Agenda Item
g. Purchase of Amira Tutor, Supplemental High-Dosage Tutoring (Not to exceed $600,000)
Summary: Presented by: Ms. Stacy E. Stepney, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum and Instruction
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the purchase of Amira Tutor, a high-dosage, research-based tutoring program to support foundational reading skills, fluency, and reading comprehension development in kindergarten through third grade, in an amount not to exceed $600,000.
Why: The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) administers the Northwest Evaluation Association Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) three times per year. The 2025 spring MAP Fluency data results in the areas of phonics and word recognition are as follows:
Phonics and Word Recognition
Grade
Below Expectation
Approaching Expectation
Meets Expectation
Exceeds Expectation
Kindergarten
27%
16%
25%
32%
First
52%
46%
2%
0%
Second
96%
0%
4%
0%
Third
95%
0%
5%
0%
Amira ISIP is the Georgia Department of Education’s approved reading and dyslexia screener provided to local school districts at no cost. The District is seeking to adopt and purchase Amira Tutor, a supplemental tutoring program that algins directly to the Amira Assess. Amira Tutor will provide high-dosage, evidence-based, AI-guided, 1:1 tutoring to support teaching and learning. Real-time micro interventions are individualized and use research-based techniques and explicit decoding strategies to enhance foundational reading skills.
Pursuant to Board Policy DJE (III.D.3.g.2), the purchase of Amira Tutor does not require a competitive bid because it meets the policy definition of supplemental resources needed for instruction. In addition, Amira Tutor was evaluated and selected by qualified professional personnel based on sound pedagogical judgment and in the school district’s best interest.
Details: Amira ISIP provides a comprehensive and culturally responsive assessment system that evaluates key early literacy components such as phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension-many of which can be completed in 15-20 minutes. The voice-enabled technology listens as students read aloud, detects errors with high reliability and validity, and generates actionable data reports that support differentiated instruction and early identification of reading difficulties, including dyslexia risk.
Amira acts in three essential roles: a dyslexia screener and diagnostic tool, a skilled instructional assistant, and a personalized reading coach. These roles are particularly valuable for early learners who benefit from responsive, individualized practice grounded in the science of reading.
For educators, Amira Tutor enhances classroom efficiency by allowing small group, whole group, or individual support by delivering immediate feedback through an AI-powered 1:1 tutor. For students, Amira Tutor fosters independence and engagement through interactive read-aloud experiences and real-time positive reinforcement. This tool is especially effective for supporting diverse learners thanks to its universal design features and multilingual sensitivity.
Overall, Amira Tutor empowers K-3 teachers with the data and tools needed to deliver responsive instruction, monitor progress, and close early literacy gaps, making it an asset in building foundational reading proficiency across all student groups. The selection of the Amira Tutor followed a two-round review process:
Round 1 (March 17, 2025): The five GADOE approved vendors presented their universal reading and dyslexia screener in person. A total of 15 participants attended, including central office coordinators, directors, assistant superintendents, and chiefs. Participants provided structured feedback and posed questions regarding instructional design, alignment with science of reading, and support for differentiated instruction of each resource.
Round 2 (April 3, 2025): Vendors addressed specific questions that arose in Round 1.
Financial impact: The total contract amount will not exceed $600,000.
120.2100.553200.26021.7210.1613.8010.035.2025
GEER II Dyslexia
Communication-Web Subscription
100-1000-553200-00011-7580-9990-8010-035-000
Communication-Web Subscription
100-2220-530000-00011-7580-9990-8010-035-0000
Purchased Professional/Technical Services
Contact: Ms. Stacy E. Stepney, Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-0731
Dr. Sean R. Tartt, Deputy Chief Academic Officer, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-0731
Dr. Penny Mosley, Assistant Superintendent K-5 Curriculum & Instruction, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-0137
Dr. Lynn Angus Ramos, Director, Literacy, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-0136
Mrs. Lummie Baker, Director, Educational Media and Instructional Materials, Division of Curriculum & Instruction, 678-676-2421
Effective: July 15, 2025- June 30, 2026
Status: Approved by Office of Legal Affairs
Quote
Amira Q-75412
Prepared For
Dekalb County School District
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
Stone Mtn, GA, 30083-1027
Your Amira Partner
Adam Cohn
Account Executive
acohn@istation.com
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Quote: Q-75412
Prepared For: Dekalb County School District
Expires On: 8/29/2025
Amira Assessment Student License K-3
QTY Product Campus Start Date Months Sales Price
30703 Amira Assessment 8/01/2025 12 $0.00
Student License K-3
Amira Tutor Student License
QTY Product Campus Start Date Months Sales Price
30703 Amira Tutor Student 8/01/2025 12 $460,545.00
License
Amira - GA Assessment PD
QTY Product Campus Start Date Months Sales Price
1 Amira - GA 8/01/2025 12 $0.00
Assessment PD
Amira Suite Teacher License
QTY Product Campus Start Date Months Sales Price
1361 Amira Suite 8/01/2025 12 $0.00
Teacher License
Start Date: 8/01/2025 Term: 12 End Date: 7/31/2026
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Quote: Q-75412
Prepared For: Dekalb County School District
Expires On: 8/29/2025
List Amount $460,545.00
Tax Amount $0.00
Customer Total $460,545.00
Disclaimer: Pricing is as quoted and is subject to change based on any modifications
to bundle configurations, enrollment updates, or other adjustments. Additional
options are to be paid in full. Totals include applicable taxes, which should be
reflected on your Purchase Order (if applicable).
To avoid delays in processing your order, please ensure the following:
• Email your Purchase Order, including the provided quote number, to
orders@amiralearning.com.
• Digitally sign the contract provided upon commitment with your Amira
partner.
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Quote: Q-75412
Prepared For: Dekalb County School District
Expires On: 8/29/2025
Istation Privacy Policy: https://amiralearning.com/istation-privacy-policy
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Upgrade to the Next
Generation of Amira
See What’s Coming for Istation and
Amira Customers
Asses. Instruct. Tutor. Upgrading to the new Amira’s A-I-T Reading Suite ensures
deeper insights, core-aligned instruction, and research-validated tutoring that
translates to reading growth for every student.
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Assess with Accuracy—More Measurement
Points, Deeper Insight
The upgraded Amira ISIP is more powerful than ever, offering criterion- and norm-
referenced insights and new ways to assess reading skills. With unmatched
precision, Amira measures more skills, analyzes more data points, and provides deeper
insights. It is the best of both Istation and Amira!
You get:
● Science of Reading-Based, Productive Assessment – A read-aloud, AI-driven
assessment that evaluates reading skills across Scarborough’s Reading Rope in
20 minutes or less, in both English and Spanish.
● Comprehensive & Adaptive Skill Measurement – Goes beyond Oral Reading
Fluency (ORF) to assess decoding, phonemic awareness, spelling/encoding,
vocabulary, and listening comprehension, adapting to keep students in their
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).
● AI-Proctored, Teacher-Friendly Design – Amira proctors, models, listens,
measures, and analyzes in real time—eliminating the need for extensive teacher
training, manual scoring, and time-consuming data analysis.
● Norm & Criterion-Referenced Insights – Provides dynamic, actionable reports,
including longitudinal growth tracking, tiered and group reports, grade level
achievement scores, and state standards-based insights.
Why It Matters:
With 10x more measurement points captured than traditional computer adaptive
tests, Amira provides an equitable, non-biased, research-based measure of student
progress, ensuring early identification of reading challenges.
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Instruct: Align Your Instructional
Framework to Student Needs in Real Time
Amira Instruct connects Assess and Tutoring to core-aligned strategies that make
every teaching moment intentional. By driving core-coherence, it ensures instruction
is purposeful and moves every student forward with next steps directly connected to
your core scope and sequence.
You get:
● Curriculum-Coherent AI Lesson Planner – Morphs to a district’s core curriculum
scope and sequence, ensuring every instructional moment is tied to your
instructional framework.
● Core-Coherent Assignments – Teachers can group Tier 1, 2, and 3 students by
skill need, assign micro-lessons aligned to their curriculum, and track progress
across Scarborough’s Reading Rope, ensuring cohesion between assessment,
instruction, and practice.
● Diagnostic-Driven, Individualized Instruction – AI morphs to district curricula,
generating Individualized Reading Instruction Plans (IRIPs) that map directly to
scope and sequence.
● Action Alerts & Real-Time Data Updates – Surfaces the most critical insights,
ensuring no student slips through the cracks and guiding educators to the next
best step in instruction.
● Amira Bot for Instant Teacher Support – AI-powered assistance directly within
the dashboard, answering instructional questions on demand.
Why It Matters:
Amira Instruct doesn’t just deliver differentiated instruction—it drives coherence by
ensuring that assessment, instruction, and tutoring work as a seamless system within
your instructional framework. Teachers teach and AI handles the heavy lifting –
keeping daily and weekly literacy goals aligned to core instruction. No other company
offers this novel technology!
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Tutor: Evidence-Based, AI-Guided 1:1
Support
Amira Tutor delivers high-dosage, research-backed reading practice that
outperforms human tutoring, helping students build fluency, comprehension, and
confidence.
You get:
● Individualized, Productive Practice – Students engage by reading aloud in
structured, daily formative diagnostics aligned with the Science of Reading.
● Real-Time Micro-Interventions – AI delivers just-in-time scaffolding, using
research-based techniques like Elkonin sound boxes and explicit decoding
strategies.
● Socratic Dialogue for Comprehension – Builds inferencing, vocabulary, and
deep reading skills through guided discussion with fluent students.
● Expanded Micro-Lesson Library – Now includes hundreds of additional micro-
interventions enhancing fluency, decoding, and comprehension.
● Core-Coherent Practice – Directly links to teacher-assigned skills in Instruct,
ensuring tutoring aligns with classroom instruction.
Why It Matters:
Amira Tutor has been independently validated to accelerate reading growth,
generating 8 to 17 additional weeks of progress annually, surpassing traditional
interventions. We’ve got the evidence to prove it!
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Why Upgrade?
● A Fully Integrated A-I-T Learning Cycle – With the power of AI, assessment
informs instruction, instruction powers tutoring, and tutoring reinforces
assessment, creating a seamless growth engine for students.
● Built for Science of Reading-Aligned Districts – Supports structured literacy
approaches and ensures instructional coherence at every level, for all tiers.
● Less Testing, More Learning – Screening and progress monitoring happen
seamlessly during the reading block—no extra testing time needed. Students
stay engaged, unaware they’re being assessed, while teachers get real-time
insights for timely interventions.
● Expanded Micro-Lesson Library – Now includes hundreds of additional micro-
interventions enhancing fluency, decoding, and comprehension.
● Core-Coherent Practice – Directly links to teacher-assigned skills in Instruct,
ensuring tutoring aligns with classroom instruction.
Amira’s next-generation AI solution ensures that every student receives the precise
support they need—at the right time, in the right way.
Contact your Amira Learning representative to learn more about current customer
special pricing - this year only!
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Effective June 2024, Istation is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Amira Learning, Inc. As part
of our integration efforts and to enhance efficiency across our organization, we are integrating
our financial and banking structures under a single Federal Employer Identification Number
(FEIN).
Effective immediately, all transactions, invoices, and financial documentation should be
processed using the following federal employer identification number and banking information:
Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN): 82-2207220
Banking Information
ACH Payments (preferred):
Bank Name: Western Alliance Bank
ABA Routing Number: 121143260
Bank Address: One East Washington Street Ste 2500 Phoenix, Arizona 85004 U.S.A
Account Name: Amira Learning Inc
Account Number: 8996514912
Beneficiary Address: 5214f Diamond Heights Blvd # 3255 San Francisco, CA 94131
Check Payments:
Amira Learning Inc
PO BOX 92448
Las Vegas, NV 89193-2448
(Note: Please do not send check payments to the beneficiary address noted on the W-9.
Check payments should be sent to Amira Learning, Inc.s lockbox, which is administered
by Western Alliance Bank. This address differs from the one listed on the W-9.)
To assist in updating your records, we have attached the following documents:
Amira Learning, Inc. Form W-9
Official Banking Letters confirming our updated banking details
Please update your records to reflect this change and ensure that all future payments and
correspondence are directed accordingly.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out to
AccountsReceivable@amiralearning.com.
We appreciate your partnership and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Monika Flood, CFO
Amira Learning, Inc.
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Remit to: P.O. Box 92448, Las Vegas, NV 89193-2448
April 27, 2025
BANK ACCOUNT VERIFICATION LETTER
2/18/2025
RE: Amira Learning Inc
To Whom It May Concern,
Amira Learning Inc has an a Western Alliance Bank.
122105980
8996514912
is
Western Alliance Bank
BBFXUS6S
122105980
One Ste 2500
, Arizona 85004 U.S.A
Amira Learning Inc
8996514912
, CA,
ility on the
Western Alliance Bank
Sincerely,
Benidt
Head of Branch Banking
1 East Washington Street • Phoenix, AZ • 85004 • (602) 389-3500