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The state Education Department recently purchased a statewide dyslexia and reading intervention screener from Amira Learning at a cost of $3 million for the first year, public records show.
The tool uses artificial intelligence to guide students as they read. And it uses reading passages from The Book of Virtues by Bill Bennett, who served as secretary of education under President Ronald Reagan and is now a conservative podcast host. (Bennett is sometimes remembered for losing millions gambling in the early 2000s.)
Stories contain components of moral character including responsibility, courage, compassion, loyalty, honesty, friendship, persistence, hard work, self-discipline and faith, according to the Department of Education.
Amira will be available this school year to any district to use with students in grades kindergarten through fifth grades. Some school districts, like Tulsa Public Schools, already use Amira.
State law requires schools to screen students for reading difficulties, and there are several approved screeners they can choose from. Using Amira through the department is optional, but comes at no cost to the district.
Teachers: do you use Amira? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you via email.
— Jennifer Palmer
Recommended Reading
- Teachers participating in a social studies standards review committee were given an entirely new draft this week and required to sign non-disclosure agreements. [FOX25]
- A panic button system likely saved lives at Apalachee High School in Georgia, preventing a much larger tragedy in the shooting, which left two teachers and two students dead. [The Washington Post]
- Republicans pushing Christianity into public schools are hitting resistance, even in red states such as Oklahoma. Legal fights could end up in the Supreme Court. [Politico]
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