The COVID-19 pandemic upended plans around the world, and we were not exempt from the upheaval that swept the globe in 2020.
Our team was already working on new kinds of educational products under the narangah corporate umbrella. We had zeroed in on the gap between sound bite media and thoughtful discourse, and knew we could produce deep, well researched materials that would challenge readers to think and learn before drawing conclusions about important issues in society. Our initial target customers were middle and high school aged students.
Then the pandemic hit. As schools closed around the world, we realized there was a different, more pressing issue that had to be addressed first: basic literacy. Reading and literacy are the foundation of all education. Children who learn to read well do better in school than their classmates who do not.
When the pandemic closed schools, all children suffered. Upheaval caused uncertainty, and uncertainty led to stress. Stress is the enemy of education. A child under stress is unable to learn. It didn’t take long for us to realize that what for many folks looked like just a bump in the road might later show up as a developmental disaster in the lives of children, especially children at risk. That’s when Cat Oliver dreamed up Learning Pages.
Learning Pages are supplementary educational materials focused on standards based goals for literacy and reading language arts. For children with large gaps in their learning experiences, learning pages fill holes, restore confidence, and help return them to grade level. For more able and well prepared children, learning pages provide a thorough review of the basics and the opportunity to do more with the skills they need to master. We took advantage of the always connected nature of our contemporary world to build in community activities and feedback loops which should stand our children in good stead as they learn to live together in an ever more complex society.
We are excited about the course set before us to build out a full K-5 Learning Pages program over the next few years, and hope that you will come along with us for a ride that promises fun, challenge, and satisfaction.
There’s nothing sweeter in life than sharing success with a child.