Ello Gives Away Hundreds of Children’s Books at Laundromats in DC Communities, to Help Democratize Learning to Read for More Local Families
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ello, developer of the world’s most advanced AI reading app, announced a new partnership with Civic Suds to promote reading by donating hundreds of children’s books while families are at laundromats this summer.
Civic Suds works with vetted providers like Ello to offer community activities, programs, and services in safe and clean laundry facilities. Its founder is Allister Chang, the Ward 2 Member of the DC State Board of Education, and a literacy educator, researcher and advocate.
Chang’s ongoing commitment to literacy has close synergies with the founders of Ello who are on a mission to teach any child to read from start to finish, regardless of resources. Ello is now working directly with Civic Suds, donating hundreds of free children’s books to families to read and hone their literacy skills while they are doing laundry.
Ello is an award-winning AI-based reading app that leverages the world’s largest child speech data set and the largest library of decodable children’s books, to support parents with struggling readers for a small fraction of what a reading tutor would cost. It is powered by Adaptive Learn, its state-of-the-art AI system that understands, adapts and responds to a child just as a teacher or reading coach would, using principles backed by the Science of Reading to create a fun and educational journey for children in grades K-3.
The Ello app was also recently rated by Common Sense Media as one of its top AI products for ethical use, transparency, safety and impact. Common Sense Media recognized Ello as a company that displayed Responsible AI practices, especially its machine learning fairness that contributed to the app’s high rating.
“We are thrilled to partner with Civic Suds as it is an organization that provides the local community with easy access to educational tools to develop critical learning skills, like reading,” said Dr. Elizabeth Adams, Co-Founder and CXO of Ello. “As we look to reach more families in need of reading support for their children, organizations like Civic Suds offer a great venue at local laundromats for families to read and learn together. We are including decodable books in the donation where the process of learning to read revolves around mastery of phonics, encompassing sound-letter associations, vowel and consonant blends, and recognizing the foundational elements that compose language. We are very excited to make these fun, educational books available to more communities.”
“In our nation’s capital, only 22 percent of DC fourth-graders are proficient in reading. This is not acceptable,” said Allister Chang, Founder of Civic Suds. “Our partnership with Ello not only provides high quality texts to children while they’re waiting at laundromats, but also connects them to new technologies that can advance their literacy skills and promote the joy of reading.”
About Ello
Ello is helping to solve childhood illiteracy by scaling 1:1 instruction to maximize the learning potential of all children, regardless of resources. Its first product is the world’s most advanced reading companion, powered by proprietary speech recognition and generative AI. It listens, understands, and engages with children to teach them critical reading skills as they read out loud. Ello is founded by a team of experts in education, childhood development and artificial intelligence, and backed by investors including Y Combinator, Goodwater, Project A and Homebrew. Learn more at https://ello.com.
Media contact:
Gina Rezendes
Big Swing Communications
617-640-9278
gina@big-swing.com
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