StoryKasa will use audio stories to improve literacy.

K-12 STEAM education

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Primary Issue: K-12 STEAM education
Children in high-poverty areas often lack access to age-appropriate books, high-quality reading materials, and book culture. According to the American Federation of Teachers, over 32 million children in the US live in book deserts. About 61% of low-income families don't have books for their children at home, and 45% of children live in neighborhoods without libraries or bookstores. Children without access to reading materials are less likely to be lifelong readers and may come to school unprepared.
Secondary issue: Social support networks
Social isolation and loneliness are on the rise, especially among older adults. According to the Surgeon General, “the physical health consequences of poor or insufficient connection include a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults.” There are also mental health challenges with a much higher risk of developing depression.

Access to audio stories will expose young children to the wonders of narrative before they can read independently. Listening to stories builds curiosity, expands vocabulary, and enhances early language and literacy development, which are crucial for success in life. It can also help narrow the word gap. Listening to a single 6 minute audio story each day would expose a child to a million words over a five-year period. Audio stories also generate interest in reading among children, including reluctant or struggling readers.
The after-school program will provide the audio storytelling platform to 10 schools. We will include premium paid features at no charge to enable free access to the full set of stories and include the AI text transcription feature (to support readers) and story idea generator (for teachers and parents). Teachers log in to the site (web or mobile) using any device and children can listen to their favorite stories. Teachers and parents can record new stories, save favorites, create collections, and share collections.
By enabling family members, friends, and teachers to record stories, we hope to foster social connectedness, empathy, and well-being across generations and cultures. When older adults share stories about their life experiences with younger generations, studies have shown a reduction in levels of depression. In fact, neuroscientists suggest that storytelling can be as powerful as medication or therapy in addressing depression among older adults.

Audio stories will improve the literacy and academic trajectory of children in LA County. They may also serve as a powerful tool for parents who lack fluency or confidence in reading aloud to their children, to help them develop higher levels of adult literacy by listening and reading as a family.
As per the US Census, over half of Angelenos speak a language other than English at home. StoryKasa plans to collect stories from various LA communities to better understand and appreciate our collective diversity and expects that this will create deeper tolerance.
Finally, storytelling will reduce loneliness and create more connections within families. As highlighted by researchers on intergenerational storytelling, people continue to share stories not because they are losing cognitive abilities, but because these stories hold significance and they believe we need to hear them. Storytelling serves as a way to transfer values, leave a legacy, feel validated, and foster meaningful connections.

We ran a pilot in Ghana with a prototype using 12 stories. Families called a free phone number and listened to stories in their preferred language. The pilot was very successful. 390 stories were delivered to 79 children in Twi, English, Ga, and Ewe and 135,448 words were listened to in these stories. Parents responded to surveys and here are a few comments: "It is a good program for children," "Tell more people about it," "Educative, interesting and engaging," and "Add more stories."
Our measures of success will consist of outputs, outcomes, and impact over time.
Outputs include number of children reached, stories heard, words accessed, most used languages, stories constructed, and stories shared.
Outcomes use assessments to measure increase in vocabulary growth, listening comprehension, and social connectedness.
Impact includes improved literacy (child, siblings, family), child wellbeing, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and social connections among family members.