here is an article about a school in New York returning to Fast ForWord. The schools that work with us do very well in improving their students' skills. This is because of not only the programme but the comittment of the teachers, parents and students to make it work.
You can read the full article and comments here
A computer program - hailed for improving the reading skills of learning-disabled kids - will return to a Queens school this fall after a 2-1/2-year hiatus, its principal said. Public School 87 in Middle Village won praise from parents in the late 1990s after first signing up for Fast ForWord - language exercises designed for children with conditions like dyslexia.
But budget cuts forced an end to software upgrades a few years ago, Principal Caryn Michaeli said. The school lost out on new features as well as regular curriculum and tech support.
Last year, PS 87 mom Lucy Accardo heard Fast ForWord could help her 8-year-old learning-disabled daughter, Alessia. This month, Accardo helped convince local pols to foot the $10,800 bill to reinstitute the program.
"I'm ecstatic. I feel like a kid at [Walt] Disney World," said Accardo, 33, predicting Fast ForWord will improve Alessia's reading comprehension abilities and overall confidence.
"This is a hidden secret," she added, "and it's a shame no one knows about it."
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) will contribute $8,000 to the project, a spokesman said. State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale) pledged $4,000. Any cash left after Fast ForWord payments will go toward new school computers, Michaeli said.
The intensive program "develops brain processing efficiency" through daily exercises, according to the manufacturer's Web site.
Among the product's fans is former PS 87 parent JoAnne Scichilone, who believes her dyslexic sons - Ricky, 13, and Joey, 16 - significantly benefited from the program.
"It's my charge now to make sure everybody who needs it gets it," said Scichilone, 36. "We just started seeing improvement, improvement, improvement."
Michaeli said she would have funded Fast ForWord, but it didn't fit into her $6,000 hardware budget, which is set by the city.
"We have to make sure we can staff teachers and stuff like that before external programs," Michaeli said.
But Hevesi and Maltese chipped in. Maltese even suggested he will fund Fast ForWord at more schools if it's a success at PS 87.
"A program like this could really make a difference in a kid's life," he said.
