Blackboard Launches Blackboard School Central(TM), an Online Learning Solution Focused on K-12 Teachers & Learners

Now Available Nationwide, Blackboard School Central(TM) Enables Districts to Easily, Affordably Expand Learning Opportunities & Teacher Professional DevelopmentWASHINGTON, DC, Sep 04, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), a leading provider of educational enterprise technology, today announced the launch of Blackboard School Central, a powerful, cost-effective online learning platform that empowers K-12 school districts of any size to securely and reliably expand learning opportunities and teacher professional development.

Blackboard School Central has been available on a limited basis for several months and has already been adopted by a number of school districts including Duluth Public Schools (Minn.), Long Beach School District (Miss.), and Marion County Public Schools (Fla.). A fully hosted offering, the platform provides an affordable, entry-level solution for schools and districts seeking to enhance classroom instruction or offer classes online, and can be customized for each district to ensure ease of use for teachers, students, and administrators.

"We are thrilled to use Blackboard School Central to power our district's online learning program," said Albert Magallanez, Director of Technology at Indian Oasis-Baboquivari Unified School District 40 in Sells, Ariz. "The platform will enable our teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms to support differentiated instruction, curriculum management, and assessment. In addition, our district will use the platform to provide cost-effective professional development and support new teacher induction. We look forward to working with Blackboard to help our students develop the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for lifelong learning."

The launch of Blackboard School Central underscores Blackboard's commitment to students and educators in the K-12 community, where the company currently works with more than 1,200 schools and districts around the globe to expand educational opportunities, create collaborative learning communities, and increase engagement for teachers and students. Blackboard designed the platform specifically to meet the needs of the K-12 community and the 21st century classroom.

"Blackboard School Central is an important part of Blackboard's mission to deliver a 21st century educational experience that is engaging, individualized, and effective, and designed to address the unique needs of the K-12 community," said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, president of Blackboard K-12. "The solution will allow a greater number of school districts to take advantage of tools that will help drive successful teacher training, parental engagement, and student achievement."

Blackboard School Central offers a complete suite of applications to support blended instruction and distance learning as well as teacher training and professional development. Specifically, the platform allows districts to:

-- Enable teachers to create and evaluate individualized learning paths for each student and better monitor progress toward learning goals;

-- Keep students and parents plugged in to their studies by integrating collaborative technologies into the classroom;

-- Engage students in a vibrant, online community that provides opportunities for social learning and collaboration; and

-- Offer anywhere, anytime professional development complete with coursework, communities of practice, and professional resources in a central location.

For more information about Blackboard School Central or Blackboard's other K-12 solutions, please visit: http://www.blackboard.com/k12.

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

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Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-Q filed on August 7, 2008 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of September 4, 2008. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to September 4, 2008.

CONTACTS
Matthew Maurer
Blackboard Inc.
(202) 463-4860 ext. 2637
matthew.maurer@blackboard.com
Anna Hughes
e-Luminate Group
(202) 585-0230
ahughes@eluminategroup.com

SOURCE: Blackboard Inc.

mailto:matthew.maurer@blackboard.com
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