Our Purpose
What happens when older students show up every week to help younger children learn to read?
We believe something powerful can happen for both.
Younger children gain reading practice, encouragement, and connection. Older students discover what it means to be needed—and may begin to see themselves differently as readers, learners, and leaders.
Kinetic brings these two generations together through a simple weekly practice embedded in the school day.
Show up. Read together.
How it Began
Kinetic was inspired by two teachers in Utah who brought high school students and younger children together to read.
The results were encouraging. Over the course of a school year, the share of participating high school students reading below grade level reportedly fell from 37% to 9%.
We saw something worth exploring: a simple, school-based practice that could help younger children develop literacy skills while giving adolescents a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and identity as readers.
In October 2026, we launched Kinetic in Connecticut to learn whether this approach could work across different schools and communities—and what it would take to make it last.
What We’re Building and Why
Our ambition extends far beyond the schools we serve.
We're building an evidence base, practical tools, and an open-source playbook that educators and communities across the country can use to bring young people together through reading.
Along the way, we hope to deepen our understanding of how literacy, service, and student identity shape lifelong learning and readiness for the future.
Whatever we learn, we'll share—helping schools build on what works and learn from what doesn't.
Kinetic isn't designed to last forever.
Our measure of success isn't how large we become, but how many schools can make this practice their own.
We hope to make reading together so simple, effective, and affordable that schools everywhere can sustain it without us.
Our ultimate goal is to build something that lasts long after we're gone.
Our Team & Partners
Sachpreet Chandhoke
Founder & Chair
Joseph DeLong
Board Member
Brenda Thickett
Board Member
Dr. Casey McPherson, Southern Connecticut State University
Research Partner
Athena Books
Bookstore Partner
