Institute of Reading Development Reviews 657

We enjoyed meeting with other students who enjoyed reading during the summertime. Our teacher was very knowledgeable and provided positive encouragement to each student. We gained skills that will help in Grade 4. We highly recommend this program!

Really nice and helpful program 🙂 Your child will love it!

So far this has been a pretty good experience. My son describes the teacher as great and sweet and kind. He is an incoming sophomore in high school so we wanted to find a reading/educational program to help prepare him. Help get him ready for what is next to come. It was very easy to select a program and there is a good variety of schedules available. On the first day yesterday the students were asked to read a portion of the first chapter and the instructor would then interact with the students. There is also an online learning course for them to do every week. So far this is working out great.

Great Teacher, that was concerned about every child's progression. She was there for a purpose to get the child to learn but in a creative and fun way. The books selected for this reading program were entertaining to the kids. My special needs child learned phonics, sight words, and reading comprehension. They also assigned homework every weekend, and it was online which reinforced what she taught in class. Very pleased with the program. She was inclusive, and wonderful to my grandson.

Excellent help

This was a great experience because I loved my teacher.

This was a great way to introduce reading skills and keep our son engaged during the summer. He feels much more engaged in reading and learning letters and more prepared for Pre-K.

I can’t say too much because I wasn’t in the class. However, I could tell by Jamie’s enthusiasm that he enjoyed the class and will be looking forward to next week.

This is a money making scheme from what I can tell. I was initially reluctant bc they said that parents can't be in the classroom. My son is 7 and I didn't feel comfortable leaving my child when I haven't gotten a feel for the program. Secondly, we had a family issue come up to where my child could not participate. I called the day of his class and was told I would have to wait until the weekday to get a call from supervisor. I didn't hear anything back. So I called again mid wk that week and finally a supervisor called back who refused to give me a refund despite my offer to send back the unused materials. She tried to give me a credit and I just wanted a refund. Then she proceeded to ask what my family issue was and I didn't feel comfortable giving her that info. She stated that the refund policy was in the email and when I went back to the email I didn't see it plainly. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom, click on terms and agreements and then scroll through a whole bunch of legal jargon until you get almost to the bottom to see the refund policy. The lady ultimately said she would have to get back to me about a refund. Well, here we are 2 wk later and still no call. So I called today again to ask for a supervisor and was told I would hear back. Still... nothing. I will be sure that my kid's school and area schools know to NOT send these flyers home as this program is not out to help parents and their kids. They are out to get your money. I will make sure to forever give all parents I come in contact with a strong warning about this program. Now I am out almost $400.

This is the first time I am choosing this company my son was slow in reading I came home from work yesterday and he told me he can read that was a joy to hear thanks to this program.

My child enjoyed the class and found it to be helpful in the first day.

As far as I can tell, the Institute of Reading Development (IRD) is a money-making venture, capitalizing on parents' natural desire to help their children learn. If you doubt me, try paying for a class, having a legitimate reason to cancel, and asking for a refund. They are not going to part with your money once they have it. And if you still doubt me, try taking a class and seeing what you actually get for your money.

We signed up our daughter (then a rising 6th grader) for a class last summer (2023) because we wanted to help her catch up on reading after she got behind during the pandemic. After signing her up, as we kept observing her reading and talking online about her with another reading expert, we decided that there were specific interventions that we needed to make that were very different from the description of the course. (On a happy side note: We worked with her directly and intensively over the summer on those specific things and it helped a lot.)

We called to cancel the class and explained that we had discovered some specific reading interventions that our daughter needed, and that the class was working at cross-purposes with what she needed. They absolutely refused to give a refund. In fairness to them, their refund policy is "You're out of luck unless you change your mind within 10 days of paying" and we did sign up and didn't figure out our daughter's needs within 10 days, so "bad on us" and they are within their rights to refuse a refund. But it's not the sign of a business that is actually trying to help people. They gave me a nonsensical reason that they couldn't give me a refund: Since we had already signed up, it would mess up their scheduling if they un-signed us up. (That made no sense, because they gave us a voucher to take a course any time in the next 3 years. What is the difference in their scheduling system between taking us out completely and letting us schedule something any time in the next 3 years?)

We are not a family that throws away $300, so we signed my daughter up this summer to use the money we already paid. The class is *fine*. The teacher is nice, and seems to do a good job, but for $300, we get 5 online classes (1 hour 15 each) with about 8 students and access to 25 online homework assignments.

So, ~$50 per hour for a 1 to 8 teacher-to-student ratio (with a bonus of giving your student even more online homework than they had all year in school). If that seems like a good deal, this is the program for you. Just make sure you don't change your mind (10 days) after you pay them.

The class is so great

Saige enjoyed the class. She really liked the book. The teacher held her attention.

Supervisor would not accommodate & offer a full refund or even partial for my unexpected emergency & needing to cancel the class. She denied me a refund & said that my only options are to do online classes or I have 3 years to use to the $371 I spent on another future program. Apparently it’s past the 30 day refund period which she states was in the email I got after signing up for the course. (IT WAS NOT) Due to her lack of concern involving my situation I will NOT be doing any further business with them & have contacted my credit card company. After reading the reviews, PLEASE GO ELSEWHERE. It’s as if they care only about money. I also have NEVER received any of the books/materials which I have paid for on April 20,2024. They are quick to take the money out your account but will make every excuse as to why they cannot give you a refund. Pitiful

Don’t waste your money or time it’s not worth it. There are too many student in a class so there is no individual instruction. The teacher has a hard time getting the class under control. This would be good if there was some type of aid to assist and if the parents were not allowed in the room. The instructor was nice the program is a good idea not well executed.

We ended up not going through with this in lieu of high price. $350 for 4 sessions for the program that is being promoted by public school system is way too much. We understand that all the prices for education are hyperinflated but we can get private tutors for far less than that. The onboarding was long and not transparent. Sort of misleading in the context of a child bringing a brochure from the school on a recommendation of the teacher - we thought it was nearly a part of the school system.

It was really clam and nice.

This program is helping my child to communicate more and it makes her come out of her shell. I was very surprised to see her interactions with the class.