Click Here for the Nevada Approval Letter

On approved List for TEA Intensive Reading Initiative (IRI)

See original release: http://www.autoskill.com/texas-IRI/

We are pleased to let you know that after thorough evaluation, the Texas Education Agency has placed the Academy of READING® software on the approved product list for the Intensive Reading Initiative (IRI). Read the press release.

The award-winning Academy of READING delivers a powerful intervention software solution that helps at-risk students achieve rapid, permanent gains in reading. Academy of READING is proven to be effective for struggling readers and English Learners in as little as 25-30 minutes three times a week. Learn more about Academy of READING.

Your colleagues at Spring ISD in Houston already use the Academy of READING — and are experiencing outstanding results. Read the case study.

If your school is on the list to receive IRI funding this year, let us help you with the process. We have a number of support resources such as a grant template, on-line webinars, product demos, and much more to assist you in completing your application for your IRI funding. Request more information.

Related Information

• Academy of READING
• Texas IRI Program
• AutoSkill-IRI Alignment (PDF)
• Alignment to TAKS and TEKS (PDF)

Dan retired from teaching after 37 years in the classroom in 2006. During those 37 years, Dan taught every grade K-12 in addition to online graduate courses for PBS Teacherline and Los Angels County Department of Education TeachStar. He is a Master Teacher in the Intel Teach to the Future program, served as a Career Ladder Facilitator and Evaluator for the Payson Unified School District. While at the Payson Unified School District, Dan used The A+nyWhere Learning System® as a vital part of the learning environment for his students and has a unique understanding of the relationship between A+^® and an existing school/district instructional atmosphere. Dan is a Certified Trainer for A+^® and has extensive experience with both A+^® and DynEd.

For the past three years, Dan has served as a Technology Integration Specialist for the Gila County Education Service Agency assisting schools in integrating technology and educational software.

After leaving IBM in 1999, Thomas L Stultz, Ph.D., merged his technical background with educational solutions. For seven years (2000-2007), Dr. Stultz was part of the Payson Unified School District (PUSD), where he served as a highly qualified mathematics teacher with Payson Center for Success High School. He used The A+nyWhere Learning System® throughout PUSD developing curriculum offerings for the district that went beyond the technology “tool” of A+® to address various learning styles of all students. In addition, Dr. Stultz is part of the Gila County Superintendent’s Office serving as Technology Integration Specialist. In this role, he provides educational consultation to school administration, and assist teachers and staff in implementation of their technology strategies.

500 Words Can Win You a $20,000 Cash Grant Plus $30,000 in Software and Professional Development! We’re Not Kidding.

What kind of program could you build to change the lives of your struggling students?

If you had $20,000 in seed money for a new initiative, plus $30,000 worth of research-based software and professional development to support it, how would you improve student performance in one of your schools? Tell us in 500 words or less and you could win the second annual District Administration X-Factor Student Achievement Grant.

How to win

Submit a 500-word description (or less) describing how you would spend $20,000 in seed money, plus $30,000 in software and professional development to improve student performance. We are looking for highly creative programs that focus on raising reading and math achievement for at-risk, English learner, low-income, minority, or special education students. Submissions must incorporate the use of Academy of READING® or Academy of MATH® software from AutoSkill as a central component. For more information about these software programs, visit www.AutoSkill.com/xfactor.

BJ Dines has extensive experience working with Administrators and Teachers. His experience has taught him the keys to a successful software implementation. Learn his implementation plan…you invested in a tool, now learn how to avoid the common mistakes and make your investment worthwhile. By following his plan, Administrators and Teachers know what is expected of them and you can now measure the effectiveness of your implementation plan.

Josh Leitz has been with Backbone Communications since January 2005. After receiving his Concurrent Degree from ASU in Business Marketing and Business Management he pursued his K-8 education certificate. He was a classroom teacher for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade and used The A+nyWhere Learning System^® with his 5th & 6th graders in order to differentiate the curriculum and provide appropriate content to his many students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). When Josh joined Backbone, he began meeting with schools, assisting in implementation, and training teachers and administrators on various software tools. Currently, Josh is Backbone’s Regional Director for Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

It’s true that, throughout Arizona and the southwest, the odds are against high achievement in schools with a mostly Latino, mostly poor student enrollment. And, indeed, most schools with such demographics do have hard time. But some such schools “beat the odds” and achieve consistently high results or show steady gains.

Why do these schools succeed where others fail? What is the DNA of a successful “beat-the-odds” school? And can the components of success be replicated elsewhere, in schools which so far have fallen victim to the odds?

Using the inspiration – and the methodology – of business guru, Jim Collins, author of the best-selling book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t, we found 12 elementary and middle schools in Arizona – schools whose students are mostly Latino and mostly poor – that are “beating the odds” on reading and math scores. And, as Collins did with successful companies, we compared them with similar schools – also with students who are mostly Latino and poor, sometimes even in the same school district –
that are performing poorly.

Our comparisons yielded many insights, a number of them contrary to conventional wisdom, but one key result is the unearthing
of six elements of success, which we preview in this introductory section.

We also found that these elements of success translate into broader messages for education policy and strategy.

We found that successful schools do things very differently than unsuccessful schools. The six keys to success were usually present in the beat-the-odds schools but not in the comparison schools.

We found that the things that successful schools do are common practices for any effective organization. This is not to say it’s easy to adopt and maintain these practices. But leaps in performance are neither miraculous nor accidental. They are the result of clear direction and hard work.

And finally, we found that the magic is within the school itself. Successful schools focus on improving the things they actually can control that will make a big difference in student achievement. In focusing on internal improvements, these schools neither looked to external factors such as new policies or new requirements as “magic bullets,” nor blamed factors such as demographics and economic status of the student population.

Click Here for the FULL ARTICLE: Why Some Schools With Latino Children BEAT THE ODDS…and Others Don’t

1. Verizon Grant

2. Foundation for Rural Education & Development

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Verizon Foundation Funding Goals and Partnership Guidelines

The Verizon Foundation is in the business of improving lives in literacy, knowledge and a readiness for the 21st Century.

Specifically, we help people to:

• Increase their literacy and educational achievement
• Avoid being an abuser or a victim of domestic violence
• Achieve and sustain their health and safety

Eligible organizations seeking grants from the Verizon Foundation must be prepared to track and report program outcomes as well as specific results that demonstrate measurable human impact. In the grant application, organizations must indicate what outcomes are targeted through programming and what results, as specified on the grant application, the organization will measure.

Defining Program Results

The Verizon Foundation targets our philanthropic investments to partners and programs that achieve meaningful outcomes and measurable results in specific areas within each of our Funding Priorities. Grant applicants are required to select one or more outcomes and results for grants in each of our Funding Priorities. Click on a funding area below to see the list of targeted outcomes and results that are specified in the online grant application.

• Education
• Literacy
• Domestic Violence Prevention
• Healthcare and Accessibility
• Internet Safety

Outcomes and results will be reported by the grantee on a quarterly basis. The Verizon Foundation uses this information to guide grantees in achieving stated outcomes and results, and to measure the social impact of Verizon’s philanthropic investments in its community partners and the programs it supports.

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Foundation for Rural Education & Development

Foundation for Rural Education & Development

2008 Technology Grants Technology Grants for Rural Schools program was created to help meet the growing need for innovative technology in the classroom. The grants are funded by a donation from Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative (RTFC) and strive to help public schools in rural areas served by OPASTCO members bring modern computers to every classroom, connect schools to the information superhighway and make sure that effective and engaging software and online resources are an integral part of the school curriculum. Download an application here! Applications are due into the FRED office on or before September 13, 2008 Eligibility Requirements Must be a public k-12 school Must be in the service area of an OPASTCO telephone company OPASTCO is an association for small independent telephone companies throughout the United States and Canada. To find out if you are in the service area of an OPASTCO member contact your local telephone company. Schools that are served by large telephone carriers such as Verizon, BellSouth, Frontier, AT&T, Sprint, Qwest, etc. are not eligible to apply.

2007 Technology Grant Recipients Thanks to the generosity of RTFC, rural schools located in OPASTCO members’ service areas are able to make huge strides in the effort to close the digital divide. In 2007, $50,000 in technology grants was awarded to public schools.With close to half a million dollars in funding requested, it is clear that RTFC’s program fills a great need in our rural communities for technology that enhances the learning experience. Of the more than 60 applications that were reviewed, the following 7 schools. 2007 Technology Grant Recipients Virginia CUSD #64, Ill. Nominated by Cass Telephone Company Grant: $5,638Sulphur Public School, Okla. Nominated by Chickasaw Telephone Company Grant: $10,000 Sutherland Public School, Neb. Nominated by Great Plains Communications, Inc. Grant: $5,000 Logan USD #326, Kan. Nominated by Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc. Grant: $9,139 Parkside Elementary School, Wash. Nominated by Tenino Telephone Company Grant: $6,030 Lynch Public Schools, Neb. Nominated by Three Rivers Telco Grant: $9,860 Griggs County Central School District, N. Dak. Nominated by Inter-Community Telephone Company Grant: $4,333 Summaries of Past Recipients

E-mail: Stephanie Patton, FRED’s Program Coordinator