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AldineIndependentSchool District Chooses MindPlay’s ‘My Reading Coach®’ after Successful Pilot Program
Students with disabilities in Aldine schools will gain reading skills with the help of a virtual reading specialist and self-paced multimedia instruction
Tucson, Ariz.September 24, 2009 – After piloting MindPlay’s My Reading Coach, Aldine Independent School District (AISD) awarded the company with a contract servicing 65 schools that will help thousands of Aldine students with disabilities learn to read. MindPlay’s My Reading Coach directly instructs students using virtual reading specialists and a speech pathologist to produce impressive results.
The district decided to pilot My Reading Coach after seeing it in use in three schools that had purchased the software. Students in those schools received high academic achievement scores and an improvement in self esteem. The district then piloted My Reading Coach in five schools to see if results would transfer to other schools. The data gathered from the five pilot sites showed significant gains in students’ Lexile and state assessment scores. In one of the pilot schools, 42% of the students who had formerly failed the TAKS, passed the retest and showed significant gains.
My Reading Coach provides every child with direct virtual reading instruction in a one-to-one computer-based environment. The program offers comprehensive systematic instruction to help students gain skills in phonemic awareness, grammar, phonics, spelling, fluency and reading comprehension to get them reading at or above grade level. The program offers lots of reading practice with more than 200 unique high-interest stories.
“In our hearts, we knew My Reading Coach could help thousands of students with reading disabilities in Aldine receive a ‘lifeline to learning’ by teaching them to read,” said Joyce Wehnes, educational consultant for MindPlay. “However, nothing speaks to a potential customer like results. This controlled experiment showed the district the real power of My Reading Coach that will help them close achievement gaps.”
About AldineIndependentSchool District
The center of AldineIndependentSchool District is located approximately 15 miles north of downtown Houston. Aldine’s vision is to create the nation’s best students by preparing each student to be a critical thinker, problem solver; and responsible and productive citizen. Aldine ISD ranks among the state’s high performing school districts according to data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). In 2008, Aldine welcomed 56,255 students and was the 12th largest school district in Texas. In September 2009, AISD was named the best urban school system in America and they were given the prestigious 2009 Broad Prize for Urban Education which honors large school systems making notable gains in student achievement .
About MindPlay
MindPlay® has been improving basic reading and academic skills of children and adults for more than 25 years. Our research-based solutions are used in schools, educational institutions, correctional facilities and homes worldwide. All struggling readers can learn to read, whether they are dyslexic, mainstream, or English Language Learners (ELL).The products currently available include My Reading Coach™, RAPS™360 Reading Analysis & Prescription System and FLRT™ a fluent reading trainer. For more information visit us on the web at www.mindplay.com.
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