FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Salvador Wilcox Phone: 412.363.7707 Education Innovations receives grant from Pennsylvania Department of Education Pittsburgh, PA April 21, 2005 - Education Innovations, Inc. has received a $75,000 grant for the planning of NatureLAB Charter School. The mission of NatureLAB Charter School is to foster a nurturing and caring environment in which a rigorous science-centered curriculum enables children to think critically and solve creatively the challenges of race, class, and economics. NatureLAB Charter School is envisioned as a science, mathematics, and technology public school serving children K-8. We anticipate submitting our charter application to the district in November, and depending on approval, we anticipate a September 2006 opening. As a reminder, charter schools are public schools in all sense of the words. Any child living in the district (or any other district if they provide the funding and transportation) can apply to enroll in a charter school. Charter schools are an added choice in schooling and are free of cost to parents. NatureLAB Charter School will feature classes no bigger than 20 students, pods that create small schools within schools (K, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8), case management for each child (all students, regardless of identification), a school within a library setting, technology integrated into the curriculum in every classroom, professional teacher setting (including offices, computers, and support staff for each pod) and a 26,000 square foot outdoor science classroom (complete with greenhouses, learning pavilion, performance space, and a working mini-farm.) If such a school sounds inviting to you and your children, send us note (e-mail or snail mail) and we can add you to the mailing list. We ask the public to get involved in whatever capacity they can to bring much needed educational innovation to Pittsburgh Public Schools. We will be scheduling several community meetings throughout Pittsburgh in the coming months. Further, you can lend your expertise by joining any of our task forces in Curriculum/Assessment/Technology, Health and Wellness, Facilities, and Finance. Check our website www.educationinnovations.org soon for all the details. ---- The mission of Education Innovations, Inc. is building communities of seekers, learners, and teachers who share the world as a classroom. For more information, contact Sal Wilcox: Phone: 412.363.7707 s.wilcox@educationinnovations.org http://www.educationinnovations.org