Michigan Success Stories

We have been using the three Reading Comprehension programs from Essential Skills during the day and in our after school tutoring program. We have a lot of children that are reading one to three years below grade level. Their comprehension skills are low. We use the software with both special education kids and general students. The Marks Manager is very easy to use and print out progress reports. The stories are interesting and topical with good pictures. We feel that the activities are designed to appeal to all types of learners. There is a variety of comprehension and vocabulary questions in each story. Even the typing activities offer excellent keyboarding skills. The students really love these programs. They even ask to come at recess to work on their reading comprehension.

Carol Kent, Special Education Teacher
Le Baron Elementary School, Pontiac, Michigan

We use Essential Skills daily. These programs take non readers to a point were we see observable improvement in many children over the course of the year. They work great for my ESL kids so I believe they can work for anyone. I highly recommend these programs

Ann Asmar, ESL Parapro
Martell Elementary, Troy, Michigan

The Essential Skills programs have been very effective with my ESL students. They are easy to use and provide lots of visuals with simplified vocabulary. My students love the programs and look forward to using them to develop their skills. I am very happy with the programs and recommend them to other teachers

Stephanie Hyska, ESL Teacher
Boulan Park Middle School, Troy, Michigan

The Essential Skills programs are being used on a regular basis in our computer lab and in our grade 1-4 classrooms. The kids love the programs and think they are playing even though they are practicing and learning important skills. These programs are an excellent supplement to our classroom Language Arts program. They are used as a learning tool with the more needy kids and as reinforcement for others. The ease of use and range of skills provided make these programs accessible to all students regardless of ability.

Linda Winslow, Title I Teacher
Edgewood Elementary, Fruitport, Michigan

My resource students and regular students love this software. The students beg to work on it. The Sight Words program is helping the students become much more fluent in reading. The custom Spelling List Maker is an excellent feature of the Spelling programs.

Patty Doering, Resource Teacher
St. Mary’s School, Spring Lake, Michigan

I use Essential Skills Programs exclusively. I love the Reading Comprehension programs. They train the students to answer many different types of comprehension and vocabulary questions. There are so many stories and activities in each of these programs that none of my children have been able to complete the comprehension programs. The children really enjoy the programs because they are fun to do. I don't think they realize how much they are learning.

Ruth Morris, Grade Three/Four Teacher
St. Mary’s School, Paw Paw, Michigan

We use Essential Skills programs daily. The kids really are getting a lot out of this software. They are benefiting greatly from the Grammar program. They now know the rules of grammar and they are carrying this knowledge over in the classroom. Their grammar and general language skills are improving in all areas. They enjoy using the software immensely. The reading comprehension programs have a variety of excellent activities to appeal to all types of learners. I really like how the Marks Manager works with all the programs.

Jean Fadder, Computer Teacher
Dove Academy, Detroit, Michigan

Our students use the Essential Skills programs weekly. The students really enjoy the software. We use the Spell Master series with grades four, five and six. The word choice is good for the grade level. The Spelling List Maker allows us to enter our own word lists and the program automatically creates all the activities for the words. These are great programs!

Brent McCarty, Computer Teacher
St. Joseph’s School, Pewamo, Michigan

Our Grade Two Teacher and our Special Education Teacher ordered the software because they felt it addressed some of the Michigan benchmarks. We use Super Phonics with grades one and two and the Reading Comprehension programs with students in grades one to four. The software from Essential Skills is among my favorites. It is all about learning skills but still fun for the kids. The reward pictures for mastering skills are wonderful. The kids love them!

Patti Perfetti, Instructional Technology Assistant
Chassell Township Schools, Chassell, Michigan

We use the Essential Skills programs with all 29 of our K-3 classes. I like the navigational consistency of the programs. Regardless of ability level there is a wide enough range of skills to satisfy the needs of any student. They are easy to use and teach the appropriate skills to every age and ability level. Also, they are extremely cost effective for network versions. The programs never lock up on us and are the most reliable software on our network.

Mary Slezak, Computer Teacher
South Maple Elementary, Gaylord, Michigan