Your Child’s Future Depends on Strong Reading Skills

See your child unlock the magic of reading! At K12-powered schools, proven methods, fun activities, and passionate teachers make every learning moment a triumph! And we even offer a reading guarantee.*

a girl reading a book with a toy fox

Reading is the most important skill for your child to learn. Here’s why:

Reading is the foundation for learning. After 3rd grade, students are expected to utilize their reading skills to comprehend other subjects such as math, science, and social studies. If they struggle with reading, they’ll likely fall behind in other subjects too.

Research indicates that students not reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade are more likely to drop out of high school. On the other hand, being able to read at an early age boosts a child’s confidence and self-esteem and fosters a lifelong love for learning!

Riley’s Reading Success Story

Assessments, data, and teacher support all played a role in helping Riley build confidence as a reader—and improve his reading skills by an entire grade level in just nine weeks! Hear what he and his mom have to share.

Guaranteed Results

Being able to read on grade level by the end of 3rd grade is critical for a child’s educational success and future development. That’s why K12 guarantees that students who continuously attend a K12-powered school for grades 1–3 will read on grade level by the end of 3rd grade. If not, we will provide extra support for those learners until they read on level, at no cost to you.*

Learn more about the reading guarantee and eligibility requirements.

How does K12 teach reading?

K12-powered schools make learning to read exciting! By balancing engaging online lessons, live instruction, an expansive online library, and supplemental tools, K12-powered teachers will help your child become a confident and enthusiastic reader!

During the early elementary years, K12’s curriculum focuses on:

  • Phonics instruction that teaches the relationship between sounds and letters, which helps students decode words and fosters early reading skills.
  • Sight word recognition, which introduces frequently used words that don’t necessarily follow phonetic rules and helps improve reading fluency.
  • Vocabulary building that exposes students to a rich vocabulary through diverse texts and materials and enhances their comprehension and language skills.
  • Comprehension strategies that guide students to understand, interpret, and analyze texts to foster critical thinking and a deeper understanding of the material.
  • Reading aloud and shared reading that promotes language development, phonemic awareness, and overall reading skills.
  • Reading workshops and independent reading, which allow students to explore texts independently and in group settings, encouraging a love for reading and a deeper engagement with various literary genres.

We build performance assessments into our curriculum to help our teachers understand what your child excels in and where they can grow. These regular evaluations help determine if your child is hitting reading milestones and guide any tweaks needed to keep them on the right track!

Our digital library has thousands of fiction and nonfiction titles that students can read on any smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer. The ever-growing collection includes many titles with end-of-book quizzes to help students develop critical thinking skills.

Students at K12-powered schools have access to a variety of supplemental resources to help with reading, including:

  • Minecraft Education, which features immersive library worlds based on the U.S. Library of Congress. Students interact with videos, story characters and complete standards-aligned build challenges that keep them engaged and excited to learn.
  • Educational software for reading remediation that personalizes instruction and mastery-based activities to make learning to read an exciting adventure for every student.
  • Stride Skills Arcade, an award-winning learning solution that customizes practice sessions to each child’s needs and rewards learning with games.

K12-powered teachers are trained to teach in the online classroom. Our teachers receive frequent professional development training, build best practices for effective and data-driven instruction, and weave these methods together with their unique teaching styles and activities for each student.

And K12-powered teachers have unlimited access to the Stride Professional Development Center, a growing library of on-demand professional development courses, including content focused on reading instruction, the Science of Reading, and establishing a Reading Teacher Philosophy. Teachers everywhere can take advantage of these courses and more at www.stridepdcenter.com.

Stay in the know about literacy and learning topics with our podcast!

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Hear how K12 is helping students become successful readers.

Monica

Parent1

“[My children] all had great luck with their kindergarten teachers, the stories and enthusiasm teachers offer in those early years is a blessing! Gave my kids that extra boost.”

Adriana

Parent2

“Last year [my son] started to read but with help. Now, I am so happy and excited he is reading and improving. [He] still needs help but is getting there. Reading has helped him to talk more. The teacher makes him read out loud, and I get so excited that he doesn’t need my help or the teacher’s.”

Michele

Parent3

“My 2nd-grade son struggles with reading, but we found out at the end of his 1st-grade year that he’s dyslexic. He’s showing a lot of improvement now that he’s receiving help with reading.”

1/3

*K12-powered schools are schools and school districts that use a suite of curriculum and services from K12 and that K12 reports internally as K12-powered programs. Students must continue to meet the eligibility and policy requirements of their schools and states to continue their enrollment.
1Monica is the parent of a 2023 student at a K12-powered school in CA, and their statement reflects their experience at their child’s school.
2Adriana is the parent of a 2023 student at a K12-powered school in TX, and their statement reflects their experience at their child’s school.
3Michele is the parent of a 2023 student at a K12-powered school in TX, and their statement reflects their experience at their child’s school.