NEA, Progress Education Partnership
Creates Web Toolkit for Teachers

Nation's largest education association supports
online efforts to improve student achievement

Washington, DC -- The nation's teachers have new online tools to help them save time and more easily manage their classrooms and help students reach their highest potential, thanks to a new partnership between the National Education Association (NEA) and Progress Education Corporation announced today. Teachers can build student rosters to track student attendance and performance or access professional development opportunities with the NEA Teacher Toolkit.

The Web site includes Basic Tools that are free of charge. Advanced Tools, which can be purchased for a modest subscription fee, include electronic grade books, advanced lesson planning, over 200,000 assessment items, and special teacher training tools from education experts.

Among the features of the free Basic Tools are:

• Student rosters, attendance tracker
• Online individualized education plans (IEP) to track the progress of special needs students
• State curriculum standards and searchable lesson plans and instructional resources.

"Teachers need access to technology that allows more time with our students," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "The toolkit features allow educators to more efficiently manage student records and lesson plans, thus giving them more time to make public schools great for every child by helping each student to reach their potential."

Tom Jandris, founder and CEO of Progress Education, said, "It's about time teachers had Web-based, electronic tools designed by teachers for teachers. Too many technology tools have been developed for administrative compliance or convenience without addressing the classroom teacher's need for real help."

Progress Education Corporation provides planning, consulting, professional development, and performance management products and services to teachers, school administrators, school districts and state departments of education  to accelerate student achievement.

June 7, 2005

For more information, contact:

Rick Geier, NEA Information Technology Services, (202) 822-7184
Kathy Fritch, Progress Education Corporation, (312) 751-1688

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.