Leon County School District Renews Commitment To SRA/McGraw-Hill Reading Programs by Adopting Imagine It! for Grades K-5

Leon County Schools adopted SRA/McGraw-Hill's Imagine It! reading program and began using the research-based curriculum in fall 2008 for Grades K-5, renewing its 10-year partnership with the elementary textbook publisher and a long-term commitment to academic achievement.

Leon County Schools first began piloting an earlier edition of SRA's Imagine It! known as Open Court Reading in 1998. Before that time, only 32% of the district's schools obtained an A or B from the state of Florida. By 2004, that figure was up 40 percentage points, and in 2007, 74% achieved an A or B.

Success in Leon County with SRA reading programs has been significant. In 2007, Leon County Schools ranked first among Florida's large districts on FCAT Grade 5 reading scores. And, it is the only district in the state to meet Adequate Yearly Progress in both 2004 and 2005.

"We were looking for a reading program that fully met Florida standards, offered strong support materials and training for our teachers, and engaged students especially through its digital offerings," said Jo Marie Olk, reading coordinator of Leon County Schools. "We needed a program that would continue to help us close the achievement gap for our students so that they would be productive citizens in the future."

Olk continued, "We've been using SRA's Open Court Reading for years with great success. We had an overwhelming response from everyone in the district to continue on the path by adopting the latest edition of Open Court Reading, Imagine It!"

Imagine It! is a core reading and language arts program, designed to meet Florida state standards. The curriculum:

  --  Focuses on key reading comprehension skills and strategies
  --  Provides daily writing instruction and practice
  --  Develops higher-order thinking with a strong Inquiry strand
  --  Meets the needs of all learners with built-in Differentiated
      Instruction techniques and materials
  --  Includes 30 minutes of embedded English Learner instruction

  About Imagine It!

Imagine It! is the result of 45 years of research and field study. It contains all the elements recommended by the National Reading Panel: instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness, explicit phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The program has a focus on Response to Intervention and covers all daily reading, language arts, and writing curriculum requirements. It also has abundant curriculum links to science and social studies. Imagine It! fully integrates state-of-the-art technology tools to enhance learning.

The Imagine It! line of products also includes Imagine It! English Language Development, an expanded version of Imagine It! specifically designed for teachers with students whose primary language is not English. Imaginalo! is a companion program to Imagine It! that helps students develop Spanish literacy.

The authors, who are researchers themselves, continue to update the program as new studies are published revealing the latest findings on effective instructional methods. For more information, visit ImagineItReading.com.

About SRA/McGraw-Hill

SRA/McGraw-Hill is the top provider of specialized research-based educational programs and professional development for the elementary market. Leading programs include SRA Imagine It! reading program, Direct Instruction, SRA Number Worlds, additional core and supplemental programs. SRA is part of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment, and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 60 languages. Additional information is available at mheducation.com. For more information on SRA/McGraw-Hill's products, call 1-888-SRA-4543 and visit SRAonline.com.

  Contact:
  Suzanne Toney                            Melina Metzger
  SRA/McGraw-Hill                          Paul Werth Associates
  (614) 750-7286                           (614) 224-8114 Ext. 236
  suzanne_toney@mcgraw-hill.com            mmetzger@paulwerth.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: SRA/McGraw-Hill

CONTACT: Suzanne Toney of SRA/McGraw-Hill, +1-614-750-7286,
suzanne_toney@mcgraw-hill.com; or Melina Metzger of Paul Werth Associates,
+1-614-224-8114, Ext. 236, mmetzger@paulwerth.com

Web Site: http://www.sraonline.com/