Special Education Success Stories

I like the software very much. The Marks Manager is very easy to use and interpret. The children love using this software to build their skills. These programs correlate well with the state standards and provide excellent drill and practice for the basic skills.

Cheryl Smith, Special Education Teacher
Havasupai Elementary School, Supai, Arizona

I have taught for a long time and the ESS programs are the best that I have ever seen. The Marks Manager saves a lot of administrative time and I particularly love the way that that programs pick up right where the kids have left off.

Janice Hoffman, Special Education
Stevenson Elementary School, Douglas, Arizona

We use the Essential Skills programs daily in our Special Education classroom and have noticed measurable improvements. My students love using these programs!

Susan Corcoran, Special Education Teacher
Brookwood Forest Elementary, Birmingham, Alabama

We have 15 Essential Skills programs and our students use them everyday. The students like the programs and I have noticed an improvement in student performance after using ESS.

Lori Donnelley, Special Education Teacher
Trail Creek School, Ismay, Montana

Essential Skills offers the best software programs I have ever found for special needs children. I have used your programs for years. Our elementary teachers also find the assessment programs very helpful for testing and tracking their students. These programs have had a major impact on the improved Mississippi Curriculum Test scores with my students. Their MCT scores have gone up at least one level each year. The children love using these programs and they are anxious to get on them every day.

Sandra Howard, Special Education Teacher Grades 4-6
Greenlee Elementary, Mc Cool, Mississippi

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

With the amount of curriculum that teachers need to cover, there is not enough time for rote skill practice and review. Super Phonics and Mastering Numeration do a really good job of that kind practice. The programs are fun and easy for the children to navigate through and use. I find these programs very useful when I have children who are resistant to doing the table top type tasks. The children are motivated and find the programs fun and exciting. The record keeping component is good and they provide for flexibility of instruction.

Mary Mahoney, Special Education
Memorial School, Medfield, Massachusetts

Our school covers grades four to six and my students are working at a grade one to five level. They use ESS programs everyday. I have even lent my Sight Words program to the speech teacher. I also make my own custom spelling lists and the Spelling program automatically creates activities for the students. My students are also using the programs to supplement their classroom work. I have noticed significant student performance gains from using this software.

Alice Walker, Special Education Teacher
Anne T. Dunphy School, Williamsburg, Massachusetts

We use Essential Skills software to reinforce concepts taught in my room. The students like the ongoing reinforcement and the feedback. They also like seeing their results at the end of each session. The various programs are closely aligned with my specific goals and objectives for each child. These programs are useful learning tools and an important piece of the instructional day for my students.

Jessica Forrest, Special Education Teacher
White Rock School, Gorham, Maine

Essential Skills Software programs are used school-wide. These programs have had a positive impact on student learning. We have noticed improvement and growth in our DIBELS scores.

Deanna Ritchie, Special Education Teacher
Magnolia School, Foley, Alabama