in FEMA trailers.
"The academic achievements made by this district using Fast ForWord support are outstanding by any measure, but considering everything this district has been through, those successes are really nothing short of extraordinary," said Ms. Walker. "The district is committed to achieving excellence no matter what the obstacles, and they are an outstanding example for other districts implementing the Fast ForWord family of products. We are thrilled to welcome Jackson County to our growing family of National Reference Sites."
"We are honored by this recognition and looking forward to sharing our experiences with the Fast ForWord products and services with other districts around the country," said Superintendent Robinson. "The Fast ForWord neurological intervention was a critical piece of our education strategy, and we appreciate the opportunity to become more involved with the development and enhancement of the Fast ForWord products."
Jackson County's Fast ForWord coordinators will answer questions from educators and officials nationwide to help them develop effective strategies for implementing the products in their own districts. In addition, The district's educators will conduct seminars, open houses, and informational sessions and make presentations at national conferences and symposia. The district will also participate in research studies, surveys, and focus groups to help Scientific Learning refine the Fast ForWord products.
About Jackson County School District
The Jackson County School District is located in Vancleave, Mississippi and is the largest school district in the state. It includes 15 schools.
About Scientific Learning Corporation
Scientific Learning produces the patented Fast ForWord® family of products, a series of computer-delivered intervention products that build learning capacity by developing the neurocognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. These foundational skills are built through a series of brain-based exercises that create fast, effective, and enduring results. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord products use patented technology and applications of validated neuroscience principles to help children, adolescents, and adults build the language and reading skills widely recognized as the keys to all learning.
The exercises align with the scientifically based reading-research guidelines and the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The efficacy of the products has been confirmed by more than 200 independent research studies.
For more information about Scientific Learning and its products, visit our Web sites at visit our Web sites at www.scientificlearning.comand www.brainconnection.com, or call toll-free 888-452-7323.
This press release contains projections and other forward-looking
statements that are subject to the safe harbor created by the federal securities
laws. Such statements include, among others, statements relating to expected
activities on the part of the school district. Such statements are subject to
substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially
as a result of many factors, including but not limited to: scheduling concerns,
availability of school district resources and other risks detailed in the Company's
SEC reports, including but not limited to the 2005 Report on Form 10-K (Part
1. Item 1A Risk Factors), filed November XX, 2006.
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