DALLAS, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- After using the Voyager Universal Literacy System(R), 19 of the 21 schools in the Richmond Public School District that implement the core reading program made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2005-2006 school year. Before implementing the Voyager Universal Literacy System in 2001, only 5 out of the 21 schools made Adequate Yearly Progress. "I believe strongly that literacy is the gateway for each child's future learning and ultimate success. Therefore, I am pleased that Richmond Public Schools has formed such a strong partnership with Voyager, because our teachers have used the stellar training and materials to maximize our students' reading achievement," says Dr. Deborah Jewell-Sherman, superintendent for Richmond Public Schools. An article in the winter 2007 issue of City Journal, a quarterly magazine on urban affairs, also noted that since the implementation of Voyager Universal Literacy System in 2001, Richmond's test scores have skyrocketed. By 2003, the total number of district schools achieving full state accreditation had climbed to 22. The next year, it rose to 39 and has now reached 44. In addition, since enacting district reforms, Richmond has moved from 114th in the state in reading (out of 132 districts) to 50th. Dr. Yvonne Brandon, associate superintendent for instruction and accountability for Richmond, also recently testified before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee as part of a roundtable discussion on strategies that promote school improvement. In her statement to the committee, Brandon noted: "Under the leadership of our new superintendent Dr. Deborah Jewell-Sherman, we started charting our course to excellence. We had to create a culture of continuous commitment to student success. The vision provided the foundation for excuse-free education and high expectations for all. We committed to being on board, on purpose and on message. We also vowed to show that our students would excel not in spite of who they were or where they lived but because of who we are." Due to the leadership demonstrated in Richmond by both Dr. Jewell-Sherman and Dr. Yvonne Brandon, in October 2006, the administrators were honored with the Voyager Founder's Award. The award is bestowed upon educators who are helping to win the battle to achieve unprecedented, measurable gains in moving low-performing students and schools to standard, and substantially closing the achievement gap. Richmond Public Schools has been using the Voyager Universal Literacy System(R) since 2001 and because of its success added additional Voyager programs, including Voyager Passport(TM), Passport Reading Journeys(TM) and TimeWarp(R) Plus. About Voyager Expanded Learning Voyager Expanded Learning provides core, intervention and supplemental reading programs, as well as math intervention and ongoing professional development programs, for school districts throughout the United States. Founded in 1994, Voyager has delivered extended-time reading and basic skills intervention programs, and large-scale reading programs to more than 900 school districts in cities such as Dallas, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, resulting in dramatically improved student performance. Voyager Expanded Learning, L.P. is part of ProQuest Education, based in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.voyagerlearning.com/ or call 1-888-399- 1995. DATASOURCE: Voyager Expanded Learning CONTACT: Media Contact, Shannan Overbeck of Voyager Expanded Learning, +1-888-399-1995 ext. 9476, or ; or Investor Contact, Jennifer Chelune, Investor Relations Manager, of ProQuest Company, +1-734-997-4910, or Web site: http://www.proquestcompany.com/ http://www.voyagerlearning.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/108291.html

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