If our children are our future, then we have a problem. According to public school statistical data, less and less children graduate high schools every year, and people who do read at 3 to 4 grade levels lower than mandatory. The three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and abilities of 15-year-olds, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD states for reading skills, and a below average 25th for arithmetic.

Another ranking agency ranked America’s highschool education quality 117th of 153 developed nations based totally on standardized test scores, and average reading levels across a country. (Average American reads at 2nd grade level). Such poor literacy spells catastrophe for young Americans and for our capability to compete in the World market.

Skeptics would argue that small children and high immigrant population are skewing the info, but even they agree that something wants to switch. But what type of change?

Before any solution can be implemented, the reason for the issue must be isolated. The country is going through commercial crisis and does not have the money to adequately staff colleges? Teachers ‘ salaries are based on years of service instead of performance? The same solutions have been tried for 40 years instead of giving something new a try? All true and valid points, but some people who are tackling the literacy issue believe the issue is more basic, and the answer lies with the kids themselves. One such person is Aleksey Vayner.

Alumni of Yale University, London College of Economics, and creator of Empower a Child Inc, a non-profit that is focused on helping children learn critical abilities like reading, Aleksey done research and conducted many primary studies to research how folks read, and what changes are required to read better.

Aleksey Vayner looks beyond business and institutional reasons in a search for the answer to America’s reading problem. First generation immigrant, he experienced first-hand the problem of learning English in an over-crowded public college ESL classroom, encircled by youngsters who were…difficult to teach. “Looking beyond all of the obvious macro issues, there was one constant. Students were not engaged; in layman's terms they were bored. Their concentration span is small, and teachers do not have adequate tools to engage students,” says Aleksey.

So researching what does engage America’s youth today, and the answer appeared obvious “games. Ironically, many expects concur computer games are among the most important reasons for children ‘ shortened attention time. Though Aleksey Vayner confesses to never been interested in computer games as a kid, he now became interested in potential of videogames to become a viable learning tool.

Fast-forward to 2010, and software team led by Aleksey Vayner developed IvyReader, an instructional suite with reading and speed reading module at its core, but with a twist “it is meant to simulate a primitive computer game. Youngsters watch the screen, follow a basic set of game rules, and progress in levels if they pass escalating levels of difficulty. Although the program was initially thought-up by Aleksey when he was still at Yale College, and it has been tested essentially by Ivy League students to increase reading speed, a beta test with a grouping of NYC-based high school students has been extremely promising.

Students were simply given IvyReader to play with, without directions, necessities, expectations, and most vitally without motivations. There had been 100% collaboration rate, will all the students completing 17 exercises scientifically-proven to improve their reading ability, which needed 23 continuous minutes of uninterrupted engagement by the scholar to finish, to then be in a position to move to level 2 of the game. 99% of subjects also showed significant reading improvement after only one level…and there are 12 levels to complete the game!

While the sample size could be small and the results are initial, it is clear that Aleksey Vayner is on to something, potentially solving the commonest issues teachers are facing when training our youth, which are children’s engagement and attention span. Through 2009 and 2010 Aleksey Vayner and his team worked on methods to expand IvyReader and make it a more comprehensive learning tool, “that would teach kids about the significance and the method of goal-setting and resource allocation, the core habits of successful and very effective people,” Aleksey said. Today IvyReader comes fully equipped with these modules, as well as a. Typing tutor program, and a large e-books library, which should only continue to grow.

The next step for Aleksey Vayner will be to take IvyReader, which has proven to engage children and teaching them essential abilities, not the least being reading, into the public colleges across the land. That's Aleksey’s next non-profit project, and is a big activity.

“Of course we would like to see public faculties in as many states as practical give it a try, since it's been so successful on a smaller scale in the Northeast. I'm covering the cost of development, production and distribution to the faculties that accept an invitation to beta test IvyReader, so they actually have nothing to lose,” related Aleksey.

To date, Empower a Child Inc. hasn’t solicited nor accepted any outside funding. All development has been paid for by Aleksey Vayner and outreach projects have been carried out by volunteers. Understanding that such approach will not be viable when IvyReader goes national, Aleksey said,

“I desire to make sure that we are making a giant positive impact, do something very significant before we ask people to give [to Empower a Child Inc.]. I dislike the approach of many grassroots non-profits that ask for cash because of their ‘vision, ‘ or based on their ‘plans, ‘ but who haven't done anything. Visions and plans are a penny a dozen…So I don't desire Empower a Kid Incorporated. To be one of those non-profits. Very similar to in venture capital business, folk do not give money for ideas and for an excellent reason “most of them fail! When I can have to raise some cash I would like to be well placed to say – this is what we have done; it’s more than a vision, it isn't even proof of idea, it is a successful project that is working now, these are our measurable results, and now we could use some money to scale the impact.”

With IvyReader showing good results, and potential to improve national reading levels if the programme is introduced to faculties nationwide, raising money should not be a problem for Aleksey Vayner. Much bigger challenge currently lies in the layers of bureaucracy of our public education system. He's been knocking on doors to get this pilot project accepted by the Dept of Education, and “it can take months to get a response, and it’s usually ‘Ohhh, I don't handle that, try person X, ‘ and that goes on for all time. Nothing gets done,” comments Aleksey.

Aleksey Vayner is determined to see this critical project succeed on a national scale. He sees IvyReader as an evolving platform, and a new functional approach to educating and enabling our kids.

“There are 98,817 public colleges across the land, with highschools alone hosting over fourteen and a half million scholars. If we are able to only get a quarter of them using IvyReader and sharing the game with one of their buddies, that's half a bln children with improved reading skills, specific goals, and a little time management habits “all before they even graduate high-school. Now that's an impact!”

Regardless of whether fractionally successful, IvyReader will prove to be a successful pilot program. It'll fundamentally impact children’s lives by improving their reading talents and time management habits. It can also establish the foundation for the gaming industry to use games to educate America’s youth rather than producing rather more bizarre and very pricey computer console games which, some experts disagree, at once make a contribution to children’s violence and ADD.

Since its conception in 2006, the Empower A Child Inc. Set a dedication to improving the quality of education in many public colleges across the country. Nevertheless “many” is just isn't really enough for Aleksy Vayner. The goal Aleksey has set for the Empower A Child group is to enhance each child’s reading capability in the US, and to do so while giving high quality academic material to schools absolutely free.

As an individual that has devoted major quantity of his time and resources to bettering the lives of youngsters everywhere, Aleksy Vayner continues to work on his programs and offerings every day. With each passing month, Vayner makes an attempt to perfect the IvyReader, the IvyLearner Academy, and to further his cause through the Enable A Child group. We believe the approach Aleksey Vayner has taken with IvyReader and Empower a Child foundation will leave a nationwide footprint in a sort of higher literacy levels across America.

Robbin Koirner is a former analyst for Board of Education, contributes
articles to magazines on the topic of education and literacy solutions.
For more information about Empower a Child Inc. non-for-profit projects
to improve literacy please visit www.empowerachild.org