Solutions that accelerate learning help schools address declining enrollment trends by increasing inclusiveness
4/19/11
Media Contact:
Jessica Lindl
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Product Management
Scientific Learning Corporation
(510) 625-6784
jlindl@scilearn.com
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Bob Feller
Chief Financial Officer
Scientific Learning Corporation
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investorrelations@scilearn.com
Oakland, Calif. – April 19, 2011 – According to the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), between the 2000 and 2010 school years, enrollment in K-12 Catholic schools decreased by more than 21 percent. Theories abound for the reasons for the decline, but according to Lori Moreau, principal of the Father Anglim Academy in Fort Myers, Fla., one possible factor is that so few Catholic schools provide services for students who learn differently or have mild disabilities and reading deficits.
“In the 2008-09 school year less than half of the nation’s Catholic schools had a designated resource teacher for helping special needs students,” said Moreau. “When a school can expand the range of students able to succeed within its classrooms, it increases its relevancy within the community, and subsequently, its enrollment.”
Moreau’s words reflect the situation facing Catholic schools nationwide to such an extent that New Orleans’ upcoming NCEA conference, April 26-28, will feature no less than 10 sessions on educating special needs students. Scientific Learning Corp. (NASDAQ:SCIL), the creator of neuroscience-based educational software products currently being used in Catholic schools in 39 states and Canada, will also be sharing research and information on ways to help all learners develop the cognitive skills necessary to build brain fitness.
The Father Anglim Academy, for example, has implemented Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord® family of educational software since 2007 to accelerate learning for students of diverse abilities. The Fast ForWord program consists of intensive, adaptive exercises that build brain fitness in the areas of memory, attention, processing, and sequencing — cognitive skills essential for learning and reading success. The program supports struggling readers and special education students, as well as those working at or above grade level, by improving students’ ability to learn and retain knowledge. This results in increased reading proficiency, improved comprehension of various subject areas, increased self-confidence, and reduced costs for intervention services.
“Father Anglim Academy is an outstanding example of a Catholic school that realized it takes more than a caring environment and a robust Catholic school curriculum to meet the diverse needs of all students,” Sherrelle Walker, chief education officer for Scientific Learning. “By embracing and offering solutions like the Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ programs, parochial schools can ensure that even students with learning differences have the option of a faith-based education.”
About Scientific Learning Corp.
We accelerate learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns. Scientific Learning’s results are demonstrated in over 200 research studies and protected by over 55 patents. Learners can realize achievement gains of one to two years in as little as eight to 12 weeks and maintain an accelerated rate of learning even after the programs end.
Today, learners have used nearly 3 million Scientific Learning software products, which apply “Brain Fitness” principles to the areas of English language and reading. We provide our offerings directly to parents, K–12 schools and learning centers, and in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.scientificlearning.com or call toll-free 888-358-0212.
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