Alabama
Terry Martin, Grade Three Teacher, Valley Intermediate, Pelham, Alabama
"My children use Essential Skills programs twice a week and love them. I know that these programs are helping my students. I even had a child who was practically addicted last year. He wanted to use the Reading Comprehension program at every free moment! I think that he realized that he truly was learning to read from using this software."
Deanna Ritchie, Special Education Teacher, Magnolia School, Foley, Alabama
"Essential Skills Software programs are used school-wide. These programs have had a positive impact on student learning. We have noticed improvement and growth in our DIBELS scores."
Susan Corcoran, Special Ed Teacher, Brookwood Forest Elementary, Birmingham, Alabama
"We use the Essential Skills programs daily in our Special Education classroom and have noticed measurable improvements. My students love using these programs!"
Sheila Denson, Principal, Curtiston Primary, Attalla, Alabama
"We have five Essential Skills programs in our computer lab. Our Kindergarten and Grade One students use them daily. Both the teachers and students love this software. These programs do a great job of building and reinforcing the basic skills."
Marcia Johnson, Principal, Dixie Elementary, Opelika, Alabama
"The Essential Skills programs have been highly recommended by our teachers. They find them very adaptable to students and very supportive of the curriculum."
Ginny McIntyre, Grade One Teacher, G. Watts Elementary, Pine Apple, Alabama
"ESS programs are used in the computer lab and the classroom. The software is wonderfully easy to use and the programs build the skills one step at a time! We also use them with great success in Special Ed."
Marsha Wilson, Title 1 Reading Teacher, Hamilton Elementary, Hamilton, Alabama
"The children are using Essential Skills programs for 30 minutes everyday. The first graders are using Super Phonics and Sight Words. Second and third grade are using Reading Comprehension. Our teachers really like the Marks Management system for tracking and reporting of progress. I think the programs are very good."
Margie Walkman, Title 1 Technician, Nelson Elementary, Scottsboro, Alabama
"Essential Skills programs are used daily at our school. The children enjoy practicing and learning their reading skills and the teachers love the way the programs record and track student progress."
Valra Goshea, Reading Coach, Westview Elementary, Phenix, Alabama
"We are a 2006 Torchbearer School and I'm sure that your reading software has something to do with it. I have seen gains made by my students using your programs."
Denice Simmons, Title 1, North Roebuck Elementary, Birmingham, Alabama
"I love Essential Skills programs. They are very supportive of our Alabama Reading Initiative goals. The kids focus right in on them. Our Reading Coaches are all sold on this software. We are very impressed."
Valerie Jones, Computer Teacher, McAdory Elementary, McCalla, Alabama
"We really enjoy Essential Skills Software. The students love to use these programs and I can certainly see them making progress in their reading abilities."
Diane Patterson, Reading Coach, Boaz Elementary, Boaz, Alabama
"Since we have started using the Essential Skills Programs, there has been a marked improvement in our State-wide reading scores."
Kelley Wolfe, Holy Spirit Regional School, Huntsville, Alabama
"I am so happy to find software that is great for my first graders. I alos love the simplicity of the Marks Manager in keeping track of each student's progress. Great job guys! Outstanding!"
Valerie Powell, Kindergarten teacher, Sparkman School, Harselle, Alabama
"I used the Readiness Skills program and Phonemic Awareness with my Kindergarten class this year. I noticed great improvements in DIBELS scores and I believe these programs were very helpful. They are also very motivating for the students."
Carolyn Deerman, Title 1 teacher, Nelson Elementary, Scottsboro, Alabama
"We feel your software is a great teaching and practise tool for basic skills across the curriculum. We love the software because it's really helping our students. Our Word Study skills on the SAT test were low, but we did intensive work with the Essential Skills prorgrams and our SAT scores went up. The marks management system is easy to use and does a good job of keeping track of student progress. These started out as programs for Title 1 students but now all of our classrooms are using Essential Skills."
Valerie Jones, Technology Teacher, McAdory Elementary, McCalla, Alabama
"We have eight programs from Essential Skills. They are used in the computer lab as well as by our first grade and Special Ed teachers. I like that they are self-paced and provide the children with immediate feedback. The reinforcement and rewards are great and the children love them! The skills are closely aligned to our curriculum standards. Essential Skills programs definitely offer good value."
Valerie Powell, Reading Coach, Sparkman Elementary, Hartfelle, Alabama
"When I taught Kindergarten I used the Phonemic Awareness and Readiness Skills programs with my students throughout the year. These programs were excellent in preparing the students for DIBELS testing. The skills in these programs align beautifully with our phonemic awareness curriculum outcomes. They are very effective in teaching phonics and reading readiness skills."
Dianne Patterson, Instructional Specialist, Boaz Elementary, Boaz, Alabama
"We have used these programs with most of the 300 students in our school and we know that they produce results. Phonemic Awareness and Sight Words are great for K-1 students. They teach early reading skills very effectively and the students seem to enjoy using the programs. These programs provide great value for the money!"
Julie Allen, Title I Reading and Math Teacher, Highlands School, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
"These programs are used in our Title I reading program. I like the programs because they are written at a level that the students can easily read. Students like the programs because they can be successful at their own level and rate of learning. I think it is definitely helping them to learn their reading skills. It reinforces skills taught in the classroom and helps prepare our students for testing. The type of questioning is similar to that found in our state testing."
Barbara Kennemur, Grade Two Teacher, Hanceville Elementary, Hanceville, Alabama
"I have used the Super Phonics programs for at least five years. These are wonderful programs! I have never come across better phonics instruction than these programs provide. The children are always engaged and focused when working on these programs. The pacing, reinforcement and feedback provided is excellent."
Mrs. Gorham, Grade One Teacher, Moon Lake Elementary, Mantone, Alabama
"The Essential Skills programs teach the core language arts and math skills. They are a wonderful supplement to reinforce what I am teaching in the classroom. All the children regardless of ability level are able to work independently and at own level."
Lisa Wiginton, Reading Resource Teacher, Hamilton Elementary, Hamilton, Alabama
"We have used Essential Skills programs daily for five years with 40-50 Title One students. I like that the students can work independently at their own level with lots of reinforcement and repetition for each of the skills they are learning. This extra practice is just what they need to remediate areas of weakness in their academic development. This software is an excellent supplement to the classroom courses of study."
Kim O'Connor Title 1 Resource Teacher, Munford Elementary, Munford, Alabama
"Our teachers use Essential Skills for whole grade instruction. The skills are taught sequentially and are in complete alignment with our curriculum. They are also ideal for remedial instruction. They are easy to use and all the children can work independently at their own pace regardless of ability level. This is great skill development software!"
