`Digi-Block Learning System' Chosen by Four Texas School Districts; Districts in Arlington, San Marcos, Dallas and Fort Worth Select Math Manipulative Program.

Business Editors & Education Writers

WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2001

Digi-Block, Inc., a leading developer of mathematics products for elementary schools, today announces the adoption of the Digi-Block Learning System(SM) by four large Texas school districts. The company notes that Arlington, San Marcos, Dallas and Fort Worth independently chose the Digi-Block Learning System to be an integral part of their math programs for the 2001-02 school year.

"We are pleased these school systems see the benefit of incorporating Digi-Blocks(TM) into their math programs," said Bill Rosenthal, Digi-Block's CEO. "They join many other districts across the country that believe the Digi-Block Learning System is the most concrete way to teach children number sense and place value."

Paula Morone, Arlington Special Education Supervisor, chose the Digi-Block Learning System because of its concrete, visual nature. "Most special education students are visual learners," said Morone, "and using Digi-Blocks in teaching number sense and other math functions, accommodates more learning styles. They allow the children to go beyond rote memorization to really `see the math'." The Special Education teachers have received training and expect the children to score well on the new State Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) test in the spring.

This school year will be the third for Digi-Block use in San Marcos. After piloting the program in summer school, the Digi-Blocks will be used this year in 100 kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms across the district. Cheryl Shipp, San Marcos Math Supervisor, selected the Digi-Block Learning System for the entire district after seeing the results during the pilot. "Teachers feel comfortable using Digi-Blocks and like the `spatial-ness' of them," she said, "and they help the kids understand the size relationship of one number to another." Shipp believes the concrete nature of the product will allow students to better understand the algorithms of higher order math functions when they come to them.

Angie Hooper, Instructional Specialist with the Dallas ISD central office, selected the Digi-Block Learning System to aid the district in the four-year rollout of Everyday Math(R) instruction for Preschool - Grade 3. She purchased Group Sets that are being sent to the neediest schools throughout the nine areas of the district. They are to be used in math labs or checked out to individual teachers for in-depth class instruction. Hooper believes that one of the greatest values of the Digi-Block Learning System lies in the ability of the students to "see" subtraction. "It's so visual, that in second- and third-grade, when children are learning regrouping, they can actually `see' that once you subtract a number, it's gone," she said. After the schools grow accustomed to using Digi-Blocks, the expectation is that each of the schools will use their individual funds to incorporate the Digi-Block Learning System as a standard part of the math curriculum.

Principal Elias Espinoza of Daggett Elementary in Fort Worth chose the Digi-Block Learning System after seeing a district-sponsored presentation. He immediately saw it as a viable way to increase his school's math scores. The students at Daggett score well in reading and writing but not in math. Espinoza was looking for a program the school could grow with and use for extended learning and long-term connections. Using Title 1 funds to purchase the program, Espinoza plans to develop a "home connection" by translating the materials into Spanish and sending them home with children. "We are planning two special math weeks this year, one in the fall and one the spring," he said. "Digi-Blocks will play a major role in our week-long math activities which will culminate in a Saturday celebration at the school for students and their parents."

About the Digi-Block materials

Designed for students in kindergarten through grade four, the Digi-Block Learning System is a hands-on program that offers teachers an easy and innovative way to teach place value and basic arithmetic operations. Through physical interaction with the Digi-Block materials, students discover for themselves the important role of grouping by tens - and build a foundation for learning higher math concepts in the upper grades. Using the instructional materials, teachers can teach and reinforce place value, estimation, patterning, mathematical language, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and other number concepts.

About Digi-Block

Located in Watertown, Mass., Digi-Block, Inc., is a leading-edge developer of mathematics products for elementary schools. The company's flagship product, the Digi-Block Learning System, is a unique mathematics manipulative program that helps students develop a concrete and intuitive understanding of the base-ten number system. Mathematician and Digi-Block creator Dr. Elon Kohlberg founded Digi-Block, Inc., in 1997. Launched in 1999, the Digi-Block Learning System is used in more than 2,500 classrooms across 48 states and six countries. For more information about the Digi-Block Learning System, call 1-888-834-4466 or visit www.digi-block.com.

Digi-Block LLC, 125 Walnut Street, Watertown MA 02472, www.digi-block.com

Digi-Block and the Digi-Block logo are registered trademarks of Digi-Block, Inc.