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Union Public Schools in Tulsa, Okla. Purchases a License to Concert Online Education Community

District Sought Comprehensive, Web-based Solution Where Students, Parents, Teachers, and Administrators Collaborate to Optimize Student Achievement

Mesa, AZ - November 12, 2002 - Pearson Education Technologies (formerly NCS Learn) has announced that Union Public Schools in Tulsa, Okla. has purchased a license to its new Concert™ online education community. Upon installation, Union Public Schools will become the first implementation of the new Concert Instruction & Assessment component.

Concert is a comprehensive online system offering multiple, integrated applications designed to promote collaboration between students, parents, teachers, and administrators for maximum achievement among K-12 students.

“Union Public Schools is one of the most innovative K-12 districts in the country. They balance the need to run a top-rated district today while upgrading, evolving, and preparing for tomorrow,” said Mike Morache, president of Pearson Education Technologies. “The Concert solution can help the district satisfy requirements that districts nationwide will soon have to meet, including requirements for student testing, performance, and data-driven decision making.”

According to Kathy Dodd, director of assessment for Union Public Schools, the Concert solution will help the district meet many challenges, not the least of which is how they will address the federal “No Child Left Behind Act” requirements.

“Concert’s planning and assessment components, combined with an incredible capacity to disaggregate and report data, gives us an advantage in meeting the No Child Left Behind mandates,” said Dodd. “Further, it is a huge convenience for teachers to have all the tools that they need on one page. Our teachers are very excited about the possibilities it presents, especially the potential for increased collaboration from parents and students. We all see that Concert will make our jobs easier, yet increase our effectiveness.”

As an example, Dodd cited that with the Concert solution, students can conduct standards-based self-tests and check their school schedules and grades. Teachers will be able to create and add individualized or general class tests to the test item bank, post assignments, and access professional development resources. Administrators can reduce costs, such as printing expenses, by using online testing. They can also collaborate on curricular design and test parameters, as well as generate reports on students, schools, and districts quickly. Parents can monitor children’s progress and interact with teachers through e-mail, online reports and notifications, and school calendars.

Prior to district-wide implementation, the Concert solution will be rolled out in three Union schools: Marshall T. Moore Elementary School, a 576-student preK-5 school; Roy Clark Elementary, a K-5 school with 654 students; and the Union Eighth Grade Center, which accommodates about 1,000 students. Training and installation began this fall. Pearson Education Technologies will provide network consulting, assist in migrating district assessments to the online education community, and check to see that technical staff, teachers, students, parents, and administrators all receive adequate training.

About Union Public Schools

Union is a diverse and growing pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school district serving more than 13,500 students in southeast Tulsa and northwest Broken Arrow, Okla. The district is a unifying force for a supportive community that holds high academic expectations for its children, 94 percent of whom attend college after graduating. Its 28-square-mile area includes 11 elementary schools, a sixth/seventh grade center, eighth grade center, intermediate high school, high school and an alternative school.

About Pearson Education Technologies

With more than 40 years of experience in developing, delivering, and supporting curriculum, assessment, and enterprise data management products, Pearson Education Technologies is the leader in offering comprehensive solutions for preK-12 education. Reaching more than 10 million students annually, our products include the SASIxp™ student information system, SuccessMaker® Enterprise and NovaNET® comprehensive courseware systems, and Concert™ Instruction & Assessment, the online education community. Pearson Education Technologies is part of Pearson Education (NYSE: PSO), the world's leading integrated education company.

For more information about Pearson Education Technologies, call 1.877.EdTech1.