| Dear Parent: Do you want to ...
Then the Reading Advantage is for your child! We use the most effective phonics-based reading curriculum to produce dramatic gains in children’s reading abilities, and we do it at about half the price of most tutoring centers.
reading at the top of the class. Kindergarteners who join us in Fall and complete our three- semester beginners’ program generally enter first grade with second or third grade reading skills. (We also take kindergarteners in the middle of the school year.)
that he or she really needs to read? The Reading Advantage produces dramatic improvements in the skills of problem readers. Our goal is to achieve one entire year’s worth of progress every semester!
classes offer intense skills instruction and advanced reading practice you won't find anywhere else. How do I know if there's a reading problem? If your child is six or older and cannot fluently read materials that are suitable for his or her grade level, then specialized reading instruction might be helpful. It is possible that your child is just a late bloomer and will eventually pick things up. However it is also possible that your child needs more instruction and perhaps a different sort of instruction than he or she has received so far. Our reading test page shows you how to test your child using books that are appropriate for children at various grade levels (based on two standard "readability scales" and research on what children actually read). Also see Warning Signs (4-6 y.o. -- 7-16 y.o.) If your child is not reading at all, we administer a placement test to help determine whether your child is ready to read. If your child reads with difficulty, we administer another test to determine whether our program can help. If our program is not right for your child or if your child is simply not ready to read, our placement test should indicate this and we'll advise you either to wait or to seek some other form of instruction. How can Reading Advantage help? Most children who have trouble reading are trying to tackle the entire job in one gulp. When they open a book, they are overwhelmed by an ocean of unfamiliar markings. There are well over 100,000 English word families and well over half a million distinct English words, more than enough to intimidate any child. A typical first grader already knows and uses anywhere from 4,000 to 24,000 spoken words. Most children would be very powerful readers if only they could recognize the thousands of written words that they already know verbally. Imagine your child being able to read everything that he or she can say! We teach young children how to convert written words into the spoken words they already know. We teach our older students the many details that they need to know in order to become fluent. Lessons are carefully arranged into a logical, systematic sequence that anyone, even a small child, can understand. Our students learn the basic skills that allow them to recognize almost any written word, and we help them practice those skills until they become almost totally automatic. Then we show our students how to assemble written words into meaningful, coherent sentences. We have one final and achievable goal: reading a story should be just as easy as listening to someone else read it! Is Reading Advantage the best answer for my child? There are two things that make Reading Advantage a great solution for both you and your child:
Our curriculum for young children is based on the Orton-Gillingham phonograms, multi-sensory learning techniques of Maria Montessori, and Romalda Spalding, and is taught explicitly and directly by qualified, trained instructors. The Reading Advantage program combines two proven teaching strategies supported by decades of research: phonics and direct instruction.
Because of this unique instructional style, our teachers provide most of the benefits of one-on-one tutoring, even though our students are organized into small groups. We can actually achieve better results with a small group than your child might get with an individual tutor who is using a less effective curriculum. So even at two or three times the price, you might not be able to find a more effective program than Reading Advantage. For children in the higher grades we use the same methods to teach spelling and writing skills that will dramatically improve reading ability. Older students are usually more receptive to getting help in spelling than in reading. Spelling instruction, properly taught, will give the student an advantage in reading, especially in deciphering unfamiliar words. The opposite is not often true -- instruction in reading, without incorporating spelling, does not necessarily improve spelling skills. This is especially true for the person who is behind in reading. The most common cause of reading problems is a language disability (phonological awareness, phonological processing, auditory processing, dyslexia, etc.) During each session, we provide 36 hours of instruction, covering one complete unit of our curriculum. Each Reading Advantage session follows one of these formats: Winter (mid-January through April): Hour-long afternoon classes meet after school three times per week (Tue, Wed, Thu at 3, 4, and 6PM) for 12 weeks. Spring (May through July): Starts as an after-school program in May (just like our Winter schedule) but then switches to mornings or early afternoon (at 10 and 11am, and 1pm) after the end of the school year in June, for a total of 12 weeks. Super Summer Spelling camps are available from mid June through early August. Fall (mid-September to mid-December): Hour-long afternoon classes meet after school three times per week for 12 weeks. ________________________________________________________________________ Frequently asked questions How much does Reading Advantage cost? The total fee is just $695, which includes an initial placement test and all class materials except for optional recommended books. Your child receives a total of 36 hours of instruction, so our tuition is under $20 per hour, which is about half the cost of most tutoring centers. According to our most recent analysis (conducted in Sept. 2005) an equivalent amount of instruction at our closest-priced competitors would cost you between $1300 and $1500. Is there a discount for multiple children? If you have already enrolled one child at the normal price (above) then the fee for each additional child in the same family enrolled in the same semester is $595. Is there a guarantee? We can guarantee progress - how much depends on the student and on the dedication of the parents. Therefore, our policy is to offer a free session (12 weeks) to any student who has not made measurable progress and has attended at least 90% of the classes. If you are not satisfied with your child's progress after the free session, we will help you locate another option for your child. Why three days per week? Wouldn't a Saturday be better? Doing this on a Saturday would certainly be more convenient, but unfortunately it wouldn't work. Our curriculum uses continuous reinforcement to help your child retain all the information. Three days per week is actually the minimum that we can do and still expect success. This is why we run the class on three weekdays rather than on a weekend. For parents who are willing to offer the reinforcement and repetition necessary for optimum retention, we offer other programs that only require one meeting per week with the tutor-mentor. See our Parent-Tutor Advantage page for more details about this option. What if my child has already had remedial reading classes? Many remedial reading classes do not teach a substantial amount of phonics, and so they may not provide children with the specific skills they need to recognize unfamiliar words. Since poor word recognition is the root of most children's reading problems, your child may never have received the type of training that he or she needs. Even if your child has had some phonics instruction, there are very few classes that offer as much phonics or that deliver it with the effectiveness of the Reading Advantage program. Our tutors and instructors are required to learn and demonstrate their knowledge of linguistics, phonology, orthography, and morphology in order to offer instant feedback, immediate correction, and logical explanations to our students. These skills are not mastered by most teachers, even remedial reading teachers. The special training our instructors receive gives them an advantage that they can pass on to your child, which will make him or her a better reader, speller, thinker -- and, overall, a better student. What if my child has been classified LD (learning disorder) or BD (behavior disorder)? Reading Advantage is designed primarily for mainstream students, but it can also help some children who are classified as mildly LD or BD, including children with Dyslexia and/or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD or ADHD). Our curriculum has built-in classroom management techniques that virtually eliminate classroom behavior problems because the children are so thoroughly engaged in the interactive learning experience. The curriculum is also well known for its ability to teach children who were originally thought to have learning disabilities but who actually just needed more instruction in word decoding strategies. However, our program is not designed to help children who have severe ("low incidence") disorders that inhibit learning. At our initial evaluation, we can determine if your child would be likely to benefit from the Reading Advantage program or another service offered by A.C.T.S. If further assessment is needed, we may arrange for diagnostic testing or we may refer you to a medical professional if deemed necessary. How long before my child starts reading? If your child is not reading at all upon entering our program, you can expect that it will be several weeks before he or she is actually reading. This is because we teach many basic skills before we get to the point where we expect your child to read. By the time reading starts, your child is prepared to succeed and will almost certainly have a positive experience. Children who are already reading upon entering the program may also require several weeks of training before they start exhibiting improved performance. How much instruction will my child need? That depends on your child and his or her current level of reading skill. Each session, we offer several classes that operate at different reading levels, so it is possible for a child to take a class at one level during one session and then take the next higher level the next semester. If your child is not reading at all, then we recommend taking two semesters. For example, you might enroll your child in a Winter session and then follow it up with either a Spring or Fall session. (Please remember that the availability of a second session may be limited by customer demand.) If your child can read but is having difficulty, one session might be enough. Unless there is a special problem, we should be able to turn your child into a reasonably fluent reader in at most two semesters. Can my child be guaranteed placement? If you have reserved space by registering, your child will be placed in the class if our placement test indicates that your child is appropriate for the class. However if the placement test suggests that your child's current skills are either too limited or too advanced for our class, we will recommend that your child not attend. Also, placement of all children is dependent upon our meeting our minimum and maximum enrollment levels. How do I register? We're glad you asked! Please visit our Scheduled Classes page for more information! |
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