The computer's microphone records the words as Sergio says them, and plays them back through his padded gray headphones. Several teachers and principals said the program, although new, holds an exciting mix of conventional reading lessons and computer-driven word games that emphasize basic phonics skills. The program is unusual for commercial reading curriculums in a number of ways, teachers said, starting with its computer component. The computer software tracks student progress and adjusts the difficulty of its lessons according to the user's ability. The computer also tabulates the data and reports it to teachers so they can track the strengths and weaknesses of their students.
Educators say the amount of training from a commercial publishing company is unprecedented.
And it's of unusually high quality. Pasco's literacy coach is Carole Holt, a former kindergarten teacher at Lake Myrtle Elementary with a background in early literacy. Holt left Pasco several years ago to join the company that publishes Breakthrough to Literacy. The program isn't cheap. For the money, schools get the computer software, two years of teacher training, hundreds of classroom story books, wall charts and posters.