Media Release from the Society for Quality Education
Attention Education Reporters, Books Editors, Editors

January 27, 2009

It’s Family Literacy Day
Free Tool for Families to Help Children Who Struggle with Reading Available Online

In almost every Ontario classroom, there are at least four or five children who are struggling with reading. This translates into hundreds of thousands of elementary school students who are in serious trouble.

Naturally, the parents of these children are very worried. They know how important it is to be a good reader in today’s world.

Families who can afford it are arranging for their children to receive outside tutoring in reading or even transferring their children to private schools. But lower-income parents, many of them recent immigrants who cannot afford such options, are desperate. Many try to help their children themselves, but they are not sure exactly what to do and they lack proper teaching materials.

The Society for Quality Education today provides a free remedial reading option available to anyone who has access to the Internet and a printer. Parents who visit www.societyforqualityeducation.org and click on Reading Program will find Stairway to Reading, a powerful and user-friendly tool for teaching reading. Drawing on the latest research on how children learn to read, Stairway to Reading is completely phonics-based. It is pleased to provide this free remedial reading program as a public service.

Stairway to Reading is a one-on-one remedial reading program for students of any age who have already received some reading instruction but who are struggling with reading. It was not developed for beginning readers, although it can be used for this purpose with the minor changes noted in the program.

Stairway to Reading comes complete with a diagnostic test, 40 lessons, flashcards, and 128 pages of completely phonetic reading material. In addition, there are supplementary materials, such as games to provide extra practice. All of these materials can be downloaded and printed at no charge.

The Society for Quality Education is dedicated to the significant improvement of student learning in Canada. We invite the public to visit our website www.societyforqualityeducation.org to learn more.

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