The National Center for Family Literacy partners with StudyDog to Teach Low-income Children to Read Louisville, KY - (October 26, 2004) - The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is partnering with StudyDog, Inc. to offer instructional materials to families that will help teach reading to children from low-income families. The StudyDog Reading Program will be offered to many of the thousands of family literacy programs that serve pre-kindergarten thru second-grade children and their parents.

"Children who have difficultly learning to read often suffer educationally, socially, and emotionally. So often, their parents may have trouble helping them due to their own lack of reading skills," said Sharon Darling, NCFL president and founder. "With the right stimulation, between the ages of four and eight, most children can significantly improve their early reading skills and their chances of becoming successful readers. We support the StudyDog program because of their history of success with reluctant readers and their desire to help poor families."

"NCFL has a terrific track record of teaching low-income children through the combined efforts of parents, teachers, and other NCFL resources. Not only were we impressed with their national scope and the quality and results of their programs, but it was obvious from the beginning that the two organizations shared a common vision and commitment to improve reading skills in low-income families," says Deme Clainos, StudyDog president and CEO.

The StudyDog reading program was developed under the guidelines of the National Reading Panel and other reading experts and is particularly effective. In a recent validation study, children in a St. Louis after-school program used StudyDog's program for 14 weeks. Initially, all children were reading below their grade level. At the end of the period, 92% of the children were reading at or above grade level. Mr. Clainos says students enjoy the program because of its engaging design and format. Furthermore, due to its technology, StudyDog engages children via 15-minute lessons and keeps them engaged for an extended period until real learning can occur.

About NCFL
The National Center for Family Literacy has pioneered a program that combines children's education, adult literacy education, parent education and structured interaction between parents and their children. NCFL works to ensure that all families at the lowest ends of both the literacy and economic continua will have opportunities to improve their education and social well-being through quality, family literacy services. For more information, please visit our Web site: www.famlit.org or call the Family Literacy InfoLine: 1-877-FAMLIT-1.

About StudyDog
StudyDog, Inc. develops reading solutions for children, which include Reading Basics for helping children prevent reading difficulties and Reading Rescue for helping young readers who are struggling. StudyDog is also interested in supporting all non-profit organizations that assist low-income children and families. For more information about StudyDog visit their web site at www.studydog.com or call toll free at 1-866-643-4449 ext. 101.

CONTACT:

Ginger Wilding National Center for Family Literacy 502-584-1133 x147 gwilding@famlit.org

Deme Clainos StudyDog, Inc. 503-643-4449 X101 dclainos@studydog.com