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Readak Educational Services is an independent corporation, privately owned and operated by The Kennedy Family Trust. Readak provides an advanced reading and learning skills course to client schools worldwide.

History
Readak Educational Services is an outgrowth of Readak Inc., which was started in Palo Alto, California in 1957 by Kirk Lawson. Readak began business in a private school for boys and grew from this one small school to offices in more than a dozen domestic and international locations.

In December of 1968, the company was purchased by Mr. D. Michael Coughlin, Mr. Steven Kimball, and Mr. Roger Jones. They directed the reorganization of the company; all branch offices were closed and executive headquarters were based in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1973, a second office was opened near Boston, Massachusetts. This office was headed by Mr. Steven Kimball, who by 1983 had taken over as Director, President, and CEO of Readak.

The New Orleans office was closed in 1983 and all company operations were relocated to the Boston area office, where Readak continues to maintain its US headquarters. Mr. Roger Jones retired in 1985 after 20 years with the company; and, Mr. Michael Coughlin retired in 2000 after 37 years of association with Readak.

Readak was incorporated as a company in Australia in 2002. In 2010, Readak was purchased by the Kennedy Family Trust in Sydney, Australia. Mr. Ian Kennedy now serves as President and Owner of Readak, while Mr. Steven Kimball is Managing Director in the United States and Mrs. Danielle McLean is General Manager of the Australian office.

Since 1957, Readak has taught in over 3,000 independent schools and worked with over 300,000 students. In its 55 years, Readak courses have been taught on 6 continents (with Antarctica being the only exception).

The Readak Program
The key purpose of the Readak Advanced Learning Skills course is to provide students in grades 5-12 with the skills, tools, and habits to become effective, efficient, independent and confident learners. The Readak program consists of:


 * Reading and comprehension skills
 * Study skills
 * Note taking
 * Essay planning
 * Exam preparation
 * Test-taking strategies
 * Alleviating text anxiety

Readak hires their own teachers, trains them to teach the course, and sends them to client schools, which consist primarily of private and independent schools.

The basic content and goal of the course has remained the same, while the delivery of instruction has been adapted to accommodate changes in pedagogy and technology. The Readak course typically consists of 12 hours of instruction, with 6 hours of the course focused on study strategies and the other 6 hours on reading strategies.

Other past products included a PSAT/SAT prep course, which has not been offered since 2009. Readak also produced an educational video entitled Effective Study Strategies marketed under the corporate entity, Academic Resources Corporation (ARC), which became a division of Readak in 1989. By 2010, ARC had officially ceased operations.

In 2013, Readak plans to launch an online course that will allow students to take the study skills portion of the course on any internet enabled device (PC, laptop, tablet).

Client Schools
Below is a partial list of schools that have hosted a Readak Advanced Learning Skills Course:

Academia San Jose High School, Guaynabo, PR   American School in Japan, Tokyo, JAPAN American School in England (TASIS), Surrey, UK American School in Puerto Rico (TASIS), Dorado, PR American School in Switzerland (TASIS), Montagnola-Lugano, SWITZERLAND American School of Mexico City, MEXICO American School of Quito, ECUADOR Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose, CA   Bishop Anstey High School, Port of Spain, TRINIDAD Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School, Arlington, VA   Brooks School, North Andover, MA Campion College, Kingston, JAMAICA Canberra Girls' Grammar School, Canberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA Christ Church Episcopal School, Greenville, SC   Delaware County Christian School, Newton Square, PA    Episcopal Collegiate School, Little Rock, AR    Governor's Academy, Byfield, MA    Halifax Grammar School, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CANADA John Gray High School, Cayman Islands, BWI Keystone School, San Antonio, TX   Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, NH    The King's School, Parramatta, NSW, AUSTRALIA Leysin American School, Leysin, SWITZERLAND Lincoln International Academy, Managua, NICARAGUA Long Island Lutheran Middle & High School, Brookville, NY   Marquette University High School, Milwaukee, WI    Phillips Academy Summer Session, Andover, MA Pope John Paul II High School, Hendersonville, TN   Princeton Day School Summer Program, Princeton, NJ Queen's College, St. James, BARBADOS Queen’s Royal College, Port of Spain, TRINIDAD Saltus Grammar School, Hamilton, BERMUDA Saint John's School, San Juan, PR   Trinity Grammar School, Summer Hill, NSW, AUSTRALIA Wheaton Academy, Chicago, IL

Website
www.readak.com Category:Education Category:Study Skills