Do you want the opportunity to tell others the impact Direct Instruction has had on you or your students? The National Institute for Direct Instruction has just launched a testimonial line where you can share your DI experience with others. Submit your story to NIFDI and give others a window into the world of DI!

To submit your story, email testimonials@nifdi.org or call us at 541-505-5700. In your submission, please provide your name, phone number, location and your story of how DI has affected your life and/or your students. We will transcribe these stories and post them on our webpage. Call or email us today and be the first in your school to tell your story!

There is still time to submit your nomination for the 2014 Excellence in Education Awards before the June 3rd deadline. Even if you don't make a nomination, plan on attending the McGraw-Hill Social and NIFDI Celebration of Excellence on Wednesday, July 16th, in conjunction with the 40th Annual National Direct Instruction Conference in Eugene, Oregon July 13th-17th. 

Along with celebrating the achievements of individuals and schools across the country, we will also be highlighting the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Berieter-Engelmann Preschool. A short video that has not been publicly shown in years will be exhibited describing the preschool, and at least one of the original teachers will be in attendance. In the meantime, you might be interested in taking a step back in time and checking out the video of Zig working with preschoolers.

If you haven't signed up for the conference yet, there's still time. See the full conference offerings and register online today! We look forward to seeing you in Eugene!

SRA 2Inform is an online application available through McGraw-Hill that allows teachers to easily collect student data and monitor progress to inform instruction. This online system stores data on curriculum-embedded assessments from nine of the Direct Instruction programs including Reading Mastery Signature Edition, Corrective Reading, Connecting Math Concepts, and Essentials for Algebra.  

Recent improvements include the ability for administrators to instantly access reports to measure and track student progress. Coaches and principals can view teacher, group, and individual student data. With the school-level view, users can aggregate data across instructional groups. District administrators can also aggregate group data across all schools. 

Users can print, view, and save various reports that can be used to help improve the quality of the DI implementation. Administrators can use the information to:

• Identify instructional needs and goals
• Communicate progress to an educational team
• Generate reports for all stakeholders including parents

To learn more, visit the SRA 2Inform website or contact your McGraw-Hill representative.

The National Institute for Direct Instruction and NIFDI Press is delighted to announce our latest book, The Science and Success of Engelmann's Direct Instruction! 

For almost a half-century, Siegfried Engelmann has shown how all children can learn if they are taught effectively. The Direct Instruction (DI) curricular programs he developed reflect the most stringent requirements of the scientific world. They build on sound theoretical understandings of how effective instruction and learning occur, they involve painstaking attention to each detailed step of the instructional process, and they have been validated with rigorous tests of their efficacy. Engelmann’s work has transformed the instructional experience of thousands of students and has also led to noted improvements in school behavioral climates and instructional practices. This book is a tribute to the legacy and genius of Siegfried Engelmann and his decades of work in developing the Direct Instruction (DI) curricular programs.

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