California School District to Implement Fast ForWord Family of Reading Programs with as Many as 4500 Students

Business Wire, June 4, 2001

Business/Education Editors

MARYSVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2001

Nearly 2500 English Language Learners (ELL) to Use

Fast ForWord Language in Summer School

The Marysville Joint Unified School District announced today that the district has purchased site licenses for the Fast ForWord(R) family of language and reading programs developed by Scientific Learning Corporation (Nasdaq:SCIL) and are scheduled to use the comprehensive reading package with as many as 4500 students at two high schools, two middle schools, and one elementary school. Initially, nearly 2500 English language learners (ELL) will use the Company's Fast ForWord Language(TM) program this summer during summer school.

"Our motto in the district is `every student reads, every student succeeds,'" said Dr. Marc Liebman, Superintendent of the Marysville Joint Unified School District in Marysville, California, north of Sacramento. "We are making special efforts to increase reading skills among our non-English speaking students because we want them to have the same opportunity to succeed as native English speaking students."

Purchasing site licenses from Scientific Learning offers the district the ability to implement all the Company's programs and products to address the needs of students of a wide variety of ages and abilities.

According to Dr. Liebman, many of the students in the district are reading two years below grade level and come from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

"We are in an agricultural area and have a high population of Hispanic and Southeast Asian students," said Dr. Liebman. " We decided to begin with Fast ForWord Language because an understanding of language and language comprehension are important indicators of reading readiness, regardless of a student's background. For our non-native English speaking students, sounds are different in their languages, so Fast ForWord Language will help train their brains to hear sounds in American."

Dr. Liebman believes that the program's ability to cross-train skills critical to learning to read or becoming a better reader is "filling a linguistic hole" in the district's efforts to help students achieve academic success.

"I am impressed by the rapid gains in language and reading skills educators across the country are seeing after their students train on these programs for four to eight weeks," added Dr. Liebman. "The programs are based on research on how the brain learns and incorporate the latest technology. I have seen a lot of reading programs in my years as an educator, but none of them fully address all the foundational skills critical to reading like the Fast ForWord programs."

Earlier this year, Scientific Learning reported on two studies conducted by the Company at schools across the country with more than 700 native English speaking students and ELL students. Findings from those studies showed that improvements in language and reading skills among ELL students are similar to the rapid gains experienced by native English speaking students using Fast ForWord Language.

"Results like these are met with great enthusiasm by educators who want to increase equity in the learning environment among native English speaking students and non-English speaking students," said Sheryle Bolton, Chairman and CEO of Scientific Learning. "Innovative educators like Dr. Liebman understand how important foundational language skills are to reading and overall academic achievement."

For information on the MarysvilleJoint Unified School District, contact Dr. Marc Liebman at 530/749-6102, or mliebman@mjusd.k12.ca.us.

Headquartered in Oakland, California, Scientific Learning offers CD-ROM and Internet programs developed by leaders in brain research. The Company's Fast ForWord family of intensive computer-based training programs for language and reading, "train the brain" to learn faster. These training programs use patented technologies to adapt to each student's skill level, allowing students of all ages to make gains in language and reading in just weeks, rather than years. Educators can use the Company's patented Internet technology to track students' progress. Other Scientific Learning products include award-winning software and storybooks for building early learning skills and rapid assessment of reading skills, and ReWord(TM), a training program for adults working to improve their language and organizational skills. To learn more about Scientific Learning's family of neuroscience-based products, visit the Company's Web sites at www.ScientificLearning.com and www.BrainConnection.com, or call toll-free 888/665-9707.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbor created by Section 27A of the federal securities law. Such statements include, among others, statements relating to projected implementations of the Company's products and results that may be achieved through the use of those products. Such statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of many factors, including but not limited to: resources available to schools generally and specifically to implement the Company's programs; the Company's ability to continue to demonstrate the efficacy of its products, which depends on how the programs are administered, the demography of participants and other factors; the extent of acceptance and purchase of the Company's products by target customers; and other risks detailed in the Company's SEC reports, including but not limited to the Report on Form 10-K filed March 30, 2001 (Part I, Item 1, Risk Factors and Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis) and the Report on Form 10-Q filed May 15, 2001 (Part I, Item 2, Factors that May Affect Quarterly Results of Operations).