Pascagoula School District Brings Home National Renaissance(R) Conference Award for 'Outstanding Student Achievement' MADISON, Wis., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognized for their "outstanding student achievement," Pascagoula School District in Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded the Renaissance Solutions Award at the fifth annual National Renaissance Conference. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001108/RENAISSANCELOGO ) The National Renaissance Conference, which was held March 16-19 in Orlando, Fla., is hosted once a year by Renaissance Learning(R), Inc., a leading provider of learning information systems and school improvement programs for pre-K-12 schools. Pascagoula students in grades K-8 were recently challenged to read half a million books. Librarians reported record numbers of books in circulation as students flocked to computers to take Accelerated Reader(R) quizzes. Signs gauging progress were placed throughout each city so residents could watch the steady rise in the number of books read. In May, a "Read-N-Ride" rally was held at the high school stadium to celebrate students' reading efforts. More than 10,000 people, including the Governor, the state superintendent of education, and officials from the U.S. Department of Education. The end of the school year, however, did not signal the end of reading. The district's "Storyland Express," a bus renovated into a bookmobile, took reading to a new level by parking at area grocery stores throughout the summer. While parents shopped, students read books and took Accelerated Reader quizzes. According to district officials, not only has this process instilled a love of reading in the students, but rising test scores also attest to its success. This year's National Renaissance Conference was attended by about 3,000 educators from across the country who gathered to network with others dedicated to educating our nation's children, receive professional development training, hear motivational speakers, and view RenaissanceLearning's newest products and services. Taking center stage this year were demonstrations of Renaissance Place(R), the Company's enterprise wide suite of products which offers centralized data and web-based consolidated school- and district-wide reporting, and English in a Flash(TM), a revolutionary new research-based product to help teachers address the needs of ELL (English language learners) and ESL (English as a second language) students. The 2004 National Renaissance Conference was also highlighted by keynote presentations by Wally Amos, founder of Famous Amos cookies and nationally recognized literacy advocate, Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Tree House children's series, and Jim Trelease, motivational speaker and author of The Read-Aloud Handbook. Attendees were treated to the opportunity to meet many famous authors and attend several of the more than 100 professional development workshops offered on a variety of subjects -- from the latest teaching techniques and research to funding opportunities, technology briefings, and detailed discussions of Renaissance products. The 2005 National Renaissance Conference will be held March 3-6 in San Antonio, Texas. Renaissance Learning(R), Inc., is a leading provider of research-based learning information systems software, school improvement programs, teacher training and consulting. Adopted by over 65,000 schools, Renaissance information technology products give students and teachers continuous constructive feedback that helps motivate students, dramatically accelerate learning, improve test scores, and help students master all standards, while reducing teacher paperwork. Over 500,000 educators have received Renaissance training. Renaissance Learning has six U.S. locations and subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001108/RENAISSANCELOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Renaissance Learning, Inc. CONTACT: Jonas Berberich of Renaissance Learning, Inc., Toll free office, +1-800-200-4848, Fax, +1-608-664-3888, Web site: http://www.renlearn.com/

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