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Classroom ResultsWestern RegionSuccess Story: Fillmore USD, Fillmore, CAFillmore Unified School District in Fillmore, California, initially adopted the Academy of READIG software program to benefit its remedial students. But when those students' reading levels soared by as many as six grades, word of the program quickly spread and students of all reading abilities began using it. The Academy of READING was so effective, in fact, that the school invested in a second computer lab. Educators in Fillmore, California, did their homework. They investigated several reading intervention programs before deciding on the Academy of READING software program from AutoSkill International Inc. The reason for the decision was simple. According to Fillmore Unified School District Technology Coordinator David MacDonald, the Academy of READING was the only program that brought about a marked improvement in students' reading skills. "As all educators know," MacDonald points out, "reading is the key to any individual's success." It took just half a day to get the Academy of READING up and running. While the school had intended the Academy of READING software program as an intervention for struggling readers and English Language Learners, soon students at all reading levels, as many as four or five a day, were approaching teachers and expressing an interest in using the program. For teachers, the program's ease of operation and thorough tracking system made it a natural addition to their teaching arsenal. Eventually, students who had been using the program before and after school began to use it in class as well. Not surprisingly, the computer lab became the most sought after room in the school. Students and teachers alike were very excited about the addition of a second lab. Now, over half the students in the school district use the Academy of READING software program. Literacy improvement has been, in the words of David MacDonald, "nothing short of phenomenal." |
