Holy Childhood combats illiteracy with adaptive learning

One of Kia Hollen’s students has a developmental disability, which means he is just now connecting letters to sounds. However, Hollen, a middle school teacher at the educational nonprofit Holy Childhood, has seen a marked improvement after using the Reading Horizons structured literacy program. 

In January, her student knew only 16 of 26 letter sounds.

“Yesterday, he knew 23 out of 26, and he was verbally reading the letters,” Hollen says. “It brought a tear to my eye. There’s so much growth I’ve had with this student for three years.”

In its mission to help pave the way for learners with special needs, the Henrietta-based Holy Childhood—a non-denominational agency founded in 1946 by the Sisters of St. Joseph—combats illiteracy through unique programs such as those provided by Reading Horizons. The school serves 120 students across 40 districts with intellectual and developmental disabilities whose public schools cannot meet the students’ needs.  

Holy Childhood attempts to bridge the gap in support while addressing the broader question of students’ ability to learn to read and how they can learn best through alternative educational methods. 

Over the last three years, the agency has used programs developed by Reading Horizons, a Utah-based company that provides educators with foundational reading instruction. Its adaptive literacy program focuses on students mirroring the shape of their mouths and the form of sound. Additionally, they use microphones, music to teach rhythm and pattern recognition, and other methods to encourage student learning. Students’ progress is tracked through Reading Horizons three times annually. 

In the past, Holy Childhood literacy programs lacked structure and consistency, and students often relied on computer programs with reduced teacher-led instruction and human connection, officials say.

At the high school level, teacher Joe Aldridge, whose classroom has fully incorporated the program, encourages active student participation. 

“Active movement is very important,” he says. “Gets them moving, and focused on the material, spotlights them, and it’s important for everyone to feel encouraged and proud of their work.”

Holy Childhood studied 35 students who used adaptive learning from September 2025 to January 2026. The results were positive across both middle school and high school classrooms. 

High school students improved by 27.3% in consonant recognition and by 47% in short-vowel proficiency. Among middle school students, the results were 17.1% improvement in consonant sound recognition and a 35.3% increase in short vowels.

“The research is clear,” says Laurel Axtell, education specialist, trainer and presenter at Reading Horizon. “Structured literacy develops the neural pathways that allow students to make progress, even when people historically assumed they couldn’t.”

Kayla Gullage is a journalism and English major at Rochester Institute of Technology and a member of the Oasis Project’s third cohort.

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