Lightspan Boosts Contract, Increases Presence in Key Urban Market
Lightspan, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSPN), a provider of quality curriculum-based software and Internet products and services used in schools and homes, announced today that the Philadelphia school district has agreed to purchase an additional $400,000 worth of Lightspan Achieve Now software.
John Kernan, Lightspan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The Philadelphia school district has been a very important urban customer for Lightspan for more than four years. Over that time, our field staff has worked closely with the district to ensure a quality implementation with Lightspan Achieve Now, and we greatly appreciate the school district’s significant vote of confidence, which this purchase demonstrates.”
The School District of Philadelphia is the seventh largest in the nation, with 264 schools and over 200,000 students.
The Philadelphia school district first purchased Lightspan Achieve Now in 1997, and the district’s Director of Instructional Technology, Ursula Willis, said, “As with most urban school districts, we serve a racially and ethnically diverse student population and if we are to realize our goal of creating a world-class education system, we need to help all students learn. Lightspan Achieve Now has helped us reach out to all of those students. It’s been a very good investment for the Philadelphia school district and we look forward to building on that investment, as we expand Lightspan Achieve Now into more schools and classrooms.”
Lightspan Achieve Now features an award-winning curriculum program and motivating, interactive software aligned to state standards. Lightspan Achieve Now software can run either on a Windows personal computer or a PlayStation® game console attached to a standard television set, allowing learning to move from the classroom to the home — so both educators and families can play key roles in students’ progress. Research involving more than 26,000 students in over 700 schools documents achievement gains in Reading, Language Arts, and Mathematics, for students using Lightspan materials.
About Lightspan
Lightspan, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSPN) provides curriculum-based educational software and Internet products and services used in schools and homes. Lightspan’s products align to all key federal education reform initiatives, offering school districts a complete solution to assess, align, instruct, and evaluate, as a comprehensive achievement and accountability system. The Company’s technology, delivery systems, and content help increase student achievement, interest in learning, parental involvement in their children’s education, and productive interaction among teachers, parents, and students.
Lightspan’s products include Lightspan Achieve Now™, an interactive curriculum program for K-8 students; The Lightspan Network®, a subscription-based service offering standards-based, online curriculum and resources for K-8 classrooms; curriculum programs for college students offered through Academic Systems Corporation, Lightspan’s higher-education group; Academic.com , a Web-based product offering a complete eLearning solution for online general education courses across many disciplines; and Internet-based educational testing and assessment products offered through eduTest.com™.
“Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward looking statements, including statements related to future financial performance, business trends, and expectations regarding the performance of our products, that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in economic conditions in the Company’s market areas; variations in the implementation and use of our products by our customers; changes in policies by regulatory agencies and educational organizations; the volatility of the Company’s expenses and operating results; market acceptance of the Company’s curriculum based software and Internet products; management of rapid growth; risks associated with expanding the Company’s Internet business; changes in funding for public schools; technological advances and risks related thereto and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements. These risks could cause the Company’s actual results for 2002 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements by, or on behalf of, the Company.
