New VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, and VP of Implementation join Achieva's Senior Management Team To Help Public Schools Across the Country Get Their Students Into College

SAN MATEO, Calif., January 20, 2001 - Achieva.com, provider of online college prep and guidance services to the nation's public schools, today announced the appointments of R. Alfred Knechel to Vice President of Sales; Jon Zeitlin to the position of Vice President of Marketing; and Teresa W. Bensch to Vice President of Implementation. The three will lead Achieva's marketing, sales and implementation activities, and assist the company's mission to increase college opportunities for middle and high school students across the country using the Internet.

"These additions to our management team will bring more than 50 years in combined experience of core education and technology practices; they will each play an integral role in Achieva.com's continued efforts to provide public school students and their faculty advisors with the tools and resources they need to get into college." said Carlos Watson, Achieva.com co-founder and CEO. "Their proven expertise will help to position Achieva.com as the premier education brand in college guidance and test prep."

A seasoned educational sales professional, Mr. Knechel will bring with him 26 years of experience to the role of vice president of sales. Mr. Knechel will lead the current sales force and work with the marketing and technology teams to ensure that current and future programs will meet the growing needs and expectations of Achieva.com's customers. His vast experience in educational technology began with Borg-Warner and continued through the series of Jostens acquisitions and onto Compass Learning before coming to Achieva. Al graduated cum laude with a B.S. degree from Temple University. He was the recipient of the 1989 Business Person of the Year award from the Michigan Association of State and Federal Program Coordinators and has been a five time President's Club achiever in the Eastern Region while at Jostens Learning.

Mr. Zeitlin brings to Achieva.com more than 13 years experience in education, marketing, and product marketing. At Achieva.com, he will oversee all marketing activities, including product marketing and marketing communications, and will also work closely with the technology and sales teams to create market-leading products and a unified message for Achieva.com. Mr. Zeitlin was most recently director of e-commerce for Excite@Home, and held senior product management roles for Compaq Computer and Computer Curriculum Corporation. Mr. Zeitlin also worked as a middle-school teacher at Manhattan Country School, a national leader in multicultural education. Jon received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business, a M.Ed. from Stanford Graduate School of Education, and a B.A., with honors, from Yale University.

Ms. Bensch will oversee Achieva.com's implementation including Professional Services and Customer Care. She was formerly the director of professional services for NetSchools Corporation and has held senior schools' implementation roles at leading education technology companies including Lightspan and Jostens Learning. She has also worked as an elementary school teacher in Dekalb Co. Schools, Georgia, an urban metro district, and served as a reviewer for the United States Department of Education Challenge Grants and served on the Secretary's Council on Education. Teresa has a B.S. in Education from Middle Tennessee State University and is an EMBA candidate at Georgia State University.