Connecticut educators recently had their first reading summit and put some numbers to what those of us in the trenches know all too well: Student reading skills are nowhere near good enough. About a quarter of Connecticut third-graders tested at or below basic reading levels, and educators saw huge gaps between the performance of poor students and economically stable students, and between minority students and white students.

The real problem, according to Nancy Cappello, head of the State Department of Education, is that students typically don't get intervention until age 9. That's too late. Kids who have to wait that long for help continue to struggle with reading through high school.

So we need to get kids excited about reading early on and keep them reading. Some schools can provide some students with coaches, but support for extra academic help is very limited. That is why Learning A–Z provides printable leveled readers on hundreds of topics; books with fun animation kids can read or listen to online; and tutor packets, complete with books, activities, and games. Our goal is to have resources at every developmental level to help every child reach reading proficiency.