Headsprout Tapped to Improve Reading Skills for 120,000 Students during 2011-2012 School Year

SEATTLE, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As students and educators around the country settle in for the 2011–2012 school year, Scout, Cancan, Fling, Zog, and the rest of the Headsprout gang are eager to start a new chapter in their quest to improve literacy rates. These fun and engaging characters from Headsprout’s adaptive online learning software programs, Headsprout Early Reading and Headsprout Reading Comprehension, are expected to help transform more than 120,000 students into capable, confident readers this school year.

Headsprout Early Reading and Headsprout Reading Comprehension are research-based, award-winning online programs designed to help students master both basic and advanced reading skills through an interactive, engaging, and personalized learning environment. The programs’ unique and patented adaptive design identifies and tracks error patterns for each user, immediately adjusting instruction to address any weaknesses. Students can advance to the next lesson only after satisfactory completion of the lesson before.

Headsprout Early Reading, aimed at students in grades K–2, includes 80 lessons focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Students who complete the program can attain mid-2nd-grade-level reading proficiency.

Headsprout Reading Comprehension, targeted to grades 3–5, features 50 lessons that teach students how to understand and analyze the content they read. The thinking skills and strategies developed in the program can be applied to texts in a range of disciplines, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  

Scout - an energetic and encouraging bee who leads the Headsprout characters  - and his pals are prepared for their busiest school year to date, with nearly 15,000 students from all 50 states expected to interact with Headsprout programs on any given day. While daily usage levels can increase dramatically during peak periods, the Headsprout gang, no matter how busy, will continue their track record of proven success by ensuring that each and every student receives customized instruction based on individual pace and performance.

“Every year we’re excited by the thought of how lives will be changed as students develop and master essential reading skills using Headsprout,” said Joe Layng, DYMO/Mimio - Headsprout Director and Learning Scientist. “We know this year, more than ever, schools are facing a range of challenges and pressures. That’s why it’s more important than ever that every student - no matter how large his or her class - receives at least 20 minutes of personalized, one-on-one reading instruction in each Headsprout lesson. That individual attention, along with our research-based design, allows us to guarantee student success.”

In addition to being used in thousands of classrooms and learning labs, Headsprout Early Reading and Headsprout Reading Comprehension are available for home use at a cost of $198 each. Parents and caretakers can download a free trial of each program, as well as a skills assessment, at www.headsprout.com/h1.  

About Headsprout

Based in Seattle, Washington, Headsprout® (www.headsprout.com), now part of Newell Rubbermaid’s DYMO™ / Mimio® Interactive Teaching Technologies portfolio, is a leader in the development and implementation of online instruction that adjusts automatically to each student’s needs. Its scientific, research-based, adaptive software programs — Headsprout® Early Reading and Headsprout® Reading Comprehension — are used in thousands of classrooms, learning labs and homes in the U.S. and all over the world. To learn more about Headsprout, follow @Headsprout on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or check out our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/Headsprout).

About Newell Rubbermaid Global Business and Technology Solutions

DYMO is the master brand name for the Newell Rubbermaid Global Technology Solutions portfolio. In a world that demands greater productivity and measures it at every opportunity, DYMO provides businesses, educational institutions, and consumers with innovative and easy ways to share, manage, and organize information with improved efficiency and satisfaction.

Our DYMO global technology brands are organized into four solutions:

• DYMO® / Labeling Identification Solutions include DYMO hand-held label makers, PC connected label and postage printers, and Industrial labeling tools (www.dymo.com).
• DYMO™ / CardScan® Contact Management Solutions include CardScan business card scanners and contact management software (www.cardscan.com).
• DYMO™ / Endicia® Postage Technologies include Endicia online shipping and mailing services (www.endicia.com), as well as customized postage (www.pictureitpostage.com).  
• DYMO™ / Mimio® ITT (Interactive Teaching Technologies) include Mimio interactive whiteboard technology, digital ink recorders, document cameras, student response systems, and engaging lesson plan content (www.mimio.dymo.com).

These global technology brands complement Newell Rubbermaid’s strong portfolio of global brands, which also includes Rubbermaid®, Sharpie®, Graco®, Calphalon®, Irwin®, Lenox®, Levolor®, Paper Mate®, Waterman®, Parker®, Goody®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, and Aprica®.Irwin®, Lenox®, Levolor®, Paper Mate®, Waterman®, Parker®, Goody®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, and Aprica®.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Lauren Barbier, Ketchum
TEL: 214.259.3451
EMAIL: [email protected]

SOURCE Headsprout, part of DYMO/Mimio