NSF-Funded Research
ESSA Tier 3
Dept. of Education
NIH Validated📚 Beyond AfterSchool Conference Partner
BuddyBooks gives every struggling reader in grades 2–8 a private, AI-powered space to read aloud, build fluency, and gain real confidence — in just 20 minutes a session.
🔒 No long-term commitment · runs on Chromebooks you already have
NSF-Funded Research ESSA Tier 3 Dept. of Education NIH ValidatedEven the most dedicated afterschool staff can't sit with every child every day. Without consistent reading practice, struggling readers fall further behind — and the gap widens.
One instructor with 25 students can't give everyone the individual reading time they need. Practice sessions get skipped, or kids read silently with no feedback and no growth.
Kids who can't read well are often too embarrassed to read aloud in front of 40 peers. They disengage, avoid reading, and fall even further behind — silently.
Without real-time reading data, you don't know which students are improving and which are stuck. Progress reports are guesswork, and every intervention is a shot in the dark.
of 4th graders in underserved communities read below grade level. Many afterschool programs struggle to provide effective literacy solutions due to limited budgets, staff shortages, and the overwhelming scale of the problem. BuddyBooks was built to change that.
BuddyBooks handles the daily reading practice so your instructors can focus on what humans do best — encourage, mentor, and teach.
We'll work with your team to determine the reading level of your students and provide a selection of books appropriate for each student's reading ability.
Accuracy, fluency, words missed, time spent — all recorded automatically. Every stumble and every breakthrough is logged so your team knows exactly where to focus.
Your instructors get rich reading data — fluency, accuracy, books read, time on task — and can even listen to recordings. Their time goes to instruction, not evaluation.
Across programs of every size, BuddyBooks delivers measurable, data-driven gains.
Piloted with 9 struggling 4th grade readers — half of them English Learners. The results were so strong that Ted Hoskinson, CEO of Roots and Wings, expanded BuddyBooks to all afterschool programs — over 600 students.
Literacy Coordinator Ms. Ashley Kluthe was named Teacher of the Year for Boca Raton in 2025. She invited students to display their reading metrics on the Smart Board — and every single student wanted a turn.
Program directors and instructors from across the country share what BuddyBooks has meant for their students.
"I've seen a tremendous change with the 4th and 5th graders wanting to read. Once we had an opportunity to go with BuddyBooks, you definitely see the kids engaged in the lesson. It teaches you how to pronounce the word, how to enunciate."
The Edna Runner Tutorial Center has been a community anchor since 1986. Travis saw 15% gains in fluency and accuracy in just 5 weeks of summer programming with BuddyBooks.
"He really likes the pace of BuddyBooks because it doesn't hurry him — he's not being judged. He always shoots for 10 minutes, and yesterday he had 12 minutes and didn't even realize it. He said, 'I was just reading.'"
Wendy directs New Horizons of SW Florida, where many students are English Language Learners. Her quietest, most reluctant reader became one of BuddyBooks' biggest success stories.
"For them to be doing better across the board — data-proven — I feel we supported that greatly through BuddyBooks. Particularly because our kids have really been suffering in reading comprehension, pronunciation, fluency — the whole nine yards."
The Village Group serves 50 students in grades 2–8. After relocating BuddyBooks to a dedicated lab room with designated time blocks, program-wide engagement and outcomes improved dramatically.
When students feel the progress for themselves, something shifts. These are real quotes from real kids in BuddyBooks programs.
BuddyBooks is designed to reach the students that traditional programs leave behind — whatever their learning profile.
The critical intervention window, when consistent practice makes the biggest long-term difference in literacy outcomes.
Non-judgmental pronunciation modeling and phonics support help English learners build fluency at their own pace.
Adjust reading levels to meet each child exactly where they are — proven effective for students with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism.
Students who are too shy to read aloud in front of peers thrive in BuddyBooks' private, judgment-free environment.
A curated library of books spanning genres and grade levels, for students reading one or more grades behind. Books are matched to each student's reading level and personal interests.
Track every student's fluency, accuracy, and reading time. See who's improving, who needs support, and listen to reading recordings. Share data with kids — they get motivated when they see their own growth.
No new hardware needed. BuddyBooks runs on standard Chromebooks with a noise-canceling headset. Easy to set up in a dedicated reading lab or rotate through existing devices.
We hold your hand through every step. No tech expertise required — just a willingness to watch your students grow.
A 30-minute walkthrough of BuddyBooks — the science, the platform, and why it works. You'll get to try it yourself.
We help you map roles, schedule reading blocks, identify equipment needs, and design your dedicated reading space.
½-hour Zoom training for your instructors and admins. We set up student accounts, assign books, and get devices ready.
Students are reading and improving. Weekly check-ins with our team keep things on track — and the data starts rolling in.
BuddyBooks isn't just another app — it's a research-validated tool with independent certification from the nation's leading educational evaluation bodies.
Tell us about your program and we'll review your application for a no-cost pilot. Limited spots available — no long-term commitment required.
Questions? Email us directly at info@ObjectiveEd.com