Las Vegas District's literacy initiative improves students' academic chances: fastest-growing district taps LeapFrog SchoolHouse for portable, engaging, and effective tools and improved assessments.

EDUCATORS AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS in Clark County School District (NV) are using a range of tactics to help their youngest students master reading skills more quickly and thoroughly. Among the tools are The Literacy Center, LeapTrack Assessment & Instruction System, and other offerings from LeapFrog SchoolHouse (LFSH).

The sprawling district is on the right track. The Literacy Center utilizes multisensory interactive technology to capture students' attention, motivating them to spend more time learning and practicing their letters, sounds, phonemes, and words. And, as any teacher or parent will concur, guided practice is the key.

The LeapTrack system provides formative assessment and differentiated instruction in key content areas--including reading, language arts, and math--for students in grades K-5. Teachers can quickly and continuously assess students' skills, pinpoint areas for improvement, and create an individualized learning experience for every student. Students learn through interactive, instructional content that is delivered on the LeapPad and Quantum Pad personal learning tools (PLTs).

Technology tools--for direct instruction and assessment--play key roles. "We are using a lot of different literacy software programs on computers," explains Diane Reitz, director of K-12 literacy for the district, "as well as LeapFrog SchoolHouse products." The district does not formally endorse commercial products or services, she says, adding that the LeapFrog School-House products represent just one of numerous approaches the district is implementing. However, it's safe to say that including The Literacy Center and the LeapTrack system in the district's recent literacy initiative was partially prompted by individual teachers and positive reports from schools. "We heard a lot about how it kept students engaged, kept them busy and focused," Reitz says.

The Literacy Center features the interactive LeapDesk workstation, LeapPad PLTs with interactive books, and a LeapMat learning surface which all employ sight, sound, and touch to deepen learning experiences.

While educators nationwide share similar challenges in bringing all students to higher levels of learning, the Clark County School District--Las Vegas is at its center--is unlike any district in the country. It's the fifth-largest in the nation and growing. Encompassing nearly 8,000 square miles in southern Nevada, it serves more than 280,000 students and adds, on average, another 12,000 students annually. Well over half (186) of the 301 campuses are elementary schools.

A recent Clark County School District literacy initiative aims to have every child reading at grade level by the end of grade 3. That goal is both "ambitious and necessary," says Reitz. About half of the district's third-graders currently achieve that proficiency level, though some schools score higher than others.

In Clark County, students can take home LeapPad PLTs and special LeapFrog SchoolHouse backpacks and carrying cases to keep everything together. The components' durability is well-tested, adds Reitz.

"The home-school connection is popular with everyone," she says. Home use extends instruction with highly personalized, one-on-one practice, as well as builds responsibility in young students. And it's especially well-received by parents who speak little or no English themselves. "They're not intimidated by the [LeapFrog SchoolHouse] technology," she explains. "They can do it with their kids--be supportive and involved, not embarrassed. Overall, parents have been very supportive."

Terian Tyre is a freelance writer specializing in education and technology. She is based in Oceanside, Calif.