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Spring ISD Closes Proficiency Gap Using Academy of READING and Academy of MATH

Research-based intervention solutions to be offered district-wide this school year

Houston – November  8, 2007 – AutoSkill International, developer of award-winning intervention solutions for K-12, announced today at the National Middle School Association conference that Spring Independent School District of Houston will be implementing the Academy of READING® and the Academy of MATH® district-wide at elementary and middle schools in the 2007 school year.

The Academy of READING and the Academy of MATH build fluency in the foundation skills necessary for students to move to higher learning. In their instructional design, the products incorporate automaticity, individualized instruction, and motivation to achieve measurable and permanent results.

Spring ISD comprises over 33,000 students representing a variety of backgrounds and skill levels, including many students who do not speak English as their first language.  As part of their overall Response to Intervention (RtI) strategy, the district decided that an alternative intervention solution was required to address the broad range of learner challenges.  After investigating numerous intervention solutions, Spring ISD began a pilot program in January 2007 using the Academy of READING and the Academy of MATH in three schools. 

One of the schools in the pilot program, Claughton Middle School, a Title 1 school with over 1,400 students, achieved significant results.  They experienced an average gain of two levels in Lexile scores in the course of the semester, with some students achieving considerably more. Further, the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) score at Claughton jumped from 53% to 81% in a single semester – the highest increase in the district.

In addition to the original schools, three more elementary schools were added to the pilot and used the program for summer school students.  Based on the impressive results at all six schools, Spring ISD decided to implement the Academy of READING and Academy of MATH at all elementary and middle schools.

“A contributing factor for the district-wide adoption was the improvements we saw with our ESL students,” says Dr. Dalane Bouillion, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instructional services, Spring ISD.  “The phenomenal results of the pilot and summer school programs, coupled with the centralized management system, made the decision a lot easier for us.”

AutoSkill professional services played an integral role in the successful implementation at Spring ISD.  Staff development and ongoing consultations with schools is a key component of AutoSkill’s learning solutions.  Partnering with the district and the schools ensures fidelity of program delivery.

"We are delighted that Spring ISD has decided to deploy our intervention solutions district-wide to help close the proficiency gap,” said KC Lim, CEO of AutoSkill International. "The other schools in the district will quickly see the benefits of the Academy of READING and Academy of MATH intervention, which is based on years of research and proven to create fast, effective, and enduring results in helping struggling learners improve the learning capacity essential for academic success."

About Spring Independent School District
The Spring Independent School District serves over 33,000 pre-kindergarten through twelfth-grade students in a diverse and growing district located 20 miles north of downtown Houston in a suburban area of Harris County that spans 57 square miles. The District’s ethnic breakdown is 38.45 percent African American, 35.9 percent Hispanic, 20.6 percent White, 4.8 percent Asian and Pacific Islander and 0.2 percent Native American

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About AutoSkill International
AutoSkill creates award-winning intervention solutions to help close the proficiency gap in K-12 schools. For over 17 years, its research-based programs have helped at-risk students to build fluency in the foundation skills of reading and math. The company’s core products, Academy of READING and Academy of MATH, deliver rapid, permanent gains so students progress in their education and administrators meet AYP targets. For more information, visit www.autoskill.com.

For more information, contact:
Nancy Fontanne
Manager Marketing Communications
AutoSkill International Inc
800-288-6754 x302
Email: nancy.fontanne@autoskill.com