DALLAS, Aug. 16, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Archipelago Learning, (Nasdaq:ARCL) a leading subscription-based online education company and developer of the highly-respected Study Island, has entered into a partnership with Teach For America. Under the terms of the affiliation, new Teach For America corps teachers will receive a free, two-year license to Study Island that can be used with their students upon completion of the program's online training modules.
"Helping to eliminate educational inequity in the United States is the cornerstone of what Teach For America was created to do," said Tim McEwen, CEO for Archipelago Learning. "And that's why we developed Study Island – to make sure that every child has the tools to help him learn and master core academic content. We are truly excited to help these amazing new educators make a difference in classrooms around the country."
Teach For America is a national corps of teachers that go above and beyond traditional expectations to improve the educational outcomes of children growing up in low-income communities. The organization seeks top graduates from all academic majors and backgrounds who have demonstrated outstanding achievement, perseverance, and leadership. Teach For America received a record-breaking 46,000 applications this year, and admission was more selective than ever before, with an acceptance rate of 12 percent. This fall, more than 8,200 corps members will be teaching in 39 regions across the country. Beyond their impact as corps members, two-thirds of the 20,000 Teach For America alumni across the country remain in education. More than 450 Teach For America alumni serve as school principals or superintendents, more than 500 work in government or policy, and nearly 30 serve in elected office.
The web-based Study Island system incorporates standards-based instruction, interactive games, and rewards to help improve student performance. By providing engaging, self-paced instruction and positive reinforcement, Study Island helps students take control of their learning and build their confidence, while creating a culture of academic success. The comprehensive, web-based program combines rigorous content in math, reading, writing, science and social studies, and its online instruction, practice, assessment, and productivity tools are built directly from state standards and the new common core standards. For teachers, Study Island includes lesson plans, video and supplemental and digital resources and tools for monitoring student progress that enable differentiated instruction for on-level, struggling and advanced learners.
Study Island is available for purchase by schools, districts and learning centers, as well as parents and students. For more information please visit the Study Island website at: www.studyisland.com.
About Archipelago Learning
Archipelago Learning is a leading subscription-based online education company that provides standards-based instruction, practice, assessments and productivity tools that improve the performance of educators and students via proprietary web-based platforms.
Study Island, the core product line, helps students in kindergarten through 12th grade master grade-level academic standards in a fun and engaging manner and is utilized by over 10 million students in approximately 21,800 schools in the United States and Canada.
EducationCity, used by 8,200 schools in the United Kingdom and 4,800 schools in the United States, provides online K-6 instructional content and assessments for reading, mathematics and science.
Northstar Learning, for the post-secondary market, offers online instructional content and exam preparation products across a variety of core curriculum and vocational topics.
For more information, please visit www.archipelagolearning.com. Archipelago Learning is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
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About Teach For America
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This fall, more than 8,200 corps members will be teaching in 39 regions across the country, while more than 20,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.