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Success Story: Monroe Elementary School, Saint Louis, MO

Teachers at Monroe Elementary School in Saint Louis, Missouri have detected a trend recently—a trend of significantly rising scores on state-wide standardized tests. And they chalk it up, in large part, to the influence of AutoSkill International's exceptional software program, the Academy of READING.

In some respects, even reading in public schools is a 'numbers game'. At least insofar as standardized test scores tell the story of how well students are performing. Until recently, that story was a dispiriting one for the children and staff of Monroe Elementary School.

A Title 1 Targeted Assistance school, and one of 60 elementary schools in Saint Louis Public Schools, Monroe faces many of the same administrative and academic challenges that other urban schools do, as well as an exceptionally high proportion of student poverty (98% free/reduced lunch) and transience. As much as 60 percent of the school's student population may change over the course of—or in between—school years.

It's not surprising, then, that Monroe's students tended to score heavily in the bottom two categories of the Missouri Assessment Program's (MAP) standardized tests.

When he came to the school in 2001, Principal Gerry Arbini had plans to change that. He'd seen first-hand at his previous school the gains students could make when assisted by the Academy of READING, and was determined to repeat that success.

"I first learned about the Academy of READING in 1996," says Dr. Arbini. "I saw a presentation on the software and was instantly convinced. I immediately went out and bought computers for my school to implement the program. And the promise was fulfilled; students' skills advanced greatly in a short space of time, and their overall academic performance went up. I felt the kids here at Monroe deserved that chance, too."

The Academy of READING has been used at Monroe by students in grades one through five since the fall of 2002. By the spring of 2003—when the annual MAP tests were administered—it was clear the program was making a difference.

"For the first time," says Dr. Arbini, "our kids could read the questions on the test. They understood what they were being asked to do. And it showed in the results."

Dr. Arbini insists that the benefits of the Academy of READING can't be regarded as improving language-arts skills alone. By equipping children with the fundamentals of literacy, it allows them to improve in all their subjects—even math and science.

He also observes that because the program helps students make gains in a short space of time, they're gains that will accompany those children even if they change schools or move on, as so many of Monroe's do.

"I'm convinced the benefits of this program are lasting benefits," he concludes. "I'd want the Academy of READING in any school I go to."