A public school within the Schule Brugg district in Aargau, Switzerland, introduced Grafari in Years 1 and 2 across four classes. Two years later, those same classes sat a standardized literacy assessment administered across Aargau schools at the start of Year 3.
All four classes scored noticeably higher than previous year groups, specifically in the language focus section of the test. The school had previously sat slightly above the regional average. The margin was now clearly wider.
"All four classes performed significantly better than previous year groups. For me, that is not a coincidence. We had never seen this level of clarity in the language section before."
BEAT RÖTHLISBERGER, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Schule Brugg serves around 1,600 students. Classes are large and mixed in ability. In any given year group, the range stretches from children who need intensive support to those working well ahead of curriculum expectations.
School principal Beat Rothlisberger and learning therapist Karin Muhlberg shared a goal: more targeted individual support and a more systematic approach to literacy, particularly spelling. Standard teaching materials, including digital ones, could not deliver it. They offered content but no adaptive path. The diagnostic work of identifying where each child actually needed help took time that most teachers did not have.
Rothlisberger is direct about what explains the results: not the volume of practice, but the quality of it. Grafari's adaptive approach means children work on the specific points that matter for their individual progress. Where a child needs smaller steps, the program adjusts. Where a child is ready to move forward, it does.
For Karin Muhlberg, who works across the school as a learning therapist specialising in dyslexia and dyscalculia, the practical value is precision. In a standard lesson, identifying exactly where a child is struggling takes time that comes directly at the expense of the support work itself.
"I can see immediately where a child has difficulties, and I know exactly where to step in. In regular lessons, the diagnosis takes much longer and that leaves less time for the actual support."
KARIN MÜHLBERG, LEARNING THERAPIST
The coach dashboard surfaces each child's current level clearly enough that Muhlberg now uses it in parent meetings and in official progress reporting. When the program reaches the limits of what it can address independently, it flags this directly, pointing teachers to the children who need them most.
The school also uses Calcularis for numeracy, following the same principles: adaptive support, real-time progress visibility, and a shared structure that keeps progress legible across year groups and staff.
Grafari has also given the school something at an operational level: a shared spelling methodology that every teacher works from. Where previously there was no common system, there is now clarity across classes and year groups about what each child is working on and how progress is being tracked.
"Above all, their confidence and motivation change. I hear children who previously doubted everything say: I can do that now. That is not so hard anymore. One child had real difficulties with matching sounds to letters. After a few months with Grafari, it was like a turning point. Suddenly they could read and write more securely and they engaged in class in a completely different way."
KARIN MÜHLBERG, LEARNING THERAPIST
Rothlisberger frames it clearly. Performance and emotional engagement are not separate goals. Both shift when the conditions are right. The test results are meaningful. So is a child who decides, for the first time, that they can do something.
Not every teacher adopted the programs immediately. Some continued with their own methods. One colleague, Rothlisberger recalls, worked intensively with traditional approaches for a period without the results they were hoping for. They added Grafari to supplement their teaching. The results changed their view. That teacher now works actively with the program.
Muhlberg's observation matches: the shift in attitude tends to follow the moment when progress becomes visible. The results and the change in how children engage make the case more effectively than any recommendation could.
The practical setup is designed to stay manageable. Sessions run for 12 to 15 minutes on most school mornings. Parents have access at home. A supply teacher can pick up a tablet and run a purposeful session without any briefing from the regular class teacher.
"If you commit to it, it can be a real turning point because you suddenly have a clear system that works across the school day."
BEAT ROTHLISBERGER, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Calcularis and Grafari adapt to each child's level, complement your existing curriculum, and give teachers a clear picture of how every student is progressing.
