CHANDLER, Ariz – (April 7, 2008) — (BUSINESS WIRE) - Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, AR and Holley Elementary School in Holley, NY are the 2008 Waterford National Best Practice sites chosen by the Waterford Research Institute (www.waterford.org) and Pearson, the leader in proven instructional technology for preK-12 education.

Chosen from the more than 13,000 Waterford installations across the country, the 2008 National Best Practices Site winners are recognized for effectively integrating the award-winning Waterford digital courseware, teacher guides, student books, and take-home materials with their curriculum; demonstrating long-term parental involvement; implementing clear evaluation plans; showing measurable results; and presenting an innovative and replicable implementation.

Each 2008 Waterford National Best Practices Site winner will receive the award and a trip to the Spring 2008 Pearson User’s Conference, April 9-11, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. At the conference, the winners will each be featured presenters sharing their success stories with other attendees.

"Independent efficacy research has shown that one of the keys with an early intervention program such as Waterford Early Learning is usage. Gains with Waterford Early Learning increased directly with the amount of time children use the program," said Peter Stone, Vice President Sales and Marketing for the Waterford Research Institute. "The Waterford Best Practices winners have historically been those educators who first saw the vision for what Waterford Early Learning could do for their students and then did what it took to make it happen. We at the Waterford Institute salute this year’s winners and believe that their stories will inspire others to similar achievements on behalf of their students."

Frank Tillery Elementary School
Frank Tillery Elementary is part of Rogers Public Schools in Rogers, Arkansas. With a student population of almost 520, nearly 40 percent of those students are English Language Learners and over 75 percent come from a low socio-economic background. Seeking an intervention tool that would provide visible effectiveness and benefit the majority of its student population, Tillery implemented the Waterford Early Reading Program in January 2006.

"We have a high ELL population, and Waterford has given these students an advantage they may have missed without having native English speakers in their home. It puts these students on an even playing field," said Principal Johnnie Wilbanks. She describes teachers as being initially hesitant to releasing students from actual class time to work with Waterford, but after teachers saw results in the classroom and transfer of abilities across curriculum their hesitancy turned to encouragement.

"We have watched Waterford help and enhance student foundations in language skills, and my teachers remark how they have never seen better results in letter recognition and phonemic awareness." Waterford is available to every kindergarten and first grade student at the school.

"It feels good to have your work recognized and to say we have found something that works," adds Wilbanks.

Holley Elementary School
Holley Elementary School is part of the Holley Central School District in Holley, a small rural farming community in New York with a student population of 650. The school serves a large number of special education students, almost 18 percent, and has a poverty rate of 47 percent.

While familiar with educational software, school administrators and teachers realized they needed to find a program that delivered reading instruction in a more interactive and student friendly format. After a series of trials throughout the year, Holley Elementary faculty, staff, students and parents were convinced that Waterford Early Reading was the software they were searching for and purchased the program in December of 2005 with full implementation by February of 2006.

Holley Elementary uses a literacy profile to document student progress. A portion of this profile measures letter identification and reading levels in Kindergarten and First Grade. By using Waterford, these results have allowed students in these grades to enter the next grade level at higher levels than students in previous years. Their results include improvements for traditional and special education students.

"Our special education students gain more confidence and improve their reading skills with Waterford," said Technology Coordinator Karen Quaranto. "They really shine and are reaching higher levels."

Holley has become such an exemplary site for Waterford use and implementation that it is a showcase school for many other districts in the region. They also hold a summer school program they call "Camp Waterford" that not only offers more instruction, but brings the reading experience into the homes of the students to create an effective home connection where parents and children read Waterford materials, play games, and engage in learning activities together.

About the Waterford Early Learning Programs
Pearson's distinguished partner, the nonprofit Waterford Institute (www.waterford.org), developed the Waterford Early Learning programs. The Waterford Early Reading Program is a comprehensive early reading curriculum designed to help children learn to read through the use of state-of-the-art technology. Based on 10 years of research, the program contains three levels for emergent, beginning, and fluent readers, combining to provide over 300 hours of individualized reading instruction. Waterford Early Math & Science fosters hands-on exploration and inquiry-based learning, giving students a solid foundation in basic math skills and science content as well as creative problem solving. Mirroring the proven approach of the Waterford Early Reading Program, Waterford Early Math & Science offers three levels of full year computer-based curriculum aligned to state and national curriculum standards for early learners.

About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE: PSO) is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. For students preK-12, Pearson provides effective and innovative curriculum products in all available media, educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student information systems, and teacher professional development and certification programs. Our respected brands include NovaNET, SuccessMaker, Waterford, KnowledgeBox, Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, AGS, PowerSchool, TeacherVision and many others. Our comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Contact:
Pearson
Matt Murphy, 480-457-6024
Matt.Murphy@Pearson.com