NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release - November 28, 2000
| Media Contacts: |
Ted Elston
Education World
405.416.2181
telston@educationworld.com
|
Dr. Philip Patterson
National Christian School Assn.
405/425-5520
philip.patterson@oc.edu
|
Education World Becomes Tech Partner For National Christian School Association
Partnership Brings School-Branded Internet Access to Christian Schools
PRINCETON, N.J. (Nov. 28, 2000) -- Education World, Inc., the leading Internet resource center for K-12 educators, today announced it has signed an agreement to serve as the primary technology partner of the National Christian School Association (NCSA), an educational organization of K-12 schools in 35 states.
The partnership, centered on Education World's Community Access program, facilitates each NCSA-affiliated school to become an Internet service provider while generating a unique, year-round fundraiser. Each school will have the opportunity to create its own school-branded Internet homepage, helping to create an online community among principals, teachers, parents and students at the school, classroom and home levels.
"This is a powerful, innovative way to link families with their child's school," said Brian Mauck, president of Education World. "Each time a parent or student goes online at home, they will have access to the latest school information ranging from activities and homework assignments to other teacher directed information. And, the school raises money every month of the year."
The Community Access program introduces the Internet to families not currently online, at an affordable price. Families already connected to the Internet can change their provider to the school's service at the same monthly rate, or possibly a lower fee, with a significant portion contributing to the child's school. The school receives $3 per month for each family who participates in the Community Access program for a monthly fee of $19.95.
"Anytime a superintendent can find a passive fundraiser that keeps turning a profit long after the sale is made, that is a bonus. Then factor in the community component, and it's an invaluable partnership," said Dr. Philip Patterson, executive director of NCSA, an accrediting body of 125 schools associated with the Churches of Christ serving 45,000 students. Education World gives each participating school a "Getting Started Package" that describes the Community Access program to teachers and parents. The parents then enroll directly with Education World to receive an Internet access disk. At the end of each quarter, the school receives a check based on the number of participating families from Education World. Community Access raises funds for the school with virtually no school involvement.
Every teacher in each participating school will have access to a set of interactive teacher tools, including an exam builder, classroom page builder and classroom manager. With this toolset, teachers can create and administer tests, post homework assignments, extra credit exercises, notes to parents and promote daily communication with parents of all students.
Another feature on NCSA school-branded homepages is a direct link to both NCSA (www.nationalchristian.org) and Education World (www.educationworld.com) Web sites. "We needed an effortless mechanism that bonds our educational community which spans nationwide. This direct link will foster a more unified sense of community among NCSA educators," said Patterson.
Education World is a one-stop gateway to the Internet for educators, expediting access to classroom-appropriate resources and editorial content, lesson planning activities, curriculum ideas, education site reviews and worldwide education employment listings. Currently, the site links to 120,000 educational Web sites and has 25,000 original content pages, written by staff writers who all have experience in the educational field. Founded in 1996, the educational site has more than 900,000 monthly users interested in education.
"Christian schools are eager to get technology to their schools so all students and teachers can have access to the Internet," said Mauck. "This partnership is fitting with our goal to help educators make a difference in the lives of those in their school-centric community. As NCSA's primary technology partner, we will focus on positioning their schools at the forefront of evolving Internet cycles, which frees NCSA educators do what they do best -- teach children."
About Education World
Education World, headquartered in Princeton, N.J., provides the Internet's largest education-specific search engine, linking to more than 120,000 education-related sites. The search engine is appropriate for all ages and is searchable by subject or grade level. The site also offers daily original content-lesson planning activities, curriculum ideas, education site reviews, worldwide education employment listings, forums and education news to assist the education community online. Visit http://www.educationworld.com.
About National Christian School Association
The National Christian School Association is an educational, fraternal and accrediting association of 125 secondary schools in 35 states serving more than 45,000 students. It was founded in 1980 as Partners in Christian Education, and the current name was adopted in 1988. Most NCSA schools are independent, governed by a self-perpetuating board. All the schools have a strong relationship with the Churches of Christ. NCSA is recognized by the Office of Non-Public Education in the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. NCSA is a member of the Council for the Advancement of Private Education and the National Council for Private School Accreditation.
