California

Pam Sperber, Grade One Teacher, John Eader Elementary, Huntington Beach, California
"The children absolutely love the software! We have used Essential Skills programs in all our primary grades for the past three years. The programs are well organized and each child gets right to the task. The activities are short and the children get immediate feedback. This software provides the one-on-one attention needed to reinforce what we do in the classroom each day. We have not come across better skills based software."

Angie Bennett, ELL Teacher, Richard Gird Elementary, Chino, California
"After using programs from Essential Skills Software our ELL students are now performing above average in English speaking classes."

Peggy Saddlemire, Computer Lab, Carnelian Elementary, Alta Loma, California
"These programs are excellent. They teach all of the skills our students need to develop as readers. There is so much in this software. It gets right to the point of teaching the skills and reinforcing learning. It keeps the interest of the students from Kindergarten to Grade Six."

Tim Bybee, Principal, Burrell Union Elementary, Riverdale, California
"We have been using programs from Essential Skills for a couple of years. It was originally intended for ELL but now all students use the software. These programs inspire our slow readers to succeed. The skills align nicely with the state standards for Language Arts. We feel that these programs have been very beneficial to the students."

Bill Young, Computer Teacher, Kern Avenue Elementary School, McFarland, California
"Your programs are AWESOME! They are helping our students tremendously."

Georgina Kneale, Special Ed. Resource, Grand Terrace Elementary, Grand Terrace, California
"We use your Reading Comprehension programs throughout the day with the students from grades one to six. Our assessments this year have indicated growth of 1 and 2 years in some of the children who are several years behind in reading. All our children want to use this software."

Diana Raybould, Grade One Teacher, Borrego Springs Elementary, Borrego Springs, California
"We use the Super Phonics program every day. The kids think it is wonderful. One of the things I like most is that my ELL kids do very well in the programs. They get the individual English language instruction and attention they need without a teacher having to be at their side. The children are learning phonics better than they have from any other program."

Virginia Ray, Computer Lab, Surprise Valley Elementary, Cedarville, California
"The programs from Essential Skills are extremely beneficial in shoring up specific reading weaknesses. The literacy programs mesh perfectly with the language arts standards."

Laurie Pitts, Computer Lab, Pendleton Elementary School, Buena Park, California
"This is by far the most popular software with all grades. We like how the programs keep track of their progress and that all the programs follow the same pattern of teaching. The teachers really like the fact the programs are so well aligned with the state curriculum."

Mary Blair, Special Education Instructional Assistant, Madera, California
"I can't begin to put into words what a difference these programs have made in the educational progress of the students with Downs Syndrome and other Special Needs. Repetition plays a large part in their daily work skills. Your programs present it in such a fun filled way, they have no idea that they are learning! The way the programs are designed is improving concentration and computer skills. We never dreamed that these students would progress as far as they have but with your wonderful programs it has happened."

Rosa Lockard, Computer Lab, Jefferson Elementary School, Corona, California
"We use these programs with 500 students from grades K-6. The children are building typing skills along with language arts skills. The teachers and students love these programs. They are easy to follow with step by step skill development and lots of reinforcement. The children even come in at recess to work on the programs."

Virginia Martinez, Title One Resource Teacher, Ben Hulse School, Imperial, California
"The software from ESS is used for the Title One reading program with students who are at risk of failing. They are wonderful programs! Our assessments show significant literacy growth. The programs are very coherent and very sequential, leading the students to acquire the basic skills they need one step at a time. These programs offer excellent skill preparation for the California Achievement Test."

Wendy Woods and Kathy Gorman, Reading Lab Teachers, Webster School, Madera, California
"Essential Skills Software has played a vital role in the improved achievement of the Reading Lab students at Webster School. It is the core technology component that provides practice with the strategies necessary for becoming successful readers. Through the data analysis, a marked improvement in the areas of Phonics, Decoding, Vocabulary and Comprehension has been noted. The data reflects increased reading levels for all students across the grade levels. The struggling readers have developed an enthusiasm for reading thanks to Essential Skills Computer Programs."

Wendy Woods, Reading Resource Teacher, Webster School, Madeira, California. Houghton Mifflin, State Trainer
"Essential Skills Software is closely aligned with the standards presented in the Houghton Mifflin reading program."

Leena Phul, Technology Facilitator, Las Flores Elementary, Bellflower, California
"The programs are great! We always use Essential Skills programs for review to prepare the students for state testing."

Jane Young, St Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, California
"Kids really love the program. I can't believe what your program does to help the students. I have even recommended your programs to parents."

Ruby Dellamano, Costano Elementary, East Palo Alto, California
"The most teacher and student friendly program to use. Students can work independently."

Barbara Smith, Computer Technologist, Emery Elementary, Buena Park, California
"We use the software from Essential Skills daily. We are very happy and use it with at risk students in first through sixth grade, with ELL, and in the after school tutorial program as well. Our regular students in grades four to six are using Grammar. We are very satisfied with the results."

Barbara Rose, McKinley School, Susanville, California
"Super Phonics is an excellent program for primary grades, and I use it on a regular basis."

Linda Wight, Edenvale Elementary School, San Jose, California
"My teaching partner and I were able to locate 2 teachers in our region who were using many of your reading programs in an innovative and exemplary learning center. Wendy Woods and Kathy Gorman of Webster Elementary School very kindly invited us to spend the whole morning with them. It was wonderful to see the excitement of the students using the Essential Skills programs, and even more impressive to see how their instructional teams collaborated to create a visual, tactile and auditory learning environment so tightly aligned to the state-adopted Houghton-Mifflin program."

Rosa Gomez, Instructional Assistant, Coronita Elementary, Norco, California
"Our teachers use the Grammar program from Essential Skills on a daily basis. The Grammar program is used with students from the second grade to the sixth grade. It is easy to follow, the kids like it and they are really able to focus on what they are doing even when there is lots of noise around them. They like to see their results when they exit the program at the end of each class. This program has been recommended for all the schools in our district by the office of curriculum and instruction."

Tracy Battson, Title One teacher, Peter J. Shields Elementary, Rancho Cordova, California
"We love the Essential Skills programs! We use them in our after school intervention programs and throughout the day in the computer lab. We originally bought them for our EL students to use but found they were so successful, we started using them with all our students. Our school raised their tests this past year, and it was due in part to extra practice of basic skills that the Essential Skills programs offer."

Denise Watson, Computer Technologist, Martin Luther King Jr. School, Sacramento, California
"Our teachers love your programs and use them daily to develop and reinforce student academic skills. We have 13 classes using the software on a regular basis. It ties right in with the SCUSD curriculum. Last year we used the spelling rules review section of the spelling program to help our students prepare for the CAT 6 state test. These programs really motivate our students and allow them to work on the basic skills and move along at their own level and pace as skills are mastered. I would absolutely recommend Essential Skills programs to other schools."

Debbie Ramirez, Literacy Teacher, Jackson Heights Elementary, Red Bluff, California
"My reluctant readers are motivated and engaged by the Essential Skills programs. They are in grades 4 to 6. I have my neediest students using the Reading Comprehension programs for twenty minutes each day. I like the fact that there are lots of vocabulary activities to go along with the comprehension questions. The students are motivated by the topics and they like being able to redo the stories to raise their scores. I like the reinforcement and the auditory components. I have been very happy with the programs!"

Jane Lafferty, IMC, Charles H. Castle School, Bakersfield, California
"We use the programs on a daily basis. I like that they keep track of where the students are and that they always pick up where the kids left off. They cover so many skills and are very teacher and student friendly. They are perfect for independent and individualized learning. The clues and rules make the programs easy to use for the students. We use them to prepare the students for state testing."

Adrian Garcia, CST, Pueblo School, Pomona, California
"Essential Skills is being used in our ELD lab every day. There is a lot of content and it is easy to use. I like that the software keeps track of the student's work. The students never complain and seem to really enjoy their time using Essential Skills. The functionality of the programs is solid."

Karen Morey, Computer Lab Technician, North Broadway Elementary, Escondido, California
"The Essential Skills programs are used daily in our computer lab, our regular classrooms and in our Special Education program. Our students don't get bored with the programs because there are so many different ways of learning the same information that the children do not get tired. There are many different auditory, visual and tactile learning approaches being used. This software perfectly matches our early reading programs. Our children are highly motivated when using these programs and we are seeing a big improvement in their skill development. I highly recommend this software!"

Pamela McNew, Grade 2 Teacher, Arrowhead Elementary School, San Bernardino, California
"I have used software from Essential Skills for at least three years with my second grade students. There is a lot of excellent content in each program with many different skills to practice and a good variety of activities that appeal to all types of learners. The children are able to work independently and at their own pace. These programs also correlate very well with our curriculum standards and they reinforce and supplement what is being taught in my classroom."

Kim Solomon, Kindergarten Teacher, Santa Rosa SD, Santa Rosa, California
"The software from Essential Skills does what I want it to do. It is focused on content and skill building in a progressive, sequential way. I like that the programs are skill specific. If I have a child with a specific problem, I can go right to that skill and have them work it. As a bonus my students really like using the programs. I would definitely recommend these programs to other teachers."

Cheryl Hanlon, Resource Specialist, Silver Spur Elementary, Palos Verdes, California
"I love Essential Skills! I have spent a long time looking at instructional software options, and this is the best I have come across. This software covers the different needs of all my students. It is perfect for creating individualized, independent, learn at your own pace programming for students."

Kevin Porep, Grade 1-2 Teacher, La Escuelita Elementary, Oakland, California
"I use Essential Skills on a daily basis with all of my students. The programs especially benefit my ELD kids. I really like the presentation of media, and the use of rewards and reinforcements. The skills within each program are closely aligned to the California curriculum standards."

David Hays, Grade 2 Teacher, Boronda Meadows Elementary, Salinas, California
"Your programs coincide nicely with our curriculum standards. My students have made significant improvements using the Reading Comprehension programs. There is a lot of content in each program. My students find them engaging and motivating. I have been using your software for 10 years, and the recent upgrade to OS X was a big improvement."

Gail Dehaan, Computer Teacher, Pierce Elementary, Ridgecrest, California
"I have been using Essential Skills for about three years. There are a good variety of activities in the programs, and they cover many of our reading curriculum standards. They really make a difference for our student. The kids are definitely learning the basic skills required for them to become fluent readers. This software supplements and reinforces the core curriculum perfectly."

Denise Watts, Computer Teacher, Martin Luther King Elementary, Sacramento, California
"The Essential Skills programs are used daily in our computer lab, our regular classrooms and in our Special Education program. The children enjoy and are motivated by this software and come back to them time after time. The tracking and reporting features are easy to use and create great progress reports. The phonics skills and the math programs are very well aligned with our curriculum. Our grade one teachers say that their children have made dramatic gains each year from working on the Super Phonics programs. The test scores have gone way up for their children."

Diana McElwain, Technology Coordinator, Plantation Elementary, Bakersfield, California
"We use these programs a lot. We all like how easy they are to use, and how simple it is for the teachers and kids to see what the kids have completed. The programs are very comprehensive, and provide a lot of skills practice and reinforcement. They really support what has been taught in the classroom, and they are great for individualized instruction. We have about 300 students using the software, and they love it!"

Liz Bower, Resource Specialist Programmer, Kirk Elementary, Fresno, California
"I have used these programs on a daily basis for the past three years. They are an essential component of my instructional toolkit. I like the fact that in all of the Spelling programs I can enter my own spelling lists. I use this feature to input the weekly spelling words for each grade level. I also like the Grammar program because it provides thorough coverage of all the grammar rules, and practice of the requisite grammar skills. These programs offer excellent value, and I would highly recommend them to other teachers!"

Suanne Miller, Resource Specialist, Hooker Oak Elementary, Chico, California
"I use the spelling programs from Essential Skills every day. The students are really motivated by the variety of high interest activities, and the programs keep the kids engaged for long periods of time. As a bonus I can enter my own spelling lists for individual students and classes. Also, the reporting and tracking system is excellent! My students and I love this software!"

Francesca Schomberg, Grade One Teacher, Martin Luther King School, Sacramento, California
"These programs are perfectly aligned with the Open Court program and everything that I am teaching in the classroom. They provide good review with immediate feedback thereby promoting self-esteem. The phonics programs are good for reinforcing skills with weaker students. They receive positive reinforcement for their effort which promotes accelerated learning. The programs allow students to work independently at their own pace while motivating them every step of the way. The wide variety of activities in each program ensures that students never get bored."

Susie Simpson Grade One Teacher, Borrego Springs Elementary, Borrego, California
"We have used Essential Skills programs for many years. We love everything about these programs. The kids love them and their learning is being transferred to their written work. They are always asking to use the programs because they enjoy the activities, the reinforcement and the fact that they are actually learning."

Mrs. Tammy Cholly, Title One Coordinator, Mariana Elementary, Apple Valley, California
"Essential Skills software is a big part of our intervention program. The programs are used with 240 students. I love how effectively they reinforce the skills that we are teaching. They provide lots of stimulating practice and keep the children's interest. They remain focused when using the programs and we are seeing a lot of progress with student test scores. The Essential Skills programs are the most important and consistent of the supplementary instructional tools we use."