Scaling early English literacy to bridge the opportunity divide
Why it matters
In the United States
Worldwide
One in two primary school-age children - more than 387 million - won’t be able to read with proficiency by the time they are of age to complete primary education.[4]
Illiteracy costs the global economy more than $1 trillion, perpetuating poverty in many parts of the world.[4]
If all students in low income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty:12% cut in world poverty.[4]
Bridging the Divide
With “zero to reading” digital content + low-cost mobile devices, we now have a real shot at scaling English literacy to reach every child.
Our goal is to provide the crucial missing first step in each child’s educational journey.
“Zero to reading”?
We start from zero: no prior exposure to English or knowledge of any other language is necessary.
We engage children with imagery and audio, with content designed for personalized guided learning.
Our content design is based on Instructed Second Language Acquisition research, targeting the fundamental skills required for literacy: vocabulary knowledge (meaning of words), phonological awareness (recognition of sounds), and orthographic awareness (recognition of spelling). Our content modules reinforce each other as they target these fundamental skills. Read more.
Early literacy is key to educational and economic opportunities in the global economy, but 100s of millions of children are being left behind. They just need the opportunity.
You can help provide the tools and change the course of their lives.
Join us!
[1] CalEdFacts
[2] US DoE: Our Nation’s English Learners
[3] Halle T. et al., Predictors and Outcomes of Early vs. Later English Language Proficiency Among English Language Learners, Early Child Res Q. 2012 ; 27(1): 1–20.
[4] UNESCO 2017, UNESCO 2016, World Literacy Foundation 2018