FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Greg Koenig
888-726-8100, ext. 122
gkoenig@siboneylg.com
www.SiboneyLearningGroup.com

Students' Academic Success Tied to Reading Ability

ST. LOUIS, MO, October 11, 2006 -- Children's success in school directly correlates to their ability to read, yet many children cannot read at grade level. With more stringent standards required of students under the No Child Left Behind Act, it is more critical than ever that schools know where their students stand as young readers.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's Web site, results of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress on reading showed that only 32 percent of the nation's fourth-grade students performed at or above the proficient achievement level, and the scores of America's lowest-performing students have declined over time. "Students who cannot read well are much more likely to drop out of school and be limited to low-paying jobs throughout their lives," according to the Department of Education. "Reading is undeniably critical to success in today's society."

Siboney Learning Group addresses this growing concern with its latest release, Language Concepts K-2. This new software program opens the door for students to become enthusiastic readers and writers through its multimodal approach, using animation, music, graphics, and audio instructions. This program covers such reading and writing components as prewriting; letters, words, and sounds; parts of speech and sentences; punctuation; and writing and editing -- all of which form the basis for students to become strong readers.

"Research shows time after time the importance of a child's ability to read and write," said Bill Edwards, President of Siboney Learning Group. "Language Concepts K-2 helps students understand reading and writing while giving teachers the feedback they can use to ensure their students master the materials covered on state tests."

With the tracking system found in Language Concepts K-2, teachers have convenient access to reports on both the students' activity on the program as well as an assessment of their achievement with the skills they encountered. The skill-appropriate activities can be used in a variety of ways, from whole class instruction and lesson review to independent learning, and support materials provide additional resources for teachers to give their students further practice.

Language Concepts K-2 is available as a single title through Siboney Learning Group's Gamco product line or as part of a comprehensive solution through Orchard Software, which also provides standards-based assessments and automatic targeted assignments. With more than 150 Skill Trees covering over 3,000 concepts, Orchard's assessments are designed to ensure that students are working on the specific skills they need to master in order to meet challenging academic standards as well as each school district's learning objectives.

Siboney Learning Group is a dynamic publisher, integrator, and provider of comprehensive and motivational software. Its associates are passionate about the success of children and adult learners and are committed to playing a leading role in their education by providing high-quality software.

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