And The Winner Is...Students Across The County Participate in Presidential Race Through the Election Co-nection Project.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Using Co-nect Program, Students Learn Election Process and Cast Their Own Ballots

While millions of Americans anxiously wait for the "real" Presidential election results to be tallied, over 32,000 students across the nation have already weighed in and selected John Kerry as the next President of the United States.

Developed by Cambridge-based Co-nect's staff of curriculum designers and experts, the Election Co-nection Project was designed to engage K-12 students in the country's electoral process. Through a host of free educational online hands-on activities and age- and grade-appropriate offline election projects, students learned what is required to run for President and the rights and responsibilities they have as citizens. All of the activities have curriculum connections to social studies, language arts, and math, and are aligned to many national standards across most disciplines.

In the "Vote for President" mock election, held October 18-22, students were given the opportunity to cast their ballot for the candidate of their choice--either incumbent George W. Bush or challenger John Kerry--and to help predict the November 2 election outcome. Kerry won the popular vote with 18,155 votes with George W. Bush capturing 14,121. The Electoral College vote showed Kerry garnering 326 votes and Bush securing 212. Students discovered how other students' ages, gender, race and residing state affected their choice for President. The demographic breakdowns were quite telling. Kerry received more votes from females while Bush acquired more support from male voters. Eighty-two percent of African-American students chose Kerry while only 18 percent voted for Bush. Sixty-five percent of Caucasian students voted for Bush while only 33 percent selected Kerry.

More than 40,000 students participated in the Election Co-nection Project during the 2000 presidential election, and correctly predicted the winners of both the popular and electoral votes in the actual election.

"The Election Co-nection project provides a great opportunity to teach our students in real time about our country's electoral process. The students get an age-appropriate peek into what it means to live in a democracy and about the rights and responsibilities we have as its citizens," said Andrew Skoler, president and chief executive officer of Co-nect. "We are so pleased that so many students and their teachers participated in this exciting project."

About Co-nect

Co-nect (http://www.co-nect.net) is a leading provider of data-driven, K-12 professional development solutions focused on improving the quality of classroom instruction district-wide. Co-nect delivers training, tools, and resources to solve critical issues such as whole schoo l improvement, data-informed decision-making, technology integration, and early reading failure. Since 1992, Co-nect has been a leader in improving instructional quality - implementing data-informed solutions in over 33 states. Research-based programs are delivered through a national network of educational consultants who provide face-to-face training supported by an integrated suite of online professional development, assessment tools, and curricular resources.