Apex Learning and Pennsylvania Unveil Plans to Expand Online Learning.

Business Editors

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2001

Builder and Operator of Virtual Schools Gives Pennsylvania

School Districts the Ability to Offer Students Better

Access to Education

Apex Learning Inc., a builder and operator of virtual schools, and Pennsylvania's Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU 13), an education service agency dedicated to providing quality education services, today announced plans to make Apex Learning's virtual school products and services available to Pennsylvania high schools.

The agreement will provide all 501 school districts in Pennsylvania the opportunity to use Apex Learning's online infrastructure, courses and support services to meet student needs.

"Apex Learning and Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13 share an aggressive commitment to improve access to education," said Keith Oelrich, president and CEO of Apex Learning. "It is invigorating to work with an agency that is operating at the forefront of technology and education to meet the needs of its students."

"Our search for quality online learning resources for our school districts and statewide education technology software purchase programs led us to Apex Learning," said Dr. Linda O. Rhen, executive director of IU 13. "Teaming with Apex Learning allows us to provide students with access to extremely high-quality web-based tools and resources.

Apex Learning is providing the following virtual school products and services to Pennsylvania's school districts:

-- Online Courses -- Apex Learning currently offers ten online AP courses. By
next fall, the growing catalog will include computer courses, remedial
subjects, additional AP courses as well as pre-AP courses.

-- Online Professional Development -- Apex Learning offers Online Professional
Development Workshops to help teachers prepare to lead virtual school courses
and traditional classes. For example, workshops for aspiring AP teachers will
provide a thorough overview of the AP Program and testing process, as well as
training in several of the subject areas tested by The College Board.

-- Assessment, Review and Supplemental Learning Tools -- Online Exam Review
products help students prepare for exams using diagnostic assessments,
personalized study plans, interactive tutorials, live study sessions with
subject experts, practice test questions and study tips. In addition,
ClassTools(TM) gives AP teachers a powerful online teaching assistant. They can
build entire course around the tools or select assignments to augment class
plans. The software provides not only lesson material but also assessment and
reporting tools to track student progress.

In the past five months, Apex Learning has announced agreements with states and school districts that comprise more than 6,000 of the nation's 22,000 high schools. Customers include South Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Utah, as well as the Milwaukee School District and the Houston Independent School District, the fourth largest school district in the country.

About Apex Learning

Apex Learning, a builder and operator of virtual schools, partners with states and school districts to make education more accessible for their students and teachers. Apex Learning provides the infrastructure, online courses, and support services to build and operate virtual schools. Apex Learning's virtual schools address states' and school districts' need to cost-effectively bring quality instruction to more K-12 students and teachers. The company is fully accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Apex Learning is a privately held company with investments from Vulcan Ventures, Warburg Pincus, Edison Schools, Maveron LLC, Kaplan Ventures and Michigan State University.