About Us

Thirty years of research and reading wars. This is where we stand.

Percent of students at or above proficient reading in 4th grade.

Across America, students fail to achieve grade level reading standards. The demographics of this problem are crystal clear and tragic: 16% of Black students and 20% of Hispanic students read at or above grade level proficiency. Only 2 Black students in 100 read at an advanced level. That is 5X lower than Whites, 10X lower than Asians, and half the rate of Hispanics.

This problem is historic. Since we began measuring the data in 1992, the average Black student in the country has read below the basic level of literacy in 4th grade.

The children in our poorest communities are typically Black or Hispanic or Native American. Their schools are less well funded, the community resources available are fewer, and they are far more likely to suffer from economic or family instability. It is likely that their parents faced these same challenges, or worse, as did the generations before them. The painful paradox is that these are the exact children who must learn faster than their high performing peers if we are to close the Achievement Gap and reach high levels of reading proficiency.

And yet, no research, pedagogy, curriculum, or program has proven a powerful, scalable, and cost-effective solution to alter the trajectory of our reading scores as a nation. Forty-nine states show flat or declining reading proficiency scores between 2017 and 2019, pre-pandemic.

Across America, students fail to achieve grade level reading standards. The demographics of this problem are crystal clear and tragic: 16% of Black students and 20% of Hispanic students read at or above grade level proficiency. On 2 Black students in 100 read at an advanced level. That is 5X lower than Whites, 10X lower than Asians, and half the rate for Hispanics.

This problem is historic. Since we began measuring the data in 1992, the average Black student in the country has read below the basic level of literacy in 4th grade.

We believe that a fundamental shift in teaching English is required.

Across the world, countries with complex languages adopted various “training wheels” to enable their populations to learn to read. In Hebrew and Arabic, these changes are over seven hundred years old. In China, Mandarin added Pinyin only 65 years ago. These systems have been learned by billions and inspire the work we do in TIPS.

Our Team

Seasoned startup executive with history of developing innovative products that drive social good. Owns very dusty climbing gear.

BA, MS, Columbia University

Corynn ensures that every customer has all the support they need to make TIPS® a success in the classroom. She is mother to two delightful little girls, and an avid runner.

University of Miami, University of the Pacific, Heineman Institute

Full-stack engineering lead. and senior technology executive with 15+ years experience, the last six with Zach as VP Engineering.

MS, University of Technology & Life Science – Bydgoszcz

Rebecca drives outreach to schools, sharing the amazing mission of TinyIvy with the world. A TinyIvy team member since Day 1, and a TIPS tutor, she understands the system and the power behind it, because she helped create it.

For over 20 years, Mary was CEO of a multi-million dollar management consulting company, focusing on management development and training.

JD, University of Utah

Our Advisors

Founder and Managing Partner, Saing

Dave has built his business on the belief that focused, innovative solutions and socially conscious partnerships create lasting value. The son and grandson of teachers, he is passionate about increasing access to literacy, especially for communities in need. He is a trustee of the Ochs-Sulzberger trust, which controls the New York Times.

BA, Williams College
Fulbright Scholar, S. Korea

Faculty of Education
University of Haifa

World renowned researcher on the science of reading with focus on the impact of writing systems on how children learn, the nature of reading disabilities, and and understanding the universal drivers in reading acquisition.

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Psychology, University of N.S.W., Sydney, Australia.

Ph.D. in Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.

About Us

Thirty years of research and reading wars. This is where we stand.

Percent of students at or above proficient reading in 4th grade.

We believe that a fundamental shift in teaching English is required.

Our Team

Zach Silverzweig

Corynn Carino

Marcin Ziolkowski

Rebecca Kate

Mary Trueheart

Our Advisors

Dave Golden

Dr. David Share

Contact Us

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