For immediate release                                                                                                                                             Contact: Karen Ahearn

October 14, 2004                                                                                                                                                      Communications Manager

                                                                                                                                                                                     412-481-7320

                                                                                                                                                                                     kahearn@assetinc.org

ASSET hosts 10 th Anniversary Celebration & Open House

PITTSBURGH — (October 14, 2004) — ASSET (Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching) Inc. will hold a 10 th Anniversary Celebration and Open House on Tuesday, October 26 from 3-7 p.m. at its new facility in the River Park Commons, located on the South Side at 2403 Sidney Street, Suite 800 , Pittsburgh , PA 15203 .

Teachers, administrators, corporate and community partners, parents and community members are invited to tour ASSET's new facility, which includes an expanded Materials Support Center and Teacher Professional Development Center with four training rooms, including a wireless technology lab.

During the Open House, attendees can also participate in hands-on demonstrations of standards-based curriculum materials and see TESSA, ASSET 's 17-foot high by 72-foot long inflatable whale that helps students learn about these sea creatures. Please call ASSET at 412-481-7320 or visit www.assetinc.org for more information.

About ASSET:

Established by Bayer Corporation and other community partners in 1994, ASSET currently provides K-8 standards-based science materials and teacher professional development programs that directly impact 3,000 teachers and 63,000 students in 44 school districts, charter and private schools. Students in more than 180 ASSET member schools across western Pennsylvania experience standards-based learning materials using an inquiry approach and are taught by teachers who receive professional development directly linked to the curriculum.

The largest program of its kind in the state, ASSET is the only one of 22 educational reform programs originally funded by the National Science Foundation that has achieved operational self-sustaining status. ASSET Inc. is an independent, nonprofit education reform initiative dedicated to continuously improve the abilities of teachers with initial efforts in K-8 science and technology education.