Governor Hodges of South Carolina Announces Expansion of CHEC Digital Demonstration Project of NetSchools.com.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2000

In Partnership with the South Carolina

Association of School Administrators

Tomorrow, Governor Jim Hodges of South Carolina, plans to visit Marshall Elementary School in Orangeburg, South Carolina to announce the expansion of the NetSchools.com digital demonstration project, which was initiated by the Community Higher Education Council (CHEC).

The original project, under the guidance of CHEC, provided NetSchools.com, an Internet-based curriculum management, assessment and instructional web site, to 860 teachers and 9,000 K-12 students and their parents. The expansion will extend the demonstration project to 50,000 participants in 50 schools within six school districts.

According to Scott Redd, Chairman and CEO of NetSchools Corporation, "We began working with CHEC this past winter and as a result of the success of the program using NetSchools.com, we began talking with Governor Hodges about ways to expand the demonstration project for several reasons. First, we share the Governor's vision that every child should have access to the tools of the digital age and second, as one of the five most connected states in the country, South Carolina has taken a leadership role by providing an infrastructure for its K-12 institutions that can support the delivery of online tools."

The use of NetSchools.com by the project schools is geared toward improving student achievement in K-12 schools by managing curriculum remotely, delivering online SAT preparation materials and providing teachers with Internet-based learning tools for all of their students. In particular, the Office of the Governor, in partnership with NetSchools, is interested in automating the state's nine SAT Improvement Strategies in each of the project's high schools.

A key leader in the demonstration project is the Community Higher Education Council, which is comprised of three Institutes of Higher Education: South Carolina State University, Claflin University and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. Under the leadership of Dr. Earline Simms, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at SCSU, CHEC formulated the Partnership to Enhance Teacher Quality Preparation. This longstanding partnership created the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant, which will pay for both pre-service and in-service teacher training, geared toward preparing students for the demands of the 21st Century. The Governor's Office and the South Carolina Association of School Administrators will be providing technical support and assistance for the project. Participating school districts include Orangeburg Consolidated School Districts Three, Four and Five; Marion School District Three; Sumter School District Seventeen; and Calhoun County School District.

Dr. Earline Simms, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at SCSU, will be with the Governor as he unveils the details of the project. "I am delighted that the Governor recognizes the important role that CHEC is playing to integrate technology into the educational process for South Carolina students. In particular, I am honored that he not only recognizes our role, but has also decided to become a participant by helping us expand this digital demonstration project to include more students, parents, teachers and administrators."

According to Robert Scarborough, Executive Director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA), "The Governor could not have chosen a more appropriate area in which to show his support for enhancing education through the use of Internet technology. SCASA not only understands the impact that this will have on these six school districts, but it also understands the implications this could have for policy makers across the entire state of South Carolina as we endeavor to strengthen and improve our public education institutions."

Cortney Owings, Manager of Media Relations for Governor Hodges, says, "The Governor is very committed to the success of this demonstration project. A project of this scale is not only the first of its kind for South Carolina, but it is the first of its kind for the entire country, therefore, he knows that South Carolina has the opportunity to serve as a leader for properly integrating technology into the learning process for K-12 schools."

Details of the Announcement:

    --  When: Thursday, November 2, 2000 from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

    --  Where: Marshall Elementary School Media Center, 1441 Marshall
        Avenue, Orangeburg South Carolina

    --  Who: Governor Jim Hodges of South Carolina
        Dr. Earline Simms, Associate Vice President for Academic
        Affairs at SCSU
        Vice Admiral Scott Redd (Ret.), Chairman and CEO of NetSchools
        Corporation
        Mr. Robert Scarborough, President of the South Carolina
        Association of School Administrators
        Mr. Melvin Smoak, Superintendent Orangeburg District 5

About NetSchools

NetSchools Corporation, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the leading one-to-one e-learning company focused on transforming K-12 education through technology integration. The company offers NetSchools Constellation(TM), a complete Internet-based learning system that fosters focused interaction between students, teachers, and families by providing every student with a durable wireless laptop computer, a local area infrared network allowing high speed system connectivity for every student, proprietary curriculum software, and technical and long-term instructional support. NetSchools has installed its comprehensive Constellation product in over 40 schools involving approximately 14,000 students in 14 states and the Country of Barbados. The Internet-based curriculum management, assessment and community-building components of NetSchools Constellation(TM) are also separately available to schools nationwide on the company's web service, NetSchools.com. For more information about NetSchools Corporation, please visit www.netschools.com.