Mosaica Education Ranks Third Among Inner City 100 Companies

    NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Mosaica Education, Inc. has been
 honored as one of America's fastest-growing urban businesses.  The 2004 "Inner
 City 100" list was compiled by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
 (ICIC).
     Mosaica manages charter schools throughout the country that serve
 approximately 11,000 students.  In 2003, the Company was recognized as an
 "Education Innovator" by the U.S. Department of Education.  In its
 announcement, the DOE noted, "On average, a Mosaica student's performance
 improved annually at a rate approximately 25% faster than the national
 average."
     "Mosaica Education was formed in response to a need to educate and prepare
 students for college and, ultimately, the real world," Mosaica's President and
 Chief Executive Officer, Michael J. Connelly, said.  As Inc. Magazine reported
 in connection with its coverage of the Inner City 100 awards:  "Mosaica, which
 runs 43 charter schools mainly in inner city neighborhoods, developed the
 Paragon method, an intensive humanities curriculum.  Foreign language classes
 start as early as kindergarten, and the lower grades are taught advanced
 computer programs.  'If you ever need to learn PowerPoint,' says CEO Michael
 Connelly, 'just ask any of our third-graders.'"
     "Many of our charter schools are located in areas where public school
 systems are facing budget cuts and student achievement is low," Connelly
 noted.  "Mosaica schools provide parents and students a no-cost educational
 choice, where students are given the opportunity to gain the knowledge and
 experience needed to excel in the 21st century."
     The idea for Mosaica Education began in 1996 when Dawn Eidelman, a
 humanities professor at the University of Texas, developed a humanities
 curriculum for K-12 students, called "Paragon."  Dr. Eidelman and her husband,
 Gene, started Mosaica Education in 1997.
     To qualify for the Inner City 100, companies needed to have at least 51%
 of their operations located in economically distressed urban areas; 10 or more
 employees; and a five-year operating-sales history that included sales of at
 least $200,000 in 1998, an increase in 2002 sales over 2001 sales, and 2002
 sales of at least $1,000,000.  The specific ranking was based on total revenue
 growth over the five-year period.  An economically distressed urban area is
 defined by ICIC as having 50% higher unemployment and poverty levels, and 50%
 lower median income than the metropolitan statistical average.
 
 

SOURCE  Mosaica Education, Inc.