What is Waterford Reading Academy?
Instructional software that guides students while “Learning to Read” and “Reading to Learn” in a single platform while supporting teachers, students, and parents.
Instructional software that guides students while “Learning to Read” and “Reading to Learn” in a single platform while supporting teachers, students, and parents.
Success comes from the combined efforts of the child, teacher, and parents.
Waterford Reading Academy provides partnerships to build a strong, supported network that equips teachers, engages students, and empowers families.
Waterford Reading Academy guides students along an adaptive, individualized learning path.
Fluent reading begins with a strong foundation in phonological awareness, phonics, language concepts, comprehension, and vocabulary. Waterford provides instruction and practice in critical skills via computer adaptivity, teacher assignments, and/or guided student selection of activities.
Students practice their acquired literacy skills with scaffolded digital lessons that promote deeper thinking, understanding, and comprehension of the books they read, including the most popular student and teacher choices.
Fluent reading begins with a strong foundation in phonological awareness, phonics, language concepts, comprehension, and vocabulary. Waterford provides instruction and practice in critical skills via computer adaptivity, teacher assignments, and/or guided student selection of activities.
Our instructional software delivers activities, games, songs, videos, and animated characters to keep students engaged and encouraged.
Once reading becomes its own reward, students are motivated by new and interesting characters, settings, and situations they visualize with their mind’s eye. They are forever empowered by deeper thinking and a personal discovery of knowledge.
Our instructional software delivers activities, games, songs, videos, and animated characters to keep students engaged and encouraged.
Guided reading experiences are introduced while students are still mastering foundational skills.
Students practice their acquired literacy skills with scaffolded digital lessons that promote deeper thinking, understanding, and comprehension of the books they read, including the most popular student and teacher choices.
Once reading becomes its own reward, students are motivated by new and interesting characters, settings, and situations they visualize with their mind’s eye. They are forever empowered by deeper thinking and a personal discovery of knowledge.
We know you work tirelessly to provide the best education possible for your students, and Waterford supports teachers every step of the way with professional learning and on-site coaching to understand and use program data.
We deliver both proactive and reactive support throughout the year and coaching to develop and execute the perfect school implementation.
Higher test scores from students who truly love to read and to learn.
Equipped teachers who know which action to take in the right moment.
Empowered families who are engaged in their child’s education.
Waterford software has been formally assessed in a variety of schools and districts of varying size, location, and socioeconomic status, and results are consistent in supporting the software’s considerable effectiveness.
“The consistency of the research results, both within and between studies, is striking.”
Waterford UPSTART, which uses the same early learning software as Waterford Reading Academy, was evaluated against high-quality preschool programs in Utah to determine their effectiveness on early literacy.
The study shows that children who use Waterford software at home before starting kindergarten showed positive gains, even when compared to children enrolled in high-quality public and private preschools.
The study also found that those Waterford children showed similar gains in social-emotional development compared to their peers in high-quality preschools.
In an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of Waterford curriculum, the same used in Waterford Reading Academy, as a kindergarten‑readiness program, results showed that the program significantly increased literacy skills—especially among at-risk populations. Data from the five years shows that the gains last beyond kindergarten.
Waterford.org researched the effects of its early learning curriculum with Goose Creek elementary students. This study measured the longitudinal impact on the literacy skills of children who used Waterford curriculum from kindergarten to second grade.
The results indicated significant literacy gains across the board for Waterford users, including at-risk and dual language learning students.
Read the Study
Waterford is proud of its ongoing partnership with Wichita Falls Independent School District (WFISD) in northern Texas. Early in 2018, the district began implementing the kindergarten readiness program, Waterford UPSTART, to help children learn essential reading skills before they ever enter public school to ensure every child has a fair start.
The district also uses the same Waterford software in their elementary schools to build on literacy skills gained from Waterford UPSTART. Leading the efforts in Wichita Falls are Superintendent Michael Kuhrt and Dr. Travis Armstrong, Director of Early Learning in the district.
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