Zip Zoom (originally known as NEARStar) brings to the international marketplace of teachers and schools 30 modules of explicit instruction and an extraordinary library of resources to ensure successful development of critical language and reading skills for young English language learners. The package incorporates child-friendly software in an appropriately colorful and musical game format, along with lessons, results tracking, supporting readers, and hundreds of reading activities that teachers can easily implement in their classrooms.

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), Hawai’i’s local nonprofit corporation serving educational communities throughout the U.S.-affiliated Pacific, agreed upon a licensing arrangement for their product with Scholastic, Inc., a leading publisher of children's books and educational programs and materials. Scholastic, Inc. and PREL assembled a joint development team to take the program to the next level, working to bring ZipZoom to children in the United States, the Pacific region, and around the world. In June 2005, over 5 years of research, development, and evaluation came to a conclusion for the NEARStar/ZipZoom team. The package is now for sale, and many schools will begin using the new software in April 2006. For more information, please see the Scholastic website at: www.scholastic.com/zipzoom.