A Tale of Two Classrooms

I mentor two young men from similar backgrounds, but a single factor has led them down vastly different life paths. Yates and Ethan are both good kids. They're both from low-income households and attended underserved public high schools in major cities. Ethan was high school valedictorian and recently graduated as a computer science major from U.C. Santa Cruz. Yates will likely end up as a construction worker. The difference? Yates was born dyslexic.?

America's Reading Crisis

Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by difficulty reading. It affects approximately 10% of children of all backgrounds and intellectual abilities. Diagnosis is based on repeated failure to learn to read in grades 3-6. In America, six out of ten 4th graders read below grade level, a statistic that has not moved in two decades.

Children who consistently read below grade level are four times more likely to not graduate high school and eventually live below the poverty line.?New York City Mayor Eric Adam recently cited that over 40% of all Rikers prison inmates are dyslexic.

The good news is that with early identification and intervention, the vast majority of children can be taught to read. Unfortunately, most children are still assessed for learning disabilities using pen-and-paper evaluations in school, which are time-intensive and subject to inaccuracy and bias. If a learning disability is suspected, parents and schools then go through a lengthy, bureaucratic process to obtain an individualized education program (IEP) for the child.?

Yates never received an evaluation for his disability. His parents didn’t advocate for him and the school system lacked the resources to intervene. When I met Yates as a junior in high school, he wasn’t able to read my weekly emails and he couldn't complete written assignments.

AI Enters the Classroom

New tech companies like Parallel Learning and Marker Learning are increasing access and speed to learning disability diagnosis through on-demand evaluations from professionals. The costs are still preventatively high at $1,500+ per evaluation but they are significantly lower than the NYC average, which can be several thousand dollars. Recent advancements in AI promise meaningful change in this area. Software like EarlyBird assesses an entire classroom’s learning capabilities, identifies reading challenges early, and tracks improvement over time. EarlyBird equips teachers to deliver targeted, gamified interventions that are fun for the child, and efficient for the teacher.?

I believe now is the moment for software (specifically AI) to eat the schoolhouse. COVID has driven the adoption of tech-forward learning methods and diverse options like homeschooling and micro-schools are exploding.

Competition in the public school system is also growing. Open enrollment enables family choice beyond their home zip code and the continued expansion of charter schools offers an alternative to the public system. As parents become familiar with AI at work, they will demand it in the classroom. I expect that public school districts with the best tech implementation will not only outperform their peers, but they will enroll more families and earn the per-student budget that follows them.

The transformative nature of AI in the classroom cannot be overstated. If the internet democratized access to learning then artificial intelligence is poised to personalize it. Synthesis is a personal AI tutor that was incubated at SpaceX. The company was founded on the belief that the fastest learners should have the tools to move ahead, while those in need should receive tailored, always-on support.?In this new paradigm, the teacher will no longer be the most scarce classroom resource. Their role will evolve to look more like a coach, responsible for getting the most out of each child relative to their unique interests and distinct capabilities.

The Future

Yates is currently enrolled in a carpentry trade school where he enjoys working with his hands. He struggles to read the emails from his instructor but one day soon he won't need to. A robot will teach him whatever he desires. ?