This final report, covering the period September 1, 1997 to August 31, 2001, discusses the development, activities, and outcomes of Upgrading Preparatory Work To Augment Reading Development: UPWARD for Students with Disabilities, a multi-faceted program for providing children with disabilities intensive, phonological awareness and other early literacy instruction within general kindergarten classrooms. To develop and evaluate the program, experimental studies were run investigating the effects of a highly structured, class-wide peer-tutoring program. The effects of the programs that emphasized phonological awareness versus beginning word analysis were examined, along with the effects on the development of phonological awareness and other emergent literacy skills of kindergarten children with disabilities, and the incidental benefits for other students in these classrooms. The children were followed though first grade to examine effects on reading development. Results of the project indicate that: (1) peer-mediation was a productive format for delivering reading readiness programs to children as young as 5 years old; (2) the nature of peer-mediated programs should focus on decoding activities rather than on phonological awareness activities; (3) effects for students with and without disabilities were similar in nature; (4) effects were similar in high-poverty and middle-class schools; and (5) the kindergarten teachers were enthusiastic about their participation in Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies. (CR)