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Educate, Inc. Chairman and CEO R. Christopher Hoehn-Saric Named Master Entrepreneur By Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year(R) 2005 in Maryland BALTIMORE, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- R. Christopher Hoehn-Saric, Chairman and CEO of Educate, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEEE), has been named Master Entrepreneur by Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year(R) 2005 for Maryland by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. Hoehn-Saric was honored last night at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards banquet held at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor. As a Maryland winner, Hoehn-Saric is now a candidate in the national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 Award program. Hoehn-Saric was selected to win Master Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 for Maryland award from a slate of thirty-five Maryland nominees by a panel of independent judges comprised of area leaders from business, academic, and civic organizations. He won the award for his leadership of Educate, a leading pre-K through 12 education services company delivering tutoring and high quality supplemental education services to families and schools. The Company has a portfolio of highly acclaimed brands including Sylvan Learning Centers, North America's largest and most trusted network of tutoring centers, providing supplemental, remedial and enrichment instruction; Hooked on Phonics, delivering highly regarded early reading, math and study skills programs; and Catapult Learning, a leading provider of educational services to public and non-public schools. Hoehn-Saric, a nationally-recognized leader in the burgeoning field of pre-K through 12 education services, expressed gratitude for winning the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year(R) 2005 for Maryland award. "I am honored to be selected from such an outstanding group of Maryland business leaders. And I am pleased to share this award with the entire Educate, Inc. team, without whose talent, dedication and efforts, we would not be the nation's leading pre-K through 12 education services company -- or on such a strong growth trajectory for 2005 and beyond. Their work inspires me and has made it possible to envision a company that in ten years will redefine K-12 education," commented Hoehn-Saric. "But as proud as I am of our business accomplishments, I am prouder still of the core work we all do at Educate, Inc.," Hoehn-Saric continued. "Each day, we change the lives of thousands of children across the country. We instill in them the love of education, and give them the skills to succeed, and the confidence to do anything." "Chris Hoehn-Saric has been a visionary in the field of education for more than a decade," noted William Cole, Partner, Ernst & Young, LLP. "From developing computerized systems for delivering standardized tests to guiding Sylvan and now Educate to the clear leadership position in the K-12 tutoring industry, Chris has consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence. In just the past year, under Chris' leadership, Educate has seen a 24% increase in revenues, completed the most successful IPO in the history of the education industry and launched the 1,000th Sylvan Learning Center." Since taking the helm of the Company -- then called Sylvan Learning Systems -- in 1991, Hoehn-Saric and his associates have grown it from a small company with a handful of tutoring sites to the undisputed national leader in pre-K-12 tutoring services and higher education, with a remarkable 97% level of brand awareness. The company opened the 500th Sylvan Learning Center location in 1995, acquired the leading European tutoring chain in 1999, and in 2002 launched Sylvan Online, a live online academic tutoring service. In 2003 the K-12 companies of SLS were acquired by senior management and Apollo Management, LLC, and named Educate, Inc. 2004 was a watershed year for Educate. The Company celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of Sylvan Learning Center, and successfully completed a $190 million initial public offering. In addition, under Hoehn-Saric's leadership, the company more than doubled the growth rate of the business to 25% per annum and established control of the two major brands in consumer education, Sylvan Learning Center and Hooked on Phonics. About The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year(R) Program The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 100 cities and 35 countries. About Educate, Inc. Educate, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEEE) is a leading pre-K-12 education services company delivering supplemental education services to students and their families. It has a portfolio of highly acclaimed brands including Sylvan Learning Centers, North America's largest and most trusted network of tutoring centers, providing supplemental, remedial and enrichment instruction; Hooked on Phonics, delivering highly regarded early reading, math and study skills programs; and Catapult Learning, a leading provider of educational services to public and non-public schools. More information on Educate, Inc. can be found at http://www.educate-inc.com/ . Forward-looking Statements This release includes information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors might cause such a difference: the development and expansion of the Sylvan Learning Center franchise system; changes in the relationships among Sylvan Learning Center and its franchisees; the Company's ability to effectively manage business growth; increased competition from other educational service providers; changes in laws and government policies and programs; changes in the acceptance of the Company's services by institutional customers and consumers; changes in customer relationships; the seasonality of operating results; global economic conditions, including interest and currency rate fluctuations and inflation rates. Additional information regarding these and other risk factors and uncertainties are set forth from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available for viewing on the Company's website http://www.educate-inc.com/. (To access this information on the Company's website, click on "Investor Relations" and then "SEC Filings".) All forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company on the date of this Release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. DATASOURCE: Educate, Inc. CONTACT: Sandy Baird of Sequoia Public Relations for Educate, Inc., +1-203-912-9490, or Web site: http://www.educate-inc.com/

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