Research has found that a solid foundation of early literacy skills is a necessity for later reading and academic success. One such skill that contributes to a strong foundation is phonemic awareness. This study has explained the importance of a phonemic awareness curriculum for kindergarten and first grade special education and at-risk reading students. Students involved in the study were assessed using the DIBELS (Good & Kaminski, 2002) as a pretest and posttest measure. Students were then involved in an eight week intensive phonemic awareness intervention. This mixed methodology explanatory design study used ANCOVA data for the statistical measure with an open ended questionnaire to parents and teachers regarding student progress as a result of the training program. It is the researcher's belief that the phonemic awareness curriculum improved student early literacy skills. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]