enCORE is designed to bring the general education curriculum to all students of all abilities. This is specifically created to help students with special needs and a range of disabilities to get access to standards-based appropriate learning.
Teachtown, the creator company behind enCORE, was founded “to measurably improve the academic, behavioral and adaptive functioning of students with disabilities.” enCORE is the front-facing development to help achieve that goal.
The company, and this system, focus on serving students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities or developmental delays, and those with emotional and behavioral disorders.
This guide aims to lay out all you need to know on how enCORE could help your class.
What is enCORE?
enCORE is based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to offer an adapted core curriculum while staying standards-aligned. It aims to help students with moderate to severe disabilities in getting access to the general education curriculum.
The system is available to K-12 entirely, so all teachers have access to all levels as needed. The result is a huge library of content as well as lesson plans and hands-on teaching tools.
Since everything is broken down across grades and abilities, every teacher has tools for every student. All content is available in print and online, with clear guidance that makes it accessible to teachers and students of all training levels.
How does enCORE work?
enCORE offers all its many resources both in print and online, allowing teachers of all levels to access what they need. Each grade is broken down with books, for example, available at three different ability levels for consistent progress.
While this covers K-12, as an example, the educator guides for K-2 and 3-5 offer 12 in total, so that area alone has 36 units from K-5.
Teachers have access to a library of fiction and nonfiction literature, assessment units covering the total age range for K-12, lesson plans with explicit guidance throughout, student workbooks, and manipulative kits, including hands-on materials and more.
ELA lessons, for example, are designed so that there is a natural flow that leads the student to greater independence as they progress.
What are the best enCORE features?
enCORE is designed to work as a guided learning experience, both for teachers and students. It’s super clear and can be used by any teacher, even those newly graduated. It should also provide consistency that students can come to rely on as part of well-structured learning.
On top of the many learning resources, there is also PD available for educators, coming in specific training courses to help get the most from all the tools available here.
The English Language Arts curriculum is derived from the Science of Reading, which is the leading approach from the last five decades. This evidence-based approach leads to a very effective set of teaching techniques — including Scarborough’s Rope — and standards from which students can reap rewards.
Usefully, students can work on fluency by reading from the literature, or having it read to them — both digitally and in the physical world experience. This, combined with phonics specific learning, can lead to powerful outcomes.
How much does enCORE cost?
enCORE breaks its pricing into licensing brackets that cover the cost for all the resources for that age group.
The K-5 group, charged at $189 per year, gets student access.
The K-5 teacher license, is charged at $499 per year.
The option to take a training webinar is available and costs $600.
enCORE best tips and tricks
Take the training
It will cost more but go for the training to make sure you get the most out of all these resources and teach these as intended.
Go digital and print
Since everything is available in print and digitally, use a mix of the two to help students navigate both experiences and learn the difference.
Go beyond
Don’t be afraid to use higher levels for those students progressing confidently, as these are tiered well so this can be a smooth transitional experience.