Kellogg Company and Food Town Contributions Impact Learning for ESL Students Enrolled in HOSTS Schools

VANCOUVER, Wash., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- HOSTS Learning announced today a cooperative contribution of $100,000 from Kellogg's Corporate Citizenship Fund, the charitable arm of Kellogg Company , and Food Town to support the addition of ESL (English as a Second Language) programs to 20 of HOSTS Learning's mentoring programs in schools across Texas. The addition of these programs will assist more than 1200 students who are learning English and need the added assistance of one-to-one mentoring by volunteers in their local community.

Districts and schools that will be receiving the HOSTSLink English Language Development learning system from HOSTS Learning as a result of the contribution are:

Aldine ISD: Ed Vines Early Childhood Center Channelview ISD: Endeavor Pre Kindergarten and Endeavor High School Liberty ISD: Liberty Elementary Pasadena ISD: A.B. Freeman Elementary, Felix H. Morales Elementary, Gardens Elementary, J.D. Parks Elementary, Kruse Elementary, L.F. Smith Elementary, Pomeroy Elementary, Sparks Elementary, Walter Matthys Elementary, McMasters Elementary, Garfield Elementary, and South Houston Elementary Sante Fe ISD: Sante Fe Elementary North and Sante Fe Elementary South, Texas City ISD: Kohfeldt Elementary and Heights Elementary

"We are most grateful for this donation," said Pasadena ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick Schneider. "The HOSTS program plays a vital role in our schools and truly helps students to succeed. The outstanding community mentors who participate in this program not only give of their time, knowledge and resources -- they give from their hearts."

For more than a decade, Kellogg Company has invested in the HOSTS (Help One Student To Succeed) mission. Hundreds of Kellogg employees and retirees have volunteered as HOSTS mentors for at-risk children. "Our company and our employees believe in supporting education so that children and youth can reach their full potential," said Tim Knowlton, Kellogg Company vice president of corporate social responsibility. "We are pleased to play a role in helping schools and teachers improve student performance."

HOSTSLink for English Language Development is one of six mentoring based learning systems from HOSTS Learning. With a 30 year track record, these learning systems have proven to increase student academic gains in reading and math an average of 2 years or more in a single school year. HOSTSLink is a combination of a software support tool that aids learning center teachers in preparing prescriptive and diagnostic lesson plans as well as support tools for effectively engaging community volunteers in the school environment.

"We are proud to support the community with these grants," said Mike Lewis, Food Town operation manager. "It is a great opportunity for us to assist educators, mentors and, most importantly, students in our community."

About Kellogg Company

With 2004 sales of almost $10 billion, Kellogg Company is the world's leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, frozen waffles, meat alternatives, pie crusts, and ice cream cones. The company's brands include Kellogg's, Keebler, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Cheez-It, Nutri-Grain, Rice Krispies, Murray, Austin, Morningstar Farms, Famous Amos, Carr's and Kashi. Kellogg products are manufactured in 17 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information, visit Kellogg's web site at http://www.kelloggcompany.com/.

About Food Town

Food Town is a locally owned chain of grocery stores. Food Town was established 11 years ago and currently has 24 stores in the Houston area. Food Town specializes in national-brand groceries, quality meats, fresh produce, and great customer service. Value and attention to the customer are what makes Food Town one of the fastest growing grocery stores in the Houston area.

About HOSTS Learning

HOSTS Learning is a leading provider of research-based learning systems that accelerate student achievement in reading and math for grades K through 12. Since 1971, HOSTS Learning has delivered learning systems to more than one million children needing intervention and supplemental instruction for improving their reading, writing, language development, and math skills. Through the use of HOSTS Learning's offerings, classroom teachers are provided with high quality professional development, superior teacher tools for making data-driven decisions, and effective intervention systems guaranteed to produce results. HOSTS Learning systems are currently operating in more than 1,300 schools in 40 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and El Salvador. For more information, please visit http://www.hosts.com/ or call 800-833-4678.

Contact: Jeni Cantley Walter of HOSTS Learning, +1-360-609-0676, or jlcwalter@comcast.net; or Julie Bosley of Kellogg Company, +1-269-961-3799, or julie.bosley@kellogg.com.