About F.A.S.T. Learning, LLC.
About Us
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A Brief History of F.A.S.T. Learning, LLC.
F.A.S.T. Learning, an educational publishing company, was launched in 1998 as a joint venture between Stephan D. Tattum and the Denver Academy.
The Denver Academy was founded in 1972 and is an internationally recognized private school for children with learning differences. Mr. Tattum spent more than 30 years at the Denver Academy working with children who have been diagnosed with identifiable learning challenges such as dyslexia and attention deficits, as well as children who under perform academically due to different learning styles. Many of the programs and books that F.A.S.T. Learning publishes today come out of Mr. Tattum’s extensive, groundbreaking work at the Denver Academy.
The company’s flagship product is the F.A.S.T. Reading System, a research-based literacy intervention program. The F.A.S.T. Reading System combines the best of systematic phonics, auditory processing, and literature-based instruction to create a streamlined, multi-sensory program that includes immediate reading application with high interest, phonetically controlled books. The F.A.S.T. Reading System has been successfully implemented at schools nationwide.
F.A.S.T. Learning’s stable of products also includes F.A.S.T. First Steps, a highly regarded and engaging early literacy program. In addition, F.A.S.T. Learning has been conducting teacher training workshops for as long as the company has been in existence. The F.A.S.T. workshops are innovative and effective, as studies show that students can gain more than two grade levels in reading in as little as eight weeks under the instruction of a F.A.S.T. trained teacher.
F.A.S.T. is an acronym for Foundations of Analysis, Synthesis, and Translation, three actions required by the brain during reading. It is also a reference to how quickly kids’ motivation and confidence in reading increases when taught to read with the F.A.S.T. method.
In 2002, F.A.S.T. Learning became a limited liability company and has since been officially known as F.A.S.T. Learning, LLC. That same year a board of directors, whose members include local business and community leaders, was appointed.
F.A.S.T. Learning, LLC is privately held and based in Denver, Colorado.
“The F.A.S.T. training I received was the most comprehensive and valuable training that I have ever had. And I have been teaching for more than twenty-five years.”
--Rebecca Brazil
Reading Specialist
Our Founder
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Stephan D. Tattum is an experienced educator whose passion for teaching children with learning differences has led him to excel as a hands-on classroom instructor, a highly effective administrator, and the creator of numerous programs and curriculums.
Many of Mr. Tattum’s programs have been implemented with great success at the internationally recognized Denver Academy, which he has helped guide since its inception more than 30 years ago.
In addition to his decades of real-world experience, Mr. Tattum has a rich educational background. He holds a M.A. in education from George Washington University and has trained extensively in a variety of reading techniques, including Orton Gillingham, Lindamood Bell, and Auditory Discrimination. He has also been a student of whole language since the early 1980s.
In 1998, Mr. Tattum launched F.A.S.T. Learning, LLC, an educational publishing company that serves the K-Adult literacy intervention market. Its core product, the F.A.S.T. Reading System, synthesizes a broad range of research and teaches students with learning differences to read by bringing together systematic phonics with intensive work on phonological skills and insights into whole language. The program is accompanied by engaging, phonetically controlled book series that Mr. Tattum wrote to help students apply their skills.
Due to his many years of practical experience in the implementation of effective curriculum for students with learning differences, Mr. Tattum is a much sought after speaker and trainer for both teachers and school administrators.
Watch Steve's Interview on PBS' "This is America"
Read some of Steve's articles in Steve's Corner
Media
F.A.S.T. Learning in the News
► F.A.S.T. Founder Steve Tattum Appears on PBS' "This is America"
► Readers at Work in Thimmig Construction Zone
Communicator, November, 2009
► Hooked on F.A.S.T.
MonroeNews.com, December 4, 2008
► Family Says Innovative Program Helped Their Son Learn to Read
CandGnews.com, January, 2008
► St. Sebastian says new reading program is "answer to prayers"
The Michigan Catholic Press; May 25, 2007
Media Requests
To schedule an interview, or to request an examination copy of a book or program, please contact:
Rosemarie Offenhauer
F. A.S.T. Learning, LLC
2300 South Birch St.
Denver, CO 80222
Fax: 720-377-0603
Phone: 720-377-0346 ext. 277
Email:
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Testimonials
Educator Testimonials
"…I have never encountered a program that I could get behind with as much confidence. F.A.S.T. Reading is a breakthrough program. I have seen my most severe students make slow progress with other programs. Last year, utilizing the F.A.S.T. Reading program, all that learning came together for them and they took off.”
Sandra Schwartz
Farmington Public Schools, Michigan
"The F.A.S.T. training I received was the most comprehensive and valuable training that I have ever had. And I have been teaching for more than 25 years.”
Rebecca Brazil, Reading Specialist
Breckenridge Elementary Summit School District, CO
“The F.A.S.T. Reading System has made a big difference in our school. My team uses it with students in grades 1-5 and in special education. It is a marvellous to see veteran teachers fired up with the F.A.S.T. reading tools.”
Stephen Pino, Principal
Mission Avenue Elementary School
Albuquerque, NM
“The children love playing the games and using the [F.A.S.T.] magnetic boards and letters…even kids with learning challenges do well.”
Joseph Ziegler, Special Education Teacher
Denver Public Schools
"It excites me as students realize their new power over words instead of the words having power over them. The F.A.S.T. Reading System gives non-readers the ability to read quicker then other reading programs."
Jane Taylor
Denver Academy
"I have been teaching reading to a group of students for 3 years, with little progress. The F.A.S.T. Reading Program has given me and the students’ tools for reading success. They have made more progress in 3 months than in 3 years."
Margie Smith
Educator
"The F.A.S.T. Reading System has helped me relate the sounds of language to reading success."
Vicki Fockler
Speech Therapist
Parent Testimonials
“As a family, we will always be indebted to Steve Tattum and F.A.S.T. Learning. Because of Steve, our son’s life will forever be enriched and a whole new world has opened…he now reads and writes.”
Jim and Kristine Mestdagh
Parents
"I started teaching reading to my second grade son, Chris, using the F.A.S.T. Reading Program. HE READ, I CRIED!!"
Helen Freemyer
Mother
"My 7-year-old daughter, Nicole, was struggling with basic reading skills when we began the F.A.S.T. Reading System. After only ten (one hour) sessions with her tutor, her reading ability rose two grade levels."
Lynn Smithpeter
Mother
“Words cannot express how much I appreciate you working with Nathan this week, teaching him to read. Clearly you have the key that unlocked the door inside Nathan’s brain. Even Nathan is amazed at how it all “clicked.”
Kris Davidson
A Parent
“I am totally amazed with the F.A.S.T. Reading System. I have a grandson who is in the fifth grade. He is dyslexic and never mastered the reading programs in public schools. We enrolled him in the F.A.S.T. Reading System program and we are amazed at how fast he is learning to read…This program has been a wonderful discovery for my grandson.”
JoAnn Baker
Grandparent
“F.A.S.T. works…I feel so lucky that I was led to the F.A.S.T. Reading System…”
Bonnie York
Parent