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Contact: Gail Ribalta
210.558.1902
gribalta@edvanceresearch.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 27, 2009

Texas Education Agency Awards Texas 21st CCLC Contract to Edvance Research.

San Antonio Leading educational research company, Edvance Research, Inc., has been awarded a contract by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to be the provider for the Texas 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC): Program Enhancement & Quality Assurance program.

TEA has placed a focus on research-based assistance to Texas 21st CCLC grantees that will further the quality and outcomes of centers, specifically to positively impact student achievement through extended learning programming that complements the school day instruction.

Robert Scott, Texas Commissioner of Education states, There is great excitement surrounding the Texas 21st CCLC program. Through the incorporation of research and best practices, and offering training and hands-on experience, we will help our centers offer students an enriched program, which we expect will contribute to improved graduation rates in all Texas communities.

The contract, awarded through TEAs competitive bidding process, commenced September 30, 2008 and will extend through August 31, 2009. The contract provides funding at approximately $2 million.

Edvance will work closely with TEA to offer support to the Texas 21st CCLC grantees and centers by managing a network of Technical Assistance Coordinators, providing opportunities for professional collaboration among the grantees, and meeting program reporting goals. "We are pleased that the Texas Education Agency has selected Edvance Research to lead this program. This is a great opportunity to apply our expertise in needs assessment, technical assistance and rigorous research to strengthen the Texas 21st CCLC program stated Dr. Dean Nafziger, CEO of Edvance. The 21st CCLC centers are a vital part of Texas communities, providing students a high quality extended learning environment, with the goal to contribute to success in the classroom.

Edvance Research, Inc. is a women and minority owned business, specializing in rigorous product and market research, in the education market. Headquartered in San Antonio, Edvance runs the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest (REL Southwest ), one of ten educational laboratories in the Regional Educational Laboratory Network (REL Network), the nation's network of support for research-based school reform run by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), under the U.S. Department of Education.