At 6, Kash Vantzelfden didn’t know how to read. Now 11, he’s reading at an eighth-grade level – three years ahead of where he ought to be.
While reading still isn’t his favorite subject, he now enjoys it, especially comic books because of their relatability — ”We all go through our own stuff sometimes,” he said.
During the pandemic, Vantzelfden was homeschooled by a tutor, Sara Aguilera. After schools opened up again, the now fifth-grader went back in person but continued studying with Aguilera.
“It’s just so exciting to see him be excited about books,” Aguilera said.
Vantzelfden’s case is a standout. The numbers show that kids, especially post-pandemic, are falling behind when it comes to learning to read and write.
A 2022 test called the “Smarter Balanced Assessment System” sought to measure how many students could read at grade level in California. It showed scores dropping by an average of 4% since the 2018-19 school year, according to EdSource. Third graders saw the sharpest drop, from 48.5% to 42.1%.
Tim Shanahan, former president of the International Literacy Association, said this generation of students will continue to struggle with lower literacy levels, and that these issues will impact other aspects of their adult lives.
“It matters in terms of their future education, you know, how many of them will go in for higher education,” Shanahan said. “It matters in terms of social participation, whether they’re going to vote, whether they’re going to keep up on civic issues.”
Vantzelfden’s story shows change is possible.
At 2, he was taken in by his great-uncle and aunt, Michael Vantzelfden and Julie Balten, in Mariposa, California. Kash’s parents had drug problems.
“We’ve been raising him ever since,” Michael Vantzelfden said. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Family dynamics can be complicated. According to Michael, Kash thought his uncle and aunt had been forced to take him in because he broke a plate. Because of that, he said Kash was always afraid to disappoint them or make a mistake.
“We found that we could not help him with homework. We could not be his teachers,” Michael said.
The pandemic, he said, made things more problematic when Kash wouldn’t let them help him on the Zoom calls. Seeing his struggles, the Vantzelfdens put an ad on Craigslist and hired Aguilera.
She was initially just a tutor for Kash, but he still struggled with Zoom classes. Seeing this, Michael Vantzelfden created his own learning academy, just for Kash.
“Relatively quickly [we] gave up public school, hired her [as a] full time teacher, and opened my own school in California, Palm Elementary,” he said. “I was the principal and I had one employee, and that was Sara.”
In March 2020, as the pandemic was just taking hold, Aguilera founded the LA Literacy Academy. Her approach is to encourage children to read and write, one kid at a time. Each one-on-one session is 55 minutes.
“Those years of online learning had a huge impact on that generation of students. So we’ve been playing catch up since,” Aguilera said.
Increasing the amount of learning and improving the quality of education can play a pivotal role in bridging the educational gaps formed during the pandemic. Individual tutoring is one step toward helping kids.
Other paths, Shanahan said, can include “programs during the school day that intensify the amount of instruction” and summer programs.
Michael Vantzlefden added that advocating for your child is just as imperative for learning as getting additional schooling.
“Knock on every door you can. Talk to anybody you can. Talk to professional teachers, talk to psychologists,” he said. “You better believe you need help. Whether you think you do or not, you need help and your child can absorb all the help you can find for them.”
Throughout the pandemic Aguilera worked with Kash, focusing on his reading and writing skills. The most rewarding part about working with the kids is seeing them succeed, Aguilera said.
“It’s the progress, but you don’t see it every day. You know, we’re just dropping seeds and then you look back,” she said. “And it’s just very exciting to know that he’s doing very well in school. And since I know where he started, the progress was huge.”
Now, Kash is excelling in school and allows the Vantzelfdens to help him with homework. He struggles with dysgraphia, a learning disability that can affect the ability to write, so he receives IEP assistance. IEP, or individualized education programs, help students who need extra support.
“The whole thing has been a miracle you know, I think it’s hard enough just for most kids to learn but what Kash went through, I can get kind of choked up about it,” Michael Vantzelfden said. “To raise a kid, and especially to raise a kid who had a rough start, it takes a lot of help.”
Kash is in the 90th percentile in reading and math. On his most recent report card, he got five As. His favorite subjects are math and art.
“I like math because I like to think that I’m pretty good at it. And art,” Kash said. “I like to be creative.”
He enjoys reading for fun and finished the entire Harry Potter series. His favorite books to read are still comics, and he even writes some of his own.
“I’m just glad I was able to help Kash be this great dude,” Vantzelfden said. “I look forward to seeing him grow up and have a [great] life.”