Curriculum for Nonreaders Recognized in Special Education Category for Grades K-5
SAN ANTONIO, April 20, 2009 — The Association of Educational Publishers has named PCI Reading Program Level Two a 2009 Distinguished Achievement Award finalist in the special education category for grades K-5. Published by PCI Education, the number-one provider of resources for students with special needs, the two-level reading program is designed to help nonreaders become successful readers.
The PCI Reading Program is a research-based curriculum designed for students with developmental disabilities, autism and significant learning difficulties. An alternative for those who have not learned to read through traditional phonics-based approaches, the reading program uses visual discrimination, the ability to quickly distinguish one letter from another, to increase students' sight-word vocabulary. Research shows that students whose teachers used the PCI Reading Program achieved higher sight-word assessment scores in reading than students of teachers not using the program.
"For years, our customers were asking for a contemporary program for true nonreaders," said Lee Wilson, CEO and President of PCI Education. "The PCI Reading Program fulfills this request, and thanks to the $12.2 billion in stimulus funding directed toward special education, money for such programs is now more readily available to schools. This recognition from AEP will help make educators aware of this option to teach their students the skills they need to become lifelong readers."
Both levels of the PCI Reading Program contain real-world, age-appropriate illustrations and contemporary characters to engage students. The instructional materials use repetition and review in combination with frequent praise to help increase students' self-confidence. Nonreaders begin with PCI Reading Program Level One, which teaches automatic recognition of 140 sight-words, and common nouns and verbs. In Level Two, students learn 140 additional words and how to apply commonly used inflectional endings.
For more than four decades, the AEP Awards have honored outstanding resources for teaching and learning. One of the largest and longest-running awards programs for educational products, the AEP Awards aim to give credit and recognition to the organizations that are leading the way in the field of educational products, and to set benchmarks to which the rest of the industry can aspire. Founded in 1895, AEP is a nonprofit organization that serves and advances the industry of educational publishing.
AEP Award winners will be announced at the 2009 AEP Awards Banquet & Gala on June 12, 2009, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
For more information on the PCI Reading Program, visit .
About PCI Education
PCI Education offers more than 7,500 instructional materials for a wide range of students with special needs, including significant or developmental disabilities such as autism. In addition, the company's products are used in English language learner and adult literacy classes, and to help students performing below grade level. Based in San Antonio, PCI Education has been helping educators lead students to success in school, at home and in the community since 1991. For more information, visit http://www.pcieducation.com or phone 800-594-4263.
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For more information:
Nicole Horne, PCI Education, 800-594-4263, ext. 126, Email
Emily Embury, C. Blohm & Associates, Inc., 608-839-9800, Email
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