Idaho Renews Apangea Math Contract for Online Tutoring of Thousands Across State

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- With standardized math test scores showing marked improvement, the Idaho Department of Education has renewed a statewide contract to continue deploying the online tutoring service Apangea Math for the 2010/2011 school year.

More than 40,000 elementary, middle school and high school math students in about 350 schools across Idaho use the Apangea Math online supplemental learning program, both during the school day and after hours from home.

The state's renewal comes as Apangea Learning Inc. (www.apangealearning.com), a national leader in personalized, one-on-one online tutoring, has completed two years of service to Idaho students.

"We are delighted to have the privilege of moving forward with the Idaho Department of Education," said Louis Piconi, Apangea's founder and Chief Education Officer.  "Our first two years in Idaho have been tremendously successful. We are making a real difference in the lives of students, giving them the skills and confidence to succeed. And we're just getting started."

Piconi noted that tests scores for students actively using Apangea Math, especially for those who had been struggling with math competency, are up 77% compared to those students not utilizing the service.  Additionally, the number of schools utilizing Apangea Math is expanding rapidly, as is the number of students in each school active on the Apangea Math service -- by 33 percent per month.

Apangea Math incorporates a personalized skills-based problem-solving process that teaches students how to break down math problems into manageable steps. The program's three-tiered approach features computer-animated learning coaches, live one-on-one customized sessions with math instructors and work in an interactive whiteboard environment.

Idaho's adoption of Apangea Math is part of the state's Idaho Math Initiative (www.sde.idaho.gov/site/math) a comprehensive effort to improve student achievement.

The availability of Apangea Math to Idahoan students has generated a number of positive editorial reports, both in print and broadcast. Among them:

TV anchor visits class using Apangea Math:

http://www.localnews8.com/video/23550055/index.html

"Program to Fine Tune Kids Math Skills":  

http://www.kidk.com/news/local/93901584.html

"Making It All Add Up":

http://cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_881a4f05-e601-5ea2-af6a-a34e5f3bd752.html

ABOUT APANGEA LEARNING

Apangea Learning (www.apangealearning.com) is a pioneer in developing cost-effective, one-on-one online math tutoring services for students in K-12 schools across the United States. School districts purchase seat licenses for Apangea's services and provide access to their students during the school day and after hours from home. With its programs based on one of the world's largest bodies of cognitive research originally conducted by the U.S. military, Apangea has both strong technical resources and a content-development prowess that enables it to harness advanced Web technologies and offer innovative instruction techniques. The privately owned company is based in Pittsburgh, PA.

SOURCE Apangea Learning