Services Summary

Name	Advanced Schools
Contact Information	# 266 9 Bartlett Street Andover, MA 01810-3655 978-323-2540
Subject areas and grades served	Reading K-12 Math K-12
Location of tutoring	Online Community Centers
Experience with diverse populations	Students from high poverty schools Minority students Migrant students Special education students Limited English proficient students
Time when tutoring delivered	Before school After school Weekends Summer
If tutoring is not offered at student's school. Is transportation provided, and if yes, is there a separate fee? (Note: Districts are not required to provide or pay for transportation.)	Yes, separate fee
Mode of instructional delivery	Individual tutoring Small group tutoring Web-based
Length of tutoring session	60-90 minutes
Number of tutoring sessions per week	2
Student/Instructor ratio	1/1, no more than 4/1
Service Area	Statewide

Program Description- prepared by Advanced Schools

Curriculum in Reading and Mathematics

The Supplemental Services application will rely on two primary software packages, A+nywhere Learning Systems developed by the American Education Corporation and th4 Academy of Reading. Both of these are detailed in the sections that follow and benchmarked against the National reading Panel's set of recommendations. The A+nywhere Learning System delivers both reading and math instruction, grades 1-12, benchmarked against the learning results of the State of Maine, whereas the Academy of Reading will deliver more in depth reading instruction for primary grades.

Phoneme strategies are used throughout the early lessons. Students are taught to identify, recall, change, hear, define, use, and locate individual speech sounds and their relationship to different printed letters and material. Phonics instruction is similarly encased in the A+(LS) learning content. This is done with reading content being supplemented with auditory presentation of material. The phonemic awareness and phonic instruction consistently support and compliment each other in the A+(LS) reading program.

The use of vocabulary instruction leads to gains in comprehension but strategies need to be matched to age and ability levels. Computers were found to be very effective and in some studies found to be more effective than traditional methods. What is stressed is the use of multiple methods. Guided reading was also found to enhance fluency, comprehension, and word recognition. Independent silent reading is still yielding mixed results as a strategy.

The Academy of Reading provides a number of opportunities to develop a strong knowledge of phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. In the Auditory-Visual Match exercises of the Sub-Skills section, students practice matching what they hear with one of three on-screen options. Training begins with individual letter names and follows a developmental sequence from letter sounds to multi-letter words, pseudo-words and phrases (e.g., students match what they hear with letter string that follow consonant-vowel combinations such as cvc, cvvc, ccvc, etc.). The result is accurate and fluent letter and word recognition skills. This application is particularly salient for primary grades.

The A+(LS) method for dealing with vocabulary essentially parallels the National Reading Panel's recommendations. The strategies include explicit, implicit, multimedia, capacity, and association methods. Not only are these strategies employed but also the content is grade specific and correlated to EDL Core Vocabulary List and the Dolch Vocabulary List (Lovett & Trautman, 2002).

Delivery of Services Model

Supplemental services will utilize the diagnostic/prescriptive features of computer-based educational software, benchmarked against the State of Maine learning results and grade level expectations. Services will include the support of individual and/or small group instruction in both center-based and virtual interaction. Staff will provide supplemental services, during after-school, evening, before school, Saturday, and/or summer school hours. Students will receive an assessment that will yield an on-line learning prescription, followed by a conference, in person or virtual, with the parent and student, a learning contract will be developed and signed by both parties with a copy to the student's teacher. The student can learn from any Internet terminal in completing their individual learning plan. A certified/classified staff person will assist the student in completing their learning prescription. Both the student's school and parents will receive bi-weekly feedback on the child's progress.

Instructional Strategies

The program will utilize the strategies recommended by the National Reading Panel and defined in the section above (strategies for phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development, fluency, and reading comprehensions). The software utilizes a constructivist approach in building upon the student's previous knowledge, then branching to new information and skills, in both reading and math. Math skills are clearly defined in sequential and spiraling orders and guides student learning through scaffolding upon previous skills.

Another important strategy is the utilization of the individual learning plan. The computer-based instruction finds the students skill gaps and learning activities to master these skills become part of the student's prescription. Mastery is set at 80% in most instances and students cycle through a sequence of practice tests, study activities, writing, and mastery tests. Periodic review of previously learned content is required. This process of personalized learning develops confidence for the learner in mastering new content.

Another very important strategy is the participation of the parent. Parental involvement in the development of the agreement and in tutoring sessions is an essential component of the process Parents can monitor their child's progress by reviewing the child's prescription progress.