Here you can find schools that have been recognized as "Site of the Month" by Reading Horizons for previous months. We would still like to honor them for the work they do in promoting literacy.
Select a month to view previous Site of the Month winners.
The literacy program is offered to adults 16 years and older who need help with reading, writing and speaking English. Some of the program’s students have had no formal education; some have graduated from high school and others have attended college and obtained degrees.
"The Jersey City Literacy Program uses the Reading Horizons phonics software because it leads learners progressively toward a comprehensive usage of the English language and promotes reading fluency. With its clear computerized instruction that is geared towards various learning styles it helps the students to work at a self-determined pace. This is very beneficial to the program since most of the students are at different levels of English and reading competency." -- Darnell Richardson
Since using Reading Horizons , the Literacy Program has seen reading gains as high as 4.4 grade levels from pre-test to post-test. Congratulations to Darnelle Richardson and The Jersey City Free Public Library staff and volunteers for their commitment to, and advocacy of, literacy!
Serving the educational needs of approximately 11,500 students, the Natrona County School District is considered a leader in providing special education throughout Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region.
All students are given intensive diagnostic assessments to determine if they need intervention. Select students who struggle with phonics and other reading strategies are introduced to the Discover Intensive Phonics program.
The dedication to improving literacy is evident at the highest levels of the state. In fact, the Wyoming State Legislature has allocated funding that is earmarked for certified teachers to operate as tutors for those students who have demonstrated that they are below established district benchmarks.
Operating on the philosophy of “success for one student at a time,” the district values diversity and believes that every child can learn and that all people have a fundamental right to be valued, accepted, and safe. We applaud the State of Wyoming’s legislature, the administrators, and staff at the Special Education Service Center for their commitment to excellence in education.
KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life.
There are 99 KIPP schools across the country, including 4 in Philadelphia. KIPP Philadelphia Charter School is the flagship KIPP middle school in Philadelphia. Today it serves 340 students in grades 5-8.
Since our first group of 8th graders promoted to high school, 100% of our students earned acceptances to college preparatory high schools in Philadelphia and across the country.
Criterion-referenced (PSSA) scores show that from 5th-8th grade our students are closing the achievement gap by outscoring local and state peers. These extraordinary gains demonstrate that the actual proves the possible and with a commitment to hard work, high expectations, and strong results, all students will achieve.
We originally purchased the program to use with our 7th and 8th graders who still needed decoding instruction but didn’t have the time in their schedule. Due to its success with our older students, we decided to use Reading Horizons as the core of our 5th and 6th grade phonics class, coordinating it with our other decoding programs.
As part of our Response to Intervention program, students who are identified as needing decoding intervention receive 4 sessions a week where they rotate between computer-based Reading Horizons practice and teacher-led small group instruction. This year we switched to the online version of the program allowing students to utilize the program from home.
We have found the core of the program to be extremely beneficial for our students in working with multi-syllabic words. Given the developmental levels of our kids, allowing them to get part of this instruction via a computer has helped greatly with their engagement and motivation to improve their decoding skills
At the Samaritan House in Manitoba, Canada, adults needing assistance can find a wide range of support there - from financial counseling to a food bank. And, they provide the Reading Horizons program to those who need to improve literacy skills in order to obtain employment and raise their general quality of life.
At Samaritan House, Brenda Robinson teaches reading to those who need this help. Some of her students did not have the opportunity, or the help they needed, to learn to read in their youth. Others are using the program to help them learn English as another language. Her efforts make a difference as students who were unable to prepare a job application, or read a Help Wanted notice acquire the skills to do so.
Brenda likes using Reading Horizons with her students and seeing the fast gains they make going through the program. Hers is a satisfying position, as she sees former students finding work and improving the quality of their lives. We are delighted to recognize Brenda Robinson, and Samaritan House as the Reading Horizons Site of the Month.
Black Hawk College is a community college serving residents in nine counties of northwestern Illinois. Reading Horizons is used at the Community Education Center (CEC) located in Kewanee. The college has a strong Adult Education program and long history of programming to help adults acquire literacy skills. As with most literacy programs, resources have always been a challenge, but cutbacks in recent years have made it even more difficult. Reading Horizons was introduced over 6 years ago to help GED students acquire needed phonics skills. The program complemented another reading program which focused on vocabulary and comprehension. It has worked well to supplement and guide instruction by teachers, volunteer tutors and self-motivated adults. Reading Horizons is now at the core of our beginning literacy instruction and is important to GED and ELL classrooms.
The first Black Hawk College student in Kewanee to use Reading Horizons was unable to read labels at the grocery store or write a check. His inability to follow written directions had become a serious obstacle to employment. He was reading below the 3rd grade level as measured by the TABE test. A first-time tutor worked with him for five months, helping with Reading Horizons initially but gradually adding the components of a good reading curriculum. It was a winning combination. When they ended, the student’s reading level had ticked just above 6th grade; he regularly did the shopping and wrote checks, and, perhaps best of all, he found an excellent, full time custodial position. “And I can read the directions on my supplies,” he commented. Student success with Reading Horizons has continued ever since.
The Kane County School District serves students located in rural southern Utah. There has always been a strong commitment to Literacy in the region. That’s why the school district introduced Reading Horizons ’ reading program solution more than two years ago. Since that time, teachers are noticing significant improvements in skills and attitudes.
Four years ago, the Iron County School District located in Cedar City, Utah, introduced Discover Intensive Phonics as a supplement for mainstream K-3 students and for K-6 remediation. In addition, school administrators initiated the Reading Horizons software for students in grades 4 – 12.
In the Workers’ Education Program at UMASS Dartmouth in Massachusetts, teachers are giving students the skills they need for literacy. Since the fall of 2008, they have been doing this with Reading Horizons . These conscientious instructors have attended training and have implemented Reading Horizons using both software and direct instruction.
They have been an excellent customer for many years. They have deeply integrated Reading Horizons into their curriculum. Keeping tutors up to speed in a volunteer organization such as theirs can be a challenge, but they have always met that challenge head on with success.
Hereford school district has been a great user of the Discover Intensive Phonics program for over 2 years and has seen tremendous success. So much so that they have now implemented the program throughout their entire district. Hereford ISD is implementing the Software and Direct Instruction components of the program and are having so much success that they have begun to correlate the Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself methodology with their C-Scope Curriculum. They are very deserving of the Site of the Month Award.
Adam Abdulle Academy have used the program for about 3 months. They are using both Reading Horizons (ages 10-adult) and Discover Intensive Phonics (ages 4-9). To give their students the best possible outcome to improve their reading they use both direct instruction and software materials. They are in the process of upgrading to Reading Horizons v5 and are very excited for how the new features will better help their students.
Coyote Ridge started using Reading Horizons two and a half years ago. Due to the success their students have achieved on the program, they added additional software last year, in order to serve more youth that need literacy skills. This Southeastern Washington facility is making it possible for struggling learners to acquire the skills they need to lead productive lives.
Community Multicultural Center has been using Reading Horizons materials since 2007. Starting with 10 online seats, then later adding 15 seats, CMC has been dedicated to providing quality reading instruction for low-level readers in their community. Upon learning of the release of the Reading Horizons v5 software, Executive Director Lynn Pizor was excited to upgrade and begin using the new version with her students. Congratulations to CMC, leading the pack in reading instruction with Reading Horizons v5!
Early Light Academy has used the Discover Intensive Phonics in K-2nd grade for years and has consistently seen great success with their students. They are looking to expand the program into the older grades for next year. The Academy uses the direct instruction materials everyday and they make sure that their teachers are always up to date on training and materials. Because they love and support the program so much, they will be hosting two free workshops this June 16th and 17th.
They have Reading Horizons and have been using if for a couple of years. They love the program in their special education settings and have been seeing great results. They continue to keep their teachers up to date by attending trainings. For the past few months they have been involved in testing the new Reading Horizons v5 software.
View a short video titled, Happy Tiers, highlighting their success. www.readinghorizons.com/rti
They have used the Reading Horizons programs for over 5 years and have seen great success in their reading improvement. Iron Springs Elementary school implements Discover Intensive Phonics in their RTI model of instruction.
They have been using Discover Intensive Phonics for the past four months and have already seen great success from it. Their district decided to purchase a combination of computer software and direct instruction materials. Way to go Neshoba County!
Emden Elementary has been using the Discover Intensive Phonics program since 1979, when they were trained by Charlotte Lockhart herself. Their dedication and love for the program has made it a very successful part of their reading curriculum. Congratulations to Emden Elementary for working so hard to deserve being January's site of the month!
Chagrin Falls purchased both Discover Intensive Phonics and Reading Horizons and use both programs in their school. Although they have been using the program for only 4 months they love it and have already seen results. They love the computer software so much they are in the process of purchasing direct instruction materials so they can give their students the most effective approach.
Sunrise Elementary School began using the Discover Intensive Phonics program in early 2007. In an effort to help keep their teachers up to date on how to teach the program, they plan to have a professional development training this January. Sunrise Elementary School is very deserving of the site of the month award for continuing to fight for literacy.
They have been using the program since May of this year. They are successfully using the Discover Intensive Phonics kits and have really enjoyed the program with their students. They also see the importance of getting their teachers trained in this method and taken advantage of the 2-day training and are doing a 3rd day follow up. Great team work on getting the program implemented correctly!
Boulder Reads! A program of the Boulder Public Library has been a successful user of the Reading Horizons program since 2000. They are committed and determined to help increase literacy for their community. They have been a great customer to work with and we have enjoyed partnering with them to provide tools and support for those struggling with reading. With their passion and dedication as well as the great results they have seen with our program they are much deserving of the Site of the Month award.
Delavan Elementary School has been using the Discover Intensive Phonics program since October of 2007. During the months since first purchasing the teachers kits, they have also been through professional development training for their teachers, as well as purchased the computer software. By continually training teachers as they come to Delavan Elementary, they help their students receive the best learning experience possible. By investing in quality for their students, Delavan Elementary School is well deserving of the Site of the Month award.
This district has been using Reading Horizons both with direct instruction and software for quite a few years now. Their students have had great results in using the program. Read what Donna Berry has to say about Reading Horizons; "It's a great support at this time - filling the gap and helping students."
Read more of their success.
Heart of the Lakes has been using the Discover Intensive Phonics Software and teachers kits. In the months that they have been using the program they have seen great success with their students and love how easy it is to teach.
Northern Lakes College uses Reading Horizons in their Adult Basic Education Program. One administrator shared one of their success stories and said, "We are happy with the product, and you can see, so are our students!"
Corey Triassi has taught the program for 10+ years but started teaching the program at this school in 2005. She is one of our national trainers and has set the standard with the other schools in the district of how to use and implement Intensive Phonics. She trains and continues to train the all the staff at the school and others across the district. This school is seeing great success and have been great in helping us get our name out there. They have really been willing to speak highly of our program and are also a great advocate. Mostly all the staff is trained and using DIP in the school with all grades and tiers of curriculum. Great user for many years and has seen continued success.
Fergus Falls Adult Basic Education has been using the program for over 5 years, in their education department. They are using the Reading Horizons software and are looking to implement ESL languages for their students and continue to upgrade their materials to stay up to date. This ABE program has been using Reading Horizons religiously for years. They know how to help their students succeed with Reading Horizons.
South Summit Elementary School has been using the Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself program for several years with great success. They implement the program in grades K-3, as well as with some of their intervention students, using both direct instruction and software. The success they have had is due in large part to the direction and support of Mariann Marchant, their Reading Specialist. Thanks to all those teachers at South Summit for using the program and creating a solid foundation and proven intervention for their students.
Since 1992, Burbank Public Library has provided free, one-to-one literacy services to members of the surrounding community. In the 17 years since then, more than 1,500 volunteer tutors have assisted over 1,600 adult learners in their quests to learn to read. They also have a 'Ready To Read' youth program for 4th-12th graders reading below grade level. Their efforts have been greatly aided by Discover Intensive Phonics (DIP), adopted in 1998 as the library's core reading program. They use a combination of direct instruction along with the software on a network of 5 computer stations to facilitate their students' needs.
"Discover Intensive Phonics works because it is a systematic method of teaching basic concepts and adding layers of skills at each learner’s pace,” says William Byrne of the library staff, who is also a certified DIP instructor. “Our learners often tell me that, at long last, they finally have a tutor who can explain the differences between a, at, ate, and eat. It really does give learners independence and confidence to read on their own."
This virtual school has been using Reading Horizons and Discover Intensive Phonics online for a year. All of the teachers at the academy use the program and they have seen great success in a short amount of time. Ohio Virtual Academy loves using the program regularly and they continue to implement additional materials. They believe in professional development training to keep their teachers trained and up to date.
Jersey City Library has been using the Reading Horizons software program for 10+ years as well. They are such good users that in fact they have every student that comes to their literacy center go through Reading Horizons first before going on to anything else the literacy services offer. They mostly work with refugee and ESL adults as well as very low level native English speaking adults. What sets them apart is how they have structured their literacy program around the Reading Horizons courseware to make sure it can reach as many students as possible and to have the best success with the program.
Hemet Public Library first implemented Reading Horizons in 2007 and in a short amount of time have seen great success with their program. In fact they have had such success that they went out on their own and took out a story in their local newspaper. Other adult literacy sites have started to take notice of their curriculum and they way they run things that they have started to copy what they are doing here. This is a great site that has been very willing to speak with other sites about our program and have seen a tremendous amount of success in such a little amount of time they have had the Reading Horizons software.
The Clearfield Job Corps has used Reading Horizons since July 2007. They have dedicated a computer lab to the program where an average of 200 students go into this lab 4 to 5 times a week to work on the Reading Horizons program. Besides the software, a few teachers also use the direct instruction in small groups to offer additional help. The program helps students advance quickly through the TABE levels, and improve their reading grade level to help them obtain their GED or reach other academic goals.
"Reading Horizons (has made a) positive impact ... on my personal development and the professionalism in our entire reading program," says Michael Feeney, who teaches classes at the center and has witnessed many success stories first hand. "(It) has helped re-energize our entire area, because it has given us a vital tool to help students we didn’t have the time or resources to help before. Reading Horizons can also supply the long hours of personal tutoring that many of our students need to become grounded in the basics."
Lynn Furs has been working with struggling adult readers at the Adult Learning Center in Welland, Ontario for a number of years. In 2006, Lynn had the vision to try something different. She began using the Reading Horizons program with her students. Now she tells us, "I am so thankful for this program. It has changed many lives." Her success has led to the program being used in several other adult learning centers sponsored by the Niagara Catholic District School Board. Lynn, and Reading Horizons are making a difference.