Horizons Greater Washington to Conduct an Audiobook Pilot with Tales2Go this Summer

June 27, 2013 - PRLog -- Washington, D.C. – Tales2Go Inc., the leading provider of streaming audiobooks for the K-8 marketplace is pleased to announce a pilot with Horizons Greater Washington.  Students at a Horizons DC school will have instant and unlimited access to thousands of streaming audio books during their summer program. Listening to audio books has been shown to increase reading scores since proficient reading is a product of listening comprehension (i.e. vocabulary and fluency) and decoding skills.

Horizons Greater Washington offers a proven curriculum designed to invest in student achievement.  Horizons provides academic, cultural, and recreational programs designed to empower economically disadvantaged students to realize their full potential.  Students from participating public schools spend a summer at a partner independent school for the summer program.  The curriculum emphasizes reading, language arts, math ,computer, science, art, music and daily instruction in swimming as well as weekly field trips.

Horizons Greater Washington executive director, Maria Barry comments, “Inspiring a life-long love of learning is what Horizons is about.  Our students gain two to three months in reading instruction over the six-week session.  These gains are so significant because typically a low-income student will lose three to four months’ worth of skills over the summer without access to quality learning programs like Horizons. We are helping to close the achievement gap for these kids.”

Tales2Go CEO William Weil states, “We are excited to work with Horizons Greater Washington on this important pilot, specifically as a literacy resource for their summer school program.  With 13 states enacting laws to hold back third graders not reading at level, almost nothing is more important than getting kids excited about and skilled at reading.”  He goes on, “Audiobooks have been used in classrooms for decades and are a proven pathway to reading for students at all levels.”

Tales2Go breaks new ground on both the delivery and business model of giving educators and students’ instant access to audio books on desktops, laptops and mobile devices.  For example, with Tales2Go, thousands of students can independently listen to the same book simultaneously.  And some students may want to check out the physical book from the school or public library and follow along as they listen.  Tales2Go is used differently depending on the grade, but ranges from individual to group use, with and without physical books in hand.

For more information & a complimentary trial on Tales2Go, please visit: www.tales2go.com

For details about Horizons Greater Washington, please visit: http://www.horizonsgreaterwashington.org

About Tales2Go:

Tales2Go is an award-winning mobile audiobook service that streams thousands of name-brand titles from leading publishers and storytellers to play on desktops, laptops and mobile devices in the classroom and beyond.  Unlike other audio book services, thousands of students can independently listen to the same book simultaneously.  Tales2Go offers piloting opportunities as well as monthly and annual subscription plans, including bulk sales for schools.

About Horizons Greater Washington:

Horizons Greater Washington offers a six-week summer enrichment program designed to help a diverse population of children from low-income families to develop a lifelong interest in learning through a challenging and fun curriculum, advance academic gains over the summer and improve achievement in school and participate in cultural experiences outside their immediate neighborhood.

The curriculum is designed to support the public partner school’s academic goals and aligns with best practices in experiential learning, building confidence, problem-solving skills and academic self-esteem.  The program is full-day and includes transportation from partner school location, breakfast, lunch, and snack, field trips, daily swimming and cultural excursions. Middle school students, in addition to the regular program, have a social curriculum component which aims to help prepare them for entry to high school.

Students are recommended by their teachers and are re-enrolled for consecutive summers, starting after their kindergarten year and continuing through middle school. The student teacher ratio is 5:1 and classes are led by veteran, experienced teachers who work side-by-side with assistant teachers. Horizons Assistant Teachers (HATS) are hired from within the independent Site school student body.

Press Contact:

Jacob Hanson
PR with Panache!
Jacob@prwithpanache.com