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Sean Hurley
Essential Skills

Randle Brown, President
Essential Skills
http://www.essentialskills.net

1) Developed by experienced classroom teachers who understand the balance needed when creating programs that are high in educational content, yet interesting enough to motivate students to want to learn.

2) Designed to build skills gradually and sequentially and guarantee success through the effective use of reward, reinforcement and review.

3) Effective teaching tools for all types of learning styles utilizing a balance of auditory, visual and tactile activities. The result is that every student achieves success and develops academic self-confidence.

4) Helpful in freeing up teacher time by assisting with the repetitive teach-review-test cycle for the basic skills. The programs never falter in their approach. They consistently encourage, motivate and reward.

5) Powered by a Progress Reporting System that automatically records and reports the results of individual students or groups. The Reporting System shares information from one program to another.

6) Easy to understand and implement. The programs follow the same format so that once a student or teacher has used one program, they can use them all. A brief multimedia tutorial on the CD is all that the teacher needs to get started.

7) Practically priced to be within the budget of even smaller schools. Essential Skills’ programs provide a cost effective way to provide measurable results and reduce achievement gaps between groups of students.

“You can’t find better value for programs to help children with their basic reading skills than those from Essential Skills Software. These programs are more effective at teaching these skills than programs costing 10 times as much.”

Stephen Fogo, Principal, West Elementary School

Learn more about Essential Skills at: http://www.essentialskills.net

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To learn more about us please visit our website at: www.essentialksills.net

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Gloria Lamothe Special Education teacher, Greendale Elementary, Pierrefonds, Quebec
“I love the programs from Essential Skills and have used them for remediation purposes every single day for the past six years. The kids love them and feel successful when using the programs. They learn and practice in a fun way but the students do retain the skills they have learned and transfer them back to the regular classroom. These programs are ideal for individualizing the program to the needs of each child.”

Lori Koroluk, Special Education teacher, Chelsea Elementary, Chateauguay, Quebec
“My special needs students use the programs from Essential Skills on a daily basis. Even my autistic students are able to do the activities and move on their own from level to level. The programs are user friendly, and the curriculum is well paced and presented in a colorful, appealing way that makes learning fun for students with learning difficulties. These programs are perfect for individualized, independent instruction.”

Tara Fisher, Special Education teacher, St. Willibrord School, Gatineau, Quebec
“Our special needs classes have used programs from Essential Skills for on a daily basis for six years. We currently have 15 programs. These programs are totally user friendly and ideal for independent learning. My students have made substantial gains in their skill development and benefit greatly from the Essential Skills curriculum. The students always look forward to using this software and see using it as a reward.”

Ruth Hicks, Special Education Teacher, Pierre E. Trudeau School, Gatineau, Quebec
“We are very pleased with the math Numeration programs and with the Sight Words programs from Essential Skills. The children love them and benefit from them. These programs don’t replace good teaching, but they do supplement it. They promote and reinforce the correct practice of academic skills. I like the reinforcement that the programs give to students and the reporting features are excellent! The variety of auditory, visual and kinesthetic activities makes success possible for most students.”

Susan O’Keefe, Resource teacher, Laurentia School, St. Jerome, Quebec
“We have been buying programs from Essential Skills for the past six years and my students still use the programs every day. They keep the attention of the students and teach the skills in an orderly manner. Time is essential and software has to be an effective teaching tool. I work with the children who are really struggling academically and this software is very motivational to them. The students have shown excellent progress in their reading and writing skills from using these programs. I also like the Marks Manager and how it tracks and reports on student progress. I highly recommend Essential Skills programs to other teachers.”

Dorothy Lapierre, Grade One Teacher, Westminster Public School, Brockville, Ontario
“Reading levels improved for all students. The PM Benchmark assessment from Nelson Publications indicated increases from 3 levels to 10 levels which translates to a one and a half grade level increase.”

Terry Wall, Teacher, Renfrew, Ontario
“I have been working with children with special needs and I love watching them work with these programs. I really would like to tell you that it is revolutionary in aiding children with exceptionalities- well done!”

Dan Brumm, Calabogie Public School, Calibogie, Ontario
“Students love the programs! They are easy to use, and highly motivational.”

Wendy Ness-Jack, Early Literacy Teacher, D.M. Sutherland P.S., Woodstock, Ontario
“The kids really love these programs. We have been using them with great success for years. Our teachers particularly love the marks manager reporting system.”

Nell Vanurennout, Trinity Christian School, Burlington, Ontario
“We love your products.”

Anna Alexander, Principal, Lansdowne Public School, Lansdowne, Ontario
“Our students’ benchmark reading levels have improved dramatically since we started using the Early Literacy Programs from Essential Skills. Our kids are enjoying these programs thoroughly and are developing confidence in their ability to read and understand what they are reading.”

Katherine McLeod, Harold F Loughin Public School, Brampton, Ontario
“The programs are easy to use and the children love them. There is lots of enthusiasm from the students. I have recommended these programs to other teachers in my school and district. I think they are wonderful.”

Alf Platts, Special Education Teacher, New Dublin Public School, New Dublin, Ontario
“These programs are clearly designed by teachers who understand how to maximize student learning. We are very pleased with the results.”

Carol Birnie, Moosonee Public School, Moosonee, Ontario
“The students are lining up at the door to use the Essential Skills Programs. It’s a very different way of teaching, and the children love it!”

Sharon Grey, Edward Street Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario
“Your programs are phenomenal. My students can work independently and they see their success immediately.”

Carol Craigen, Special Education Resource Teacher, Elgin Public School, Elgin, Ontario
“Some programs are not easy for students to understand, yet the Essential Skills series is designed for independent student use – even the Special Education students who sometimes require additional support. The varied “games” made the student feel as if he was not doing “work” in spelling, but simply playing the games! They really enjoyed the review at the end of each session. Looking at their success rate and percentages was rewarding for them, and they would compare levels achieved!”

Judy MacDonald, Grade Teacher, Durham District Community School, Ontario
“The data I collected was gathered by doing a simple pre-test and post-test. To add to this I had each student do a decoding test (San Diego Quick Assessment) in September and again in June. This assessment tells me at what grade level a student can decode. As you can see the most remarkable results are from a student who has been using the Super Phonics program for two years. He went from a Grade 1 level to a Grade 5 level!”

C. Fox, Primary Special Education Teacher, Westminster Public School, Brockville, Ontario
“I just wanted to let you know how well the Essential Skills computer programs work. I have been using the Super Phonics and Sight Words programs with my students. The grade one’s, who are very needy, have been using Super Phonics. This program has been able to provide the children with the repetition that is required for these students. Most of these children have attention problems, but with this program they continue to work without distraction. In the Sight Words program the children are trying to remember how to spell. It is great to listen to them making up their own way to remember how to spell the words! They would not do this on their own if you gave them a list of words to study. The grade three’s reading fluency has improved since they do not struggle over the sight words. This has also improved their self-confidence when reading.”

Margot Snow, Special Education Resource Teacher, Ontario
“Algonquin School is very happy with the Essential Skills Programs we’ve been using since February. The students I see for resource assistance are always so keen to join me in the computer lab to work on the Sight Words lists. They yell out to me with enthusiasm when all of their stars are complete and yellow.”

William Young, Kern Avenue School, Ontario
“Your programs are AWESOME! They are helping our students tremendously.”

Gordon Muir, Grade 4 Teacher, Harrowsmith Elementary, Ontario
“The reading comprehension programs are excellent! The stories are very well written and the auditory cues guarantee success for early readers.”

Roy Evans, Upper Canada District School Board, Ontario
“As a grade three teacher and a member of our district computer advisory committee, I have used Super Phonics extensively. It is an interesting, well designed program that I would recommend as a teaching or remedial tool.”

Frances Butcher, Literacy Instructor/Retired Teacher, Simco, Ontario
“I have recommended your programs to many teachers. My students love them! The repetition and immediate rewards along with the familiar formats benefit all my students from the young children to the older adults I work with. These programs offer a great variety of activities that utilize both visual and auditory learning channels. Thank you!”

Bev Wright, Teacher, Warkworth Correctional Institution, Campbellford, Ontario
“I work with adults with severe learning difficulties and they are experiencing great satisfaction and success with the programs from Essential Skills. These adults often have little or no computer experience but they are quickly able to use the programs easily and independently. This software definitely fosters their self confidence and motivation to learn. I test progress on an ongoing basis and my students make steady progress.”

Gerlando Sdao, IT instructor and ESL teacher, Derrydown PS, Toronto, Ontario
“Being able to individualize these programs to suit the ability level of each student makes a big difference. If we could put every student in the school on these programs for 15-20 minutes per day we would significantly improve reading comprehension scores throughout our school.”

Mr. Brian Herman, MART, Humewood Community School, TDSB Toronto, Ontario
“These programs are an essential, daily part of my Special Education resource program. They develop phonetic awareness and word recognition skills in my students, leading to improved reading and comprehension skills. My students find the software very enjoyable and never tire of it. This software is very user friendly and the student progress tracking device is great for conferencing with teachers and reporting to parents.”

Katharine Leverette, SST, Perth Road PS., Limestone SB, Ontario
“Over the past four years I have purchased thirty programs from Essential Skills and use them on a daily basis with students experiencing literacy difficulties. I love the way these programs motivate my students and cover the basic skills in such a thorough and logical manner. The instructions for each program are clear and easy to follow. This software is extremely effective in the development and retention of basic reading and math skills for students. I highly recommend these programs!”

Susan Palmer, Lead SERT, Cornell Village PS, Markham, Ontario
“We think the programs from Essential Skills are great! I bought a couple last year and have expanded to more than ten programs this year. Our SERTs use the programs daily. The students love using the programs. We have noticed a definite improvement in student skill levels. The Math programs align perfectly with the math strands and teach the concepts in a way that is accessible to all students regardless of their ability. Our ESL students are making excellent progress using the ESL program. This software offers tremendous value and is very user friendly.”

Jim Holstrom, Teacher/Network Manager, Burnt Elementary, Brampton, Ontario
“We love the evaluation component of Essential Skills programs and use it for conferencing. The Assessment programs are a great way to do a controlled, authentic, whole class assessment. I am very fond of the Super Phonics and Reading Comprehension programs for early literacy learning. I get terrific feedback from my teachers and the kids never get bored with the wide variety of activities within the programs.”

Debbie Moss, Special Education Teacher, Marshall Park PS, North Bay, Ontario
“Essential Skills software is a vital part of our programming for a wide range of student needs at varying ability levels. We use about eight programs everyday. We have been using some of the older programs for almost 10 years. It is a great tool to use, even with the autistic kids. It allows for individualized and independent skills development. The older students who are working at a younger level can work at these programs without rejecting them as being babyish.”

Jane Andree, Resource Teacher, Dunnville Christian School, Dunnville, Ontario
“I have been using Essential Skills three times a week for at least five years with my students. I love the programs because they are focused, with no nonsense, and cover the curriculum skills so thoroughly. The children love the variety of visual, auditory and tactile activities that the programs offer. They also enjoy being able to see their results at the end of each session. These programs are a great value and I recommend them to other teachers.”

Records student results automatically as they work

Takes students back to the skill they last worked on

Creates summary reports by subject or detailed reports by activity

Provides an objective day-to-day view of student progress

Reports on individual students or an entire class

Identifies skills in need of remediation

Generates reports to effectively share student data for team planning

Maintains marks for all programs in one central database for easy access

More on Marks Manager can be found here

A few good reasons why Essential Skills is an excellent addition to any classroom

Why Over 12,000 Schools Choose Essential Skills to Supplement Their Curriculum