Scientific Learning Partners with Districts to Maximize Fast ForWord Effectiveness
Progress monitoring helps schools quickly achieve implementation and performance goals with Fast ForWord software, and earn recognition for their success
3/24/09
Media Contact:
Jessica Lindl
Vice President of Marketing
Scientific Learning Corporation
(510) 625-6784
jlindl@scilearn.com
Investor Contact:
Robert Feller
Chief Financial Officer
Scientific Learning Corporation
(510) 625-2281
investorrelations@scilearn.com
Oakland, Calif. - March 24, 2009 - Regular progress monitoring is the key to continuous improvement. Yet, after investing in a new software program, many districts have neither the time nor the resources to determine if each school is strictly adhering to recommended software protocols or achieving the desired results.
To help districts and schools achieve maximum results and realize a positive return on investment with its Fast ForWord® family of products, Scientific Learning® (NASDAQ:SCIL) proactively provides customers with personalized progress monitoring and support. As a result, districts and schools report they are quickly able to launch and maximize the effectiveness of their Fast ForWord implementations. Fast ForWord is a family of educational software products that accelerate learning by developing the student brain to process more efficiently.
"Teachers know how important it is to regularly monitor students' progress so interventions can be delivered in a timely, effective manner," said Andy Myers, president and CEO of Scientific Learning. "It's no different for schools and districts as a whole. Years of research show that implementation fidelity is critical to achieving academic gains. By actively monitoring each district's Fast ForWord implementation, we can quickly identify issues and offer solutions to help every school and every student achieve their potential."
Tessa Walsh, a second grade teacher at Park Street School, agrees. Located in New Brunswick, Canada, Park Street School implemented the Fast ForWord software in fall 2008 to help improve academic achievement in reading and writing in kindergarten through fourth grade.
"Working with Scientific Learning saves us a lot of time," said Walsh. "If they see an issue, they'll call and walk us through how to address it - whether it's an issue with our implementation or with a particular student. When things are going well, they'll also call to ask if we have questions or if there are any features we'd like to learn more about. If we ask how to help specific students with motivation or performance issues, they provide suggestions that change the outcomes for those students. We're constantly learning new ways to use the Fast ForWord software and the phenomenal amount of data embedded in the program. It's nice to know we can rely on Scientific Learning for help any time we need it."
Monthly Reports
As part of the progress monitoring program, Scientific Learning sends monthly school and/or district level progress reports to administrators. The reports allow administrators to easily monitor individual school progress and implementation across the district, as well as student progress by Fast ForWord product and disaggregated by subgroup or specific skill.
If a school demonstrates difficulty adhering to the software protocols or shows low participation or completion rates, Scientific Learning contacts the school to offer immediate assistance. "Our goal is to help schools become successful from the start," said Myers. "Educators constantly tell us how much they appreciate having someone to guide them through their implementation to ensure they're on the path to success. The quicker we can identify and address potential issues, the better chance the school has of achieving the results they want now and down the road."
FastTrack Program
To recognize schools that meet or exceed recommended performance levels each month, Scientific Learning created the FastTrack program. FastTrack rewards schools that adhere to the assigned protocol every school day, follow the product sequence, take timely action to address intervention flags, and monitor and maintain student progress. Since the program's inception two years ago, the number of schools achieving FastTrack status has doubled.
In January 2009, 1,137 schools in 538 districts - nearly two-thirds of current Fast ForWord customers - earned FastTrack status. In addition, more than one-third of these sites earned FastTrack Gold CAPS status.
To become a FastTrack School, a school must achieve average attendance, participation and completion rates of 60 percent or better, and have a minimum number of students working on the software. Schools that achieve rates of 70 percent or greater are named FastTrack Gold CAPS schools. FastTrack Reward points are awarded monthly to schools that meet the Gold CAPS criteria. The reward points may be applied toward items in the Scientific Learning store for students and school staff.
"This program exemplifies our commitment to continuous improvement from the district to the school to the individual level," said Myers. "Students at the FastTrack schools are rapidly building their learning capacity by effectively and efficiently using the Fast ForWord family of products. We congratulate all of our FastTrack schools on their dedication to helping students build the cognitive and literacy skills they need to succeed."
About Scientific Learning Corp.
Scientific Learning creates educational software that accelerates learning by improving the processing efficiency of the brain. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord® family of products provides struggling readers with computer-delivered exercises that build the cognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. Scientific Learning Reading AssistantTM combines advanced speech recognition technology with scientifically-based courseware to help students strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to become proficient, life-long readers. The efficacy of the products has been established by more than 550 research studies and publications. For more information, visit http://www.scientificlearning.com/ or call toll-free 888-358-0212.
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