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ALfA’s Unprecedented   of words meaningfully in a mere
 Rise     ten days—a rate of progress that
          would traditionally require months
 The story of ALfA is a story of   or even years to attain. These
 remarkable growth. In less than a   children continue to cultivate reading
 year, ALfA has made its mark in over   fluency and amass a rich vocabulary
 600 government schools in India.   within just a few weeks, casting
 It has grown across many nations   aside the slow and laborious steps
 including Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria,   often associated with early literacy
 Peru, the Philippines, the Maldives,   development. They go beyond grade
 and the United States, all since   level competencies within forty-five
 the fall of 2022. Its audacious goal   school days, versus three years on
 of instilling foundational literacy   average.
 and numeracy skills within just 45         ALfA program reduces carbon footprint with its very thin booklets, Ed-Tech solutions, and
 days, or even a condensed 20-              paired work in which half the printed thin booklets are used between two children working
 day intensive period, may seem             as a pair. It consciously integrates climate education within the program, including the
 ambitious, but the tangible outcomes       reading of stories of climate change. This in turn children read and comprehend. They
                                            perform activities that provide a deeper understanding, for example, one child becomes a
 speak volumes. As results come so   At a recent experiment to fast-track ALfA FLN, we discovered children can learn many   researcher and the other the whale in a joyous exploration.
 quickly, it is possible to showcase   times faster than our current education acknowledges or provides for with age / grade
 considerations, and timetables that limit learning potential, pointing to the need for a
 success almost immediately. RCT   paradigm shift in our thinking about human potential and about education.
 data, reported by Harvard Graduate
 School of Education, USA, shows   and 0.89 for Grade 5 after just 40   Uttar Pradesh between August and
 effect sizes of 0.23 for Grade 3   days of implementation in Shamli,   October, 2022.   In the subject of mathematics,
                                                                               ALfA is doing something truly

 ALfA’s Accelerated                                                            extraordinary. For most educational
                                                                               programs, second-grade mathematics
 Path to Literacy and                                                          might involve simple addition
 Empowerment                                                                   and subtraction. But in the ALfA

 In the realm of education, ALfA is                                            classroom, second-graders are
 proving to be a seismic force that’s                                          tackling mathematical tasks that are
 shattering conventional boundaries.                                           far more advanced. From four-digit
 Traditional metrics of what a second-                                         addition with carryover to complex
 grade student can master are being                                            subtraction with borrowing, these
 remarkably redefined within this                                              students are working on problems
 innovative program.                                                           that often aren’t introduced until
                                                                               later grade levels. But what sets
 ALfA’s impact extends far beyond                                              ALfA apart isn’t just the complexity
 classroom walls. Students who                                                 of the problems—it’s the depth of
 engage with ALfA undergo a                                                    understanding that the students
 transformative journey.                                                       achieve.

 On the literacy side, the children
 begin by decoding and blending   Comprehension: The Blue Whale
 sounds to form words—a   Class: 3F
 foundational skill in literacy.
 However, the remarkable facet   Teacher Galvanizer: Moushumi Sen Gupta
 of this learning journey is the   4C Skills: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity
 pace. Students transition from   Children of Grades 1 to 5 become proficient in reading with understanding. Here, Grade 2   4C Traits: Character, Climate Consciousness, Citizenship, Connectedness (Social-
 children are reading a newspaper article in the ALfA book. They make questions for each
 deciphering to reading hundreds   other, thereby consolidating learning.   Emotional-Mental Well-Being)


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