Company Creating Innovative Web-based Software and Partnering with
Parents to Tackle Math Crisis
BELLEVUE, Wash., April 2, 2008 — DreamBox Learning, a start-up web-based learning company, today announced its intentions to transform the
e-learning industry with an online mathematics product that wraps fun, game-style adventures around a serious math curriculum that adapts to each individual child’s specific
skills and learning behaviors and gets parents involved in the process. Backed by $7.1 million in angel funding and a management team steeped in education, technology, and
interactive entertainment, the company is poised to expand exponentially the market and put kids on the right path to achieve math proficiency at an early age. The first product,
geared toward K-2, is currently in beta testing and scheduled to launch in fall 2008.
DreamBox Learning was co-founded by seasoned entrepreneur Lou Gray, who serves as president and chief executive officer, and Benjamin W. Slivka, chairman, the Internet pioneer
who led the team that created Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The company is developing a scalable and extensible web-based platform and series of web-based math products that are
designed to teach, reinforce, and nurture an understanding of mathematics and critical thinking skills.
“We’ve assembled a first-class team of veteran technologists and National Board Certified Teachers to build a web-based software platform coupled with robust learning
applications that will redefine the e-learning category as we know it today,” said Lou Gray, president and chief executive officer of DreamBox Learning. “The current market
is littered with cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all products that take kids through pre-set drills and practice, ignoring their particular strengths and weaknesses. DreamBox
Learning is moving e-learning to an entirely new level, tailoring the learning experience to best meet each child’s needs. We’re truly revolutionizing the way kids will learn
math, helping them to excel in the subject and ultimately, succeed in life.”
In a recent study authored by Northwestern University’s Professor of Education and Social Policy Greg J. Duncan, he concluded that “mastery of early math concepts was the
strongest predictor of future academic success.” This observation, coupled with data released by The Brookings Institution in a report called Trends in Math: The Importance
of Basic Skills, cited that about one-half of U.S. 9-year-olds cannot multiply or divide whole numbers accurately, and half of 13- and 17-year-olds cannot compute correctly
with fractions, serves as a loud wake-up call. It also validates the critical need for quality supplemental education products that reinforce what is being taught in the
classroom.
Tagged as “serious learning that’s seriously fun,” DreamBox Learning K-2 Math presents the subject in a fun and engaging manner that holds great appeal with young kids while
meeting the learning expectations of parents. Kids will be drawn into an immersive interactive world surrounded by colorful, animated characters that guide and motivate them to
understand and apply core math concepts and develop the foundation for a lifetime of critical thinking skills. The adventure-style game generates more than a million lesson paths
and serves up options in real-time that are best-suited for each child’s comprehension level and learning behaviors. In addition, the product will keep parents tuned-in to how
their child is progressing through an online dashboard, occasional email reports, and e-newsletters offering suggestions and tips on other offline activities to further hone and
advance math skills.
About DreamBox Learning
DreamBox Learning was founded in 2006 in Bellevue, Washington by world-class technologists,
educators, interactive entertainment experts, and entrepreneurs who share a collective vision that
every child should have access to an individually tailored, Web-based learning experience that is
engaging, motivating, and effective. Backed by $7.1 million in angel funding, the company launched
a Web-based platform and its first adventure-themed online learning product called DreamBox
Learning K-2 Math in early 2009. The home-based product targets young students in kindergarten
through second grade and is designed to reinforce and teach real math through effective,
individualized instruction in an engaging and fun manner. DreamBox Learning K-2 Math is based on
NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) curriculum recommendations, reflecting lessons
taught in the classroom. More information can be found at
Media Contacts
For more information or to request a DreamBox Learning K-2 Math media review account, contact:
Please contact: Foghorn PR
Shelly Eckenroth: 717-852-7060 or seckenroth@foghornpr.com
Mary Leddy: 508-872-3369 or mleddy@foghornpr.com
