Advantage Schools, Inc. Corrects and Replaces Previous Announcement.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 1999--

Advantage Schools, Inc. announced today that it has secured $25 million in additional private equity capital. The proceeds will be used to open 25 new urban charter schools in cities nationwide in the next 18 months, and to expand eight schools already in operation. Each Advantage school is based on the company's high-performance school design.

Chase Capital Partners of New York led the financing, and was joined by Nassau Capital of Princeton, New Jersey. Nassau Capital invests in private equity and real estate exclusively on behalf of Princeton University. Salomon Smith Barney acted as placement agent for the financing.

"Our investors share our belief in the promise of charter schools and the Advantage model to transform urban public education," said Steven F. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boston-based Advantage. "We are delighted that we will be able to serve thousands more children in cities across America. We are eager to demonstrate the heights of academic achievement that all children of all backgrounds can attain."

Stephen P. Murray, General Partner of Chase Capital Partners, added: "We were impressed by the strength of the Advantage management team and its record of successful execution. Advantage is emerging as the premier charter school operator with significant additional growth potential."

William H. Stewart, Managing Director of Nassau Capital, said: "The company's academic and financial results at its existing schools are strong. We are confident that Advantage's research-proven school design will help thousands of urban children achieve academic excellence."

This latest investment builds on a $10 million second-round financing completed in July 1998. That round was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers of Menlo Park, California, and also included an affiliate of United States Trust Company of New York; Bessemer Venture Partners of Wellesley, Massachusetts; and Fidelity Ventures of Boston. Bessemer and Fidelity provided Advantage's first-round investment in May 1997. The company's seed capital was provided by Bright Horizons Children's Centers, which went public in 1998.

Advantage Schools is a national leader in the emerging for-profit education management industry. Working under contract with local school founders, the company opens and operates new high-performance charter public schools in urban areas nationwide. Advantage opened its first schools in 1997 in Phoenix, Arizona, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina, both of which are meeting academic and fiscal targets. Last fall, Advantage opened six additional schools in Chicago, Illinois; Worcester and Malden, Massachusetts; San Antonio, Texas; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Kalamazoo, Michigan.

All schools managed by Advantage implement the Advantage curriculum and school design. Over 4,500 students are currently enrolled in Advantage schools. With the opening of ten new Advantage schools this fall, the number of students enrolled is projected to grow to over 10,000. The new schools will open in Newark, New Jersey; Dallas, Houston, and Midland, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Washington, DC; among other cities nationwide.