Where We Started
UEE was founded in 1991 as a non-profit that solely supported the Family Academy, a public school in central Harlem. We base our current curriculum, teacher training, and assessment services on the successful reading comprehension program developed by the founders of the Family Academy. This innovative approach, with its focus on teaching explicit reading comprehension skills, took the student body from a dismal 8% reading proficiency to scoring an impressive 63% in only three years. (See founder David Liben’s article for more information on the Family Academy's approach to teaching literacy.)
In 2003, we changed our name and mission in order to share our accumulated knowledge with other schools. We have grown from reaching six schools in the 2004-2005 school year to supporting 75 client schools and Teach For America in 2009-2010. Today, educators are using our resources in over 300 schools across 29 states.
