New Partnership Aims to Teach 1.7M Students 'Net Safety

i-SAFE America and the Los Angeles County Office of Education Will
Educate All Students


CARLSBAD, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/27/06 -- Every student in the Los
Angeles County school system will have the opportunity to learn safe
and responsible Internet use by next year. An innovative partnership
between i-SAFE America and the Los Angeles County Office of Education
(LACOE) brings the internationally recognized i-SAFE Safe Schools
Program to the largest intermediate educational system in the United
States. The program is part of a California-wide rollout sponsored, in
part, by Microsoft.


"Students seem ready to begin their online learning adventures at
younger and younger ages," said Dr. Darline P. Robles, Ph.D.,
superintendent of Los Angeles County Schools. "But along with the vast
educational resources come potential dangers and pitfalls. With
i-SAFE, we at the Los Angeles County Office of Education are providing
students the knowledge and tools to explore the Internet safely and
responsibly. The i-SAFE resources will be presented to teachers,
parents, administrators, and school board members to ensure that our
students use their new knowledge to navigate technology in a safe
environment."


A recent survey by i-SAFE's National Assessment Center (NAC) revealed
73 percent of students admitted there was a need for Internet safety
education in school. i-SAFE's age-appropriate K through 12 curriculum
fills the void voiced by students and extends learning to the
community. It is the only Internet safety program available that
incorporates community outreach and youth empowerment in
education-based materials.


"In order to take advantage of the Internet's potential as an
educational tool, we must help make it safe for children and our
communities," said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of the Security
Technology Unit at Microsoft. "Microsoft is excited to support i-SAFE
to raise awareness of the importance of online safety, so children can
be equipped to make good choices and use the Internet more safely and
securely."


i-SAFE designed its curriculum to foster active participation between
students and instructors through classroom discussions and cooperative
group-learning activities. In classes without computers, the
interactive nature of physical-world activities reinforces the concept
that the cyber world has real-world consequences.


"We pride ourselves on finding services and resources that eliminate
educational barriers associated with poverty and racial divisiveness
within education," said Sophia Waugh, an LACOE member. "i-SAFE's
National Assessment Center has found some amazing information in their
student surveys, not the least of which is the fact that students who
go online behave the same no matter their race or their financial or
social status. It is a state-of-the-art program that exhibits the
quality and safety of online information/awareness our families demand
and our students deserve."


i-SAFE is already in the process of training LACOE educators, and some
schools are already teaching students the dynamic curriculum. As
society becomes more reliant on computers and the Internet, the need
for online safety curriculum is more vital than ever.


"We are reaching the first generation to grow up with the Internet,
and we cannot afford to miss a single student anywhere," said Teri
Schroeder, founder and CEO of i-SAFE. "This partnership will provide
Internet safety education to every student in the LACOE system,
regardless of wealth or race, by the end of 2006."


About LACOE


The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), the largest
intermediate educational agency in the United States, provides
classroom instruction for specialized student populations, and
programs and services to 80 K through 12 school districts and 1.7
million students in Los Angeles County.


About i-SAFE America


Founded in 1998 and active in all 50 states, i-SAFE America Inc. is
the leader in Internet safety education. i-SAFE is a nonprofit
foundation whose mission is to educate and empower youth to make their
Internet experiences safe and responsible. The goal is to educate
students to avoid dangerous, inappropriate, or unlawful online
behavior. i-SAFE accomplishes this through dynamic K through 12
curriculum and community-outreach programs to parents, law
enforcement, and community leaders. It is the only Internet safety
foundation to combine these elements. www.isafe.org


i-SAFE America Inc. is designated a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable
organization by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. i-SAFE America Inc.
is funded by the U.S. Congress through the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, Department of
Justice.


Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United
States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and
products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.