Kane County Schools Become First in State of Illinois to Launch New Program Connecting Students, School and Home, 24 X 7

Business Wire, Sept 1, 2004

GENEVA, Ill. -- Project Connect, an On-Line Tutoring Program, is a Direct Response to the Department of Education's 'No Child Left Behind' Act

The Kane County, Illinois Regional Office of Education announced that approximately 50% of their K-12 schools will begin using Project Connect, an on-line tutoring program that connects the schools, students and parents to help children improve their reading and math grades and test scores. In 2003, Kane County implemented this program in 35 schools, and because of its success, plans to expand Project Connect to include more schools in 2004 and 2005.

In order to better support each neighborhood school community, Kane County has taken a first step toward improvement by identifying the schools in their district that are not showing annual yearly progress, and offering parents and students the necessary support. In Kane County alone, approximately 1/3 of the schools are identified as failing to meet the new No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards in reading or math.

"It's critical that every student receive an equal opportunity and access to improve their academic skills, and we're encouraged that this program will give teachers, parents and students the tools and resources to do so," said Dr. Clem Mejia, Regional Superintendent, Kane County Regional Office of Education.

"We believe that Project Connect will establish better collaboration between school, home and community agencies for the overall benefit of helping children to improve their academic achievements," he said. "It's also important to our school system that these resources are available in both English and Spanish," Mejia said.

Project Connect delivers a password protected, on-line tutoring program that students, parents and teachers can access 24 x 7 from their school, homes, libraries or community locations with internet access. The program, SkillsTutor, allows schools to "connect" all shareholders in each educational community to better communicate and work together to improve academic achievement of every child who needs support.

Research has shown that parental participation in a child's school work can significantly increase their overall test scores and grades. Recent federal and state guidelines also call for more frequent and detailed reports for parents on their child's progress.

"In a time when increased accountability and demands are placed on schools to demonstrate annual academic growth and parental involvement, Project Connect provides an easy-to-use tutoring resource that has a proven track record for improving student performance on standardized tests," said David Kinney, Educational Consultant and President, Kinney & Associates. "We developed a support system to collaborate with parents, community and faith-based organizations to offer users the flexibility to access the program at times and locations that are convenient for their lifestyles," said Kinney.

Project Connect is designed to align directly with the reporting requirements and guidelines for parental involvement for the No Child Left Behind Act, signed by President Bush in 2002. The program also provides a model for teachers to re-teach and document student progress in reading and math. Each school is provided with a web site, enabling teachers and school administration to download workshops and communication for parents and community agencies.

For example, once a student is enrolled in the program, a parent and their child can log on to SkillsTutor to review progress in reading and math and work on standards-based lessons. The SkillsTutor on-line assessments provide parents with excellent information on their child's continued progress to meet and exceed standards that are assessed on the "high stakes" tests.

For users, Project Connect offers the following benefits:

--Enhanced communication and collaboration in each school community

--More comprehensive and frequent reports to parents on their child's progress in reading and math

--Access to on-line resources 24 x 7 with password protection, SkillsTutor

--Increased annual growth in reading and math test scores as measured by state assessments

The Kane County Educational Service Region serves over 110,000 students which includes the nine K-12 unit school districts of: Elgin U-46, Batavia 101, West Aurora 129, Aurora East 131, Dundee-Carpentersville Community 300, Burlington Central 301, Kaneland 302, St. Charles, 303 and Geneva, 304.

Project Connect was developed by Kinney & Associates, an educational management and consulting company, based in Chicago since 1992. Project Connect leverages the annual licensing agreement that provides each child with a password to access SkillsTutor 24 x 7, via the internet. Support activities at school, home, community and faith based organizations focus on use of the tutoring program, and on-going progress reports to strengthen collaboration and communication in each school community.