In 2004, we reached out to Educators Publishing Service about their popular workbooks series, Explode The Code, developed by teacher Nancy Hall. We reached out to them because Dr. Angela Rickford, Professor of Special Education at the San Jose State University, recommended Explode The Code as one of the most effective literacy tools available. I met Dr. Rickford at Stanford University when she trained our volunteer Stanford tutors in an academic tutoring program which I directed. She was an amazing trainer and has provided literacy training to teachers all over the world. We approached Dr. Rickford because we were looking for tools to accelerate literacy. She recommended Explode The Code and our journey to develop a robust learning tool began. We approached Educators Publishing Service and a partnership began and then bloomed.

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We developed Explode The Code Online because we were trying to solve a problem and meet a challenge: How do you accelerate literacy skill development? This particular challenge is so important, and indeed profound, but also so commonplace that its significance is easily forgotten. Literacy is a gateway skill. It is the key to unlocking all other knowledge and without strong literacy skills your options are limited. States plan their prison construction needs based on the number of 4th graders who can’t read. We need good literacy skills to be fully functioning adults. What our team has created and enriched over the past 12 years is a tool that thoroughly builds mastery of literacy skills. It is also a labor of love.

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Looking at Explode The Code Online is deceiving, because it is so simple. What you don’t see is what makes our literacy tool so effective. If you use Explode The Code Online now, then you know how the children love to earn badges and it may seem surprising to you that they are interested in earning badges even after using the program for months. The reason is that while badges are not a particularly spectacular motivator over time, our digital implementation of the badges keeps them motivating over time. This is because we’ve used the data we’ve collected from students who have used the product over the past 15 years to make the product more responsive and better able to address academic and motivational needs. We will never sell your child’s data. We are committed to helping students develop strong literacy skills so they can be successful in the life they chose to lead. This is also why we have a guarantee. If our product doesn’t work for your child, then you aren’t receiving any value, and you shouldn’t have to pay for it. Reading is the most important academic skill in our lives, but Dr. Seuss says it best, reading is the key to life's adventures! 

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Deanna Terzian

President