Apex Learning and the University of California College Prep Initiative Expand Virtual School Offerings to Help California Schools Meet Governor's Education Challenge.

Business/High-Tech Editors & Education Writers

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2001

Agreement Provides Additional Access to Online Courses

for High School Students Across the State

Apex Learning Inc., a builder and operator of virtual schools, today announced an agreement with the University of California College Prep Initiative (UCCP) to provide online Advanced Placement (AP) courses to high school students.

Under the terms of the expanded agreement, UCCP will significantly increase its current online AP course offerings in the state of California during the 2001-2003 academic years, targeting more than 500 high schools in the state to provide online classes, online test preparation programs and Online Professional Development courses to students and teachers.

These courses are a component of UCCP's mission to provide online college preparatory courses to high school students who otherwise may not have the opportunity to become eligible for admission to the University of California's nine campuses. The courses are fully funded by Governor Gray Davis' AP Challenge Program, an initiative aimed at bringing AP courses into all California high schools.

"The Governor's Advanced Placement Expansion Initiative provides incentives and resources for every California public high school to provide access to rigorous, college-level courses to all interested and prepared students," said Kerry L. Mazzoni, Secretary for Education. "Increasing the availability of AP courses is consistent with Governor Davis' call for raising academic achievement for all students."

"UCCP has made a major difference in California by enabling high school students to take college preparatory classes online," said Keith Oelrich, president and CEO of Apex Learning. "Apex Learning's virtual schools have been a part of this initiative for two years, and expanding this agreement allows us to continue to help California find more cost-effective, quality instruction for students and teachers."

More than 1700 students in California have already taken or are currently taking Apex Learning's online AP courses through UCCP's partnerships with California high schools. These courses are articulated with the University of California system and include U.S. government and politics, U.S. history, English language and composition, English literature and composition, calculus, chemistry, physics, macroeconomics, microeconomics and statistics. Additionally, during the next three academic years, UCCP will increase offerings of Apex Learning's AP Exam Review, an intensive, online test preparation program. UCCP will also offer more than 600 teachers access to Apex Learning's Online Professional Development Institutes, instructor-led online workshops that deliver practical and effective training for immediate use in the classroom.

"Apex Learning's online AP offerings have allowed UCCP to continue to meet its goal of adopting and adapting high-quality courses and delivery methods to meet individual school needs," said Dr. Francisco Hernandez, Executive Director of UCCP and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "The accessibility of these online courses allows us to meet the Governor's AP challenge and to provide students with the personalized and interactive education they need to prepare and become competitive for college."

An important benefit of this partnership is a closer collaboration on issues of mutual concern: student support and persistence to completion, higher success rates on test scores, and adequate preparation for the next level of academic work.

In the past six months, Apex Learning has announced agreements with states and school districts that comprise more than 6,000 high schools of the nation's 20,000 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.

About UCCP

The University of California College Prep Initiative (UCCP) is a Systemwide collaboration involving the nine general campuses of the University of California (in partnership with counties -- currently numbered at 35). The UCCP growing list of partnerships include non-profit educational programs such as the UC Gateways and Pathways programs, EAOP, MESA, AVID and NEXUS. Corporate partnerships include industry leaders in online education such as Apex Learning, Academic Systems and Archipelago. UCCP enters into collaborative partnerships with enterprises focused on improving education and advancing the integration of technology in the educational process.