Dear Family Member,

This year, our school has partnered with Amira Learning in support of our readers. Amira is a digital reading tool that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to assess students’ reading mastery and coach them through new reading skills. You can watch a 1 minute overview of Amira here!

Our school will administer Benchmark Assessments through Amira this year so that we can:

• Assess students’ reading proficiency levels
• Screen students for potential risk of dyslexia
• Identify individual student’s areas of need or additional support 

In addition to the Benchmark Assessment, students will also use Amira’s “Practice” mode to strengthen their reading skills. They will read out loud, receive interventions and support, and talk about the story they’ve read to build their comprehension skills.

Amira is a program committed to AI safety for students. Amira uses AI to select from a predetermined set of interventions and responses. Amira does not pull from the internet and cannot respond to students outside of the curated options vetted by humans. All student data is protected and owned by the district. Our team has been thoroughly impressed with their efficacy data and work with education researchers to develop the best product for students.

Based on the information from Amira’s assessment and practice components, it’s possible we will contact you about additional support and resources for your student. We appreciate your partnership as we help our students become stronger readers!

 

More Information About Amira

Amira is the culmination of a 30-year research and development project launched at Carnegie Mellon University that partnered literacy experts with artificial intelligence scientists to create the first intelligent reading tutor. More than 100 peer-reviewed studies were conducted during development. You can learn more about the research behind Amira here.

• In-the-Moment, Targeted Micro Interventions - Amira listens to students reading aloud. Based on the student’s reading level, the word being read, and the kind of error made, Amira selects from a toolkit of over 65 micro-interventions to build missing skills and accelerate growth. Amira works to help students benefit from productive struggle by selecting the areas to focus on for intervention. For more information about Amira’s micro-interventions, refer to this article.
• Structured Phonics - Building phonemic awareness and decoding ability is foundational to student success. The Science of Reading has conclusively demonstrated that students, especially struggling students, need substantial reinforcement in phonics. Amira delivers intense scaffolding to support students’ reading skills.
• Continuous Assessment: Amira is able to listen to each student read hundreds of words weekly, break down that reading into evidence of the student’s mastery of reading skills, and then to build a composite picture that helps teachers make data-driven decisions on how to help each student.
• Dyslexia Screening - Amira’s dyslexia screener has been reviewed and approved by most State Departments of Education. The screening process covers each and every approach recommended by the International Dyslexia Association for reliable identification of dyslexia risk.