Ignite Reading

When kids learn to read on time their opportunities in school and life improve profoundly. If a child cannot read by the time they are in third grade, they are four times less likely to graduate high school.* In 2022, only 33% of U.S. fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders were reading at grade level (National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment scores). Ignite! Reading is on a mission to fix this. Ignite partners with schools and districts nationally to provide K-8 students reading instruction grounded in the Science of Reading. Schools in the Ignite program receive a dedicated team of virtual tutors who are highly trained in an evidence-based foundational reading skills curriculum rooted in the Science of Reading. Tutors meet virtually each day with students in targeted 1:1, 15-minute sessions. Baseline assessments and data from routine progress monitoring give tutors insight into decoding gaps, allowing them to tailor lessons to each student’s specific needs as a developing reader. Tutoring happens during the school day and can seamlessly fit into a school’s literacy block. Ignite’s results speak for themselves. During the 2021-2022 school year, students in the Ignite program made 2.4 weeks of reading progress for every week in the program. Those same results held true for students of color, white students, multilingual learners, students with IEPs, and those receiving free and reduced lunch. “I haven’t seen anything as simple or effective in a while. It’s such an innovative, promising approach to closing the achievement gap. I’m really excited about it.” - Assistant Superintendent, Worcester, MA *Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation