Lehighton Area School District’s board of directors approved the purchase of a software program Monday night aimed at helping kindergarten teachers assess student progress.

The purchase includes eight 12-month licenses of the Education Software for Guided Instruction program for a total of $1,272. Each license is good for a teacher and up to 35 students. According to elementary Principal Aaron Sebelin, the program has been used for the past two years by three kindergarten teachers in the district, primarily at Franklin Elementary School.

“The ESGI program provided specific information on alphabet recognition, uppercase and lowercase letters, letter sound identification, high-frequency words, rhyme recognition, onset fluency and identifying final sounds in words,” Sebelin said.

The online program provides support for teachers with common assessments, storing data and tracking student progress.

“The gained information also helps staff develop interventions specific to areas where a child may require additional support in order to achieve mastery,” Sebelin said. “The data is also shared with parents so they can see where their child is mastering kindergarten curriculum and where they are falling short.”

According to the ESGI website, the program allows the teachers to keep track of 118 different data points per each student.

Several Lehighton teachers also piloted the program during parent-teacher conferences, according to administrators.

“Student progress reports were shared with all kindergarten parents at conferences,” Sebelin said, “and gives a clear picture of how students are performing at the kindergarten level.”