End of Sainya's Intervention
A Letter to Everyone Who Supported this Work
May 2026 marked the end of 3.25 years of intervention with Sainya which involved free intensive remediation work in English and Kannada literacy. This post summarizes the work briefly.
Sainya joined my classes in February 2023 when she was at the end of grade 4. From then until the 26th of May, 2026, I taught her English and Kannada language and literacy in 378 classes spanning 332.5 hours. We met thrice a week and sometimes more. All the lessons were conducted free of charge, thanks, in part, to the generosity of sponsors who paid her a portion of her fee.
In February 2023, she was reading at Senior KG level and spelling approximately at a mid-2nd grade level. Kannada reading and spelling were equally challenging for her.
She was at risk for long-term literacy difficulties that could have led to persistent academic underachievement, reduced access to the curriculum, and significant challenges in completing her education successfully. Hence, the goal of the intervention was to provide intensive instruction that is laser-focused on her strengths and needs to accelerate her literacy development.
Three years and three months later, as she enters 8th grade at school, she is reading English at a sixth grade level and spelling at a 5th grade level. This growth—6 years in reading and 3.5 years in spelling—is phenomenal, given the immense learning gaps she began with. In English language assessments, she has scored an average of 74% across three years.
Her Kannada reading accuracy is now consistently over 95%. Her writing accuracy averages about 78%. It is worth noting that her understanding of Kannada orthography and awareness of her spelling strengths and errors have improved significantly. Here’s a short recording of her reading a Kannada text previously unknown to her on 7 May, 2026:
The text she read is below:
The results are especially heartening for two reasons. First, the scale of progress far exceeds what is typically reported even in intensive literacy interventions internationally. Second, the intervention successfully addressed literacy in two languages simultaneously—a rare and significantly more demanding undertaking in the field of literacy remediation. I am deeply satisfied that I chose not to abandon Kannada even when the work became challenging, because literacy in one’s own home language is profoundly important to a child’s identity, confidence, and connection to her culture and community.
I decided to end this intervention formally for two reasons:
She has made significant gains in literacy, enough to access her textbooks with support in school.
She is behind in Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, and it is the right time for her to now focus on the basic concepts in those subjects. She can do so now with the right guidance because she can read and spell reasonably well.
Additionally, her parents, on seeing her improvement in my classes and her potential for future studies, have saved money and ensured her admission into a better school for grade 8. They are also preparing to send her to good coaching classes for 10th board exams at the appropriate time. I am hopeful that she will be on the right path going forward.
Here’s part of what I said to the parents in the final letter I wrote to them (translated from Kannada):
I believe that with hard work and the right guidance, Sainya can do very well in her 10th-grade exams and then pursue post-secondary and higher education. My humble advice to you as she moves forward is as follows:
Ensure that her school environment is focused, healthy and has reasonably good teachers.
Provide additional after-school support in the form of the right exam-oriented coaching classes as necessary.
Provide a supportive and encouraging environment at home which enables her to establish consistent and persistent study habits, overcome learning gaps that still exist, work hard and build confidence.
Thank you for providing me with an opportunity to teach and learn with your child. I wish Sainya and your family the very best in her academic journey.
This intervention has taught me innumerable lessons. It has taught me what is possible and where my limits lie. Like every teaching-learning experience, it has been incredibly enriching and has helped me further hone my craft. It has also been a test of resilience and persistence, and I say without exaggeration that both Sainya and I have passed it with flying colours.
I am amazed and moved by the support I have received for my work with her. Even though I stopped actively fund-raising for her classes over a year ago, 255 of the 378 classes have been paid for by people whose kindness I am in awe of. I am truly grateful.
I am still contemplating whether I should fund-raise for the remaining 123 classes or absorb the cost myself. This is not a fund-raising post by any means; I simply wanted to share the outcome of a journey many of you, readers, helped make possible. However, if you feel called to contribute toward those classes, please do get in touch.
This letter would be incomplete without mentioning a dear friend who quietly supported this journey in countless ways. He paid for many of Sainya’s classes, regularly checked on her progress, and constantly encouraged me to dream bigger and expand this work. It breaks my heart that he is no longer with us. I dedicate this intervention to his memory, and I am certain that, along with me, Sainya and her parents, he too would have deeply appreciated the contribution of the many wonderful people to these classes.
The actual teaching-learning strategies, resources, discoveries and innovations from my experience with Sainya will find their way into future posts. Stay tuned.