New Reading Center Focuses on Teaching Children Phonics

The Academic Associates Reading Center of New York teaches children how to read by focusing on phonics, so they can properly and effectively decode everyday and school-related vocabulary.

The Academic Associates Reading Center of New York is a new learning center that focuses on teaching children how to read. The reading program is made up of lessons that start with the basics and then build from there. “Every child can learn to read, it’s just a matter of how they are taught,” says Malik Green, the program’s director.

The reading center teaches students the tools they need to properly and effectively decode everyday and school-related vocabulary. Students typically begin to struggle academically in the fourth grade because they have not mastered their basic reading and phonic skills, and they are unable to transition from learning to read to reading to learn, Green explains.

The reading center provides 13 complete lessons in 2-hour increments that focus on teaching the sounds of the English language, as well as the rules that determine how a word is pronounced based on letter combination. “Our methods, which can be taught one-on-one or in group sessions, have also been extremely helpful for children with disabilities,” Green says. “By the completion of our program, children have improved anywhere from one to three grade levels.” 

Green encourages parents to find someone who teaches systematic phonics. “It’s the foundation to everything else,” he says.