Read what a few of our recent clients and contributors have said about AsylumText.
“Asylum has been great—capturing our voice, bringing a firm grasp of NGSS, and working beautifully with our editors to deliver superb content on time.”
CLIENT RECOMMENDATIONS
2018–2020 | BBC STUDIOS AMERICA | SCIENCE, MEDIA LITERACY
“AsylumText quickly created a middle-school science instructional prototype for a series of documentaries in our on-air Astronomy series. Their work was excellent, and BBC is exploring further opportunities for Asylum’s concept. AT also wrote, edited, copyedited, and fact-checked scores of science video scripts aimed at the high school market and produced in partnership with STEMScopes.
“Asylum overcame several obstacles to help us create an educational component for our middle-school pilot Media Literacy program, My World. The pilot instructs students on news—from its nature, function, and role to the growing necessity for consumers to evaluate its credibility. The online pilot, produced with Microsoft, is launching as an open-source classroom complement to BBC’s My World TV series. Every step of the way, Ron and his team delivered top-notch content and refined it with diligence and integrity. We look forward to working with them again.”
KARA IACONIS — Global Head of Learning | New York, NY
2019–2021 | TWIG EDUCATION | SCIENCE, ELD, SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS
“I reached AsylumText via a referral from a colleague who’d worked with Ron Ottaviano at Scholastic. It was a brilliant lead. Twig engaged AT to create ELD support in our 6–8 Science Program for California. Asylum’s work was excellent, an improvement on the ELD in our K–5 Program.
“We decided to invite AT to develop the science in our Teacher Guides and student-facing Twig Books over all 28 modules of our middle school program. Asylum has been great—capturing our voice, bringing a firm grasp of NGSS, and working beautifully with our editors to deliver superb content on time. Ron and Kevin Adkins, his partner, are responsive, diligent and, not unimportantly, very pleasant to work with.
“Asylum’s team has done great work and, when the inevitable snags hit, managed to set things straight quickly and gracefully. I’d recommend them as a reliable and exacting K–12 content group. AT is a very dependable and straight-shooting partner.”
NATASHA STILLWELL — Chief Creative Officer | Glasgow, Scotland UK
2017–2018 | Houghton mifflin harcourt | ELA, ELD
“I want to let you know that the grades 6–8 SE/TE were approved and adopted by Texas. All three TEs received 100% compliance on the ELPS! Thanks again [SPi Global US & AsylumText] for all your hard work. . . . I’m finally getting to read the great content you contributed to, and I think we have a TE to be proud of.”
MARY SHAW — Managing Learning Architect, ELA | Boston
2017–2021 | STRAIVE (SPi GLOBAL) | ELA, ELD, MATH, SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES
“Over the last few years, SPi Global US [now called Straive] has subcontracted to AsylumText on several projects, and their work has been excellent. AT customized a Pearson Social Studies program (for Illinois) and developed, from manuscript through slates, an online Biology Assessment (for California). AT’s work on a Grade 8 ELD science guide for HMH was excellent and done with blinding speed.
“Perhaps their most significant contribution was in 2019: AT wrote and edited two 900-page TEs, Geometry and Algebra II, for a Gr. 6–12 Math program by HMH (©2020). AT also supported SPI’s work on the program’s student parts. Asylum did all of that in about four months! And their work was singled out for praise. Asylum’s math team was superb and hit every deadline.
“Every program poses challenges—some have been extraordinary. In the face of this, Ron and his team maintain composure and find creative solutions. AT’s staff—whether writers, editors, copy editors, proofreaders—is top notch and very dependable.”
MARK FRIEDMAN — Associate VP K–12 Education | Chicago
“They’re great people to work with, they treat freelancers fairly. And not only do they have a sharper eye for quality, they’re open and flexible.”
CONTRIBUTOR OPINIONS
DRAWN FROM AN EDITORIAL-FREELANCER EXCHANGE
“AT has intelligence and integrity. No developer I know understands and cares more about the quality of educational content than AsylumText. Ron and Kevin are the best the business has to offer!”
—NICK FALLETTA: NYC | Education Consultant and Writer; National Assessment Specialist; Author; Former Executive Editor for Mathematics and Language Arts at Harcourt
“Ron Ottaviano is the only client I’ve ever had who made me see qualities in a poem that I had been unable to see—just by taking the time to talk with me about it. Kevin Adkins provides helpful, clear specs and stays on top of everything. The other writers I know who have worked for Asylum feel as I do: Give these guys the best work possible because they’ll notice, and it will matter.”
—JAN GLEITER: Chicago | Writer; Assessement Consultant; Author, This Is a Test: A Handbook for Writing Good Tests (Capstone, 2013)
“They’re the best around in terms of square dealing [and] treating freelancers fairly and with respect—and providing thorough guidance.”
—SHEILA BOYLE: Boston | Writer/Editor; Author, Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise and Achievement (University of Massachusetts Press, 2005)
“ . . . [A] thumbs up for Ron and Kevin at Asylum. They are very, very pleasant to work with.”
—EILEEN OSHINSKY: Rhinebeck, NY | Writer
“They’re great people to work with, they treat freelancers fairly. And not only do they have a sharper eye for quality, they’re open and flexible. They asked me to switch from one of their projects to this one, but I chose to continue with the current one. I don’t think either choice would have been wrong.”
—RICHARD COHEN: Austin, TX | Editorial Director, GenEd Corp; Writer/Editor