The School Board of Palm Beach County Adopts Riverdeep's Destination Success Series

Business Wire, August 23, 2004

NOVATO, Calif. & PALM BEACH, Fla. -- $1.7 Million Agreement Will Provide Teachers and Students with Destination Reading(TM) and Destination Math(R)

The School Board of Palm Beach County, the nation's eleventh-largest school district, has approved by a vote of 7-0 a $1.7 million three-year agreement to make Riverdeep's Destination Success Series the cornerstone of its Reading and Math standards-based instruction for students, and to provide teachers with the tools they need to effectively individualize instruction in a real-world classroom.

Under the agreement, approved by the Board on August 18, the district's 10,535 teachers will have access to Riverdeep's Destination Math, Destination Math in Spanish, Destination Reading and the Riverdeep Learning Management System, with support from Riverdeep's focused consultant team for continued professional development.

Riverdeep has built a strong relationship with The School Board of Palm Beach County over the past four years. Riverdeep's flagship Destination Math program has been used by students and as an online professional development tool for teachers since August of 2000. Destination Math in Spanish is used by the ESOL students. Destination Reading was recently selected after an effective district pilot. In the words of one school principal describing the success of the pilot: "Riverdeep crystallized their (the students) understanding of reading comprehension and provided specific plans for special help in individualized reading. Riverdeep helped our students read and understand words, sentences, and paragraphs without help. Intensive teaching strategies were used to help our children catch up in reading."

Richard Contartesi, Director, Information Technology for Palm Beach County Schools, said: "By using Riverdeep's web-based instructional software, Destination Reading and Destination Math, parents, students and teachers can access all the available instructional materials in English and Spanish 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It also alleviates unnecessary software and database support and maintenance at the school sites."

"This represents an important extension of our existing and successful relationship with Palm Beach County," said Riverdeep Chief Education Officer Gail Elizabeth Pierson. "A full adoption of Riverdeep's Destination Success Series will give these teachers the tools and training they need to provide effective, individualized, standards-based instruction for each student, and we believe will produce the measurable results that are an important goal for Palm Beach. With the full support of the district, we are confident that we can make an impact in their core curriculum areas, and show positive results against district benchmarks."

"We are also honored that the Palm Beach school district, which is one of the largest in the country, has broadened its partnership with Riverdeep in this important effort," Pierson said. "We look forward to working with them to implement a solution that achieves success for the teachers and for more than 170,000 students."

About Destination Success

Destination Success is a critically needed solution for bringing a diverse student population to the same high level of academic achievement -- in as little as 90 days. The Destination Success Series consists of Riverdeep's award-winning Destination Math, Destination Reading and Destination Teach products. Destination Success stands for sound, research-based pedagogy; responsive, on-going professional development; and proven technology. It enables teachers to provide standards-based instruction that adapts to the needs of each child, whether implemented in whole group instruction or in lab-based teaching models. Destination Success is about providing teachers the tools they need to effectively individualize instruction in a real-world classroom.

About Riverdeep

Riverdeep, with offices in Dublin, Ireland, Novato, California, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a leading publisher of interactive products focusing on education and personal productivity for the consumer and school markets. Riverdeep's rich portfolio of interactive award-winning products feature such well-known brands as The Print Shop(R), Reader Rabbit(R), The Destination Success Series which includes Destination Math(R) and Destination Reading(TM) and Kid Pix(R). For more information, call toll free 888-242-6747 or visit www.riverdeep.net.