I'm proud to say that our Learning A-Z sites have been nominated for the 23rd Annual CODiE Awards. Since 1986, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has given CODiE awards to the products and sites that provide outstanding services, content and vision, and we are pleased to be recognized.

Learning A–Z and RAZ-Kids are finalists in the "Best Online Instructional Solution" category, and Reading A-Z is a finalist in the "Best K-12 Instructional Solution" category.

At Learning A–Z, we strive to create the highest-quality differentiated educational materials and offer them in an affordable downloadable format. We're grateful for the recognition offered by the CODiEs. Being named a finalist confirms that we are achieving our goal of making quality materials for teachers and students.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the educators and staff at Learning A–Z for their hard work and tremendous dedication to education. Even more importantly, thanks to our customers for your support and feedback, which help us constantly improve our products.

Response to Intervention (RtI): Some call it a paradigm shift; others call it educational reform. I call it what many of us have been calling it for years — differentiated instruction. RtI is about using assessment data to inform instruction rather than placing students in special-education classes after perhaps years of failure. It is well-known that nearly 80 percent of children labeled as learning disabled, simply have a lack of success with reading.

Differentiating instruction to address the needs of these mislabeled students is what RtI is all about. It is also what Reading A–Z and all the Learning A–Z websites are all about. We recognize that teachers need lots of tools to address the needs of all the students in a typical classroom, yet teachers do not have the financial resources to acquire all the tools they need. As the International Reading Association (IRA) states in one of its position statements, "making a difference is about making it different." I like to think that we at Learning A–Z help teachers make a difference by offering thousands of affordable, downloadable resources for differentiated instruction. And, it is important that teachers know they can differentiate instruction with quality, research-based resources, even on a small budget.