While a college degree is an important economic and social resource for graduating-age students, more and more students are entering colleges and universities without the basic skills necessary to achieve academic success, and a growing number are low-literate or limited English speaking. Community colleges have an important role in ensuring vocational and academic success for these students, but it is important that, instead of offering watered-down remedial curricula, creative and vigorous approaches be utilized. Studies have consistently shown that approaches which provide basic skills training together with reasoning and critical-thinking content are effective, and research and theories related to reading development suggest that the emphasis on mastering basic skills before advancing to higher order ones are misguided. Furthermore, the importance of listening and speaking communication skills in any learning should not be overlooked, as they provide a way for low-literate students to bring their powerful intellectual skills into the learning process. One program which gives students space for exploring and expanding ideas while reading skills are developed is Easy Steps to Reading Independence (ESTRI). ESTRI features a cumulative skill-building approach and each lesson in the program focuses on recognition of consonant and vowel sounds as well as higher order skills such as inference, interpretation, and reasoning. (Contains 28 references.) (ECC)