Our Mission
In the United States, many children struggle to achieve proficiency in reading, signalling a significant deficit within our educational system. The widespread challenge of reading competency highlights deep-seated educational inequalities and can have direct impacts on students’ academic and professional outcomes.
ROYO (Read On Your Own) is a life raft for students who may otherwise have their individual needs unaddressed. Designed with the science of reading at its core, students put themselves in the story through the character builder, then choose a topic before a story tailored to their needs is generated.
Whether following ROYO’s carefully crafted scope and sequence, or integrating with an existing curriculum, this tool ensures that every child receives the structured, evidence-based instruction they need to succeed in reading.
Our Team
Yasmin Barkett
Yasmin is passionate about ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality education regardless of the zip code they live in. She began her career in education as a Teach for America corps member in Richmond, CA, where she taught kindergarten and fell in love with early childhood education and development. After three years of teaching, she wanted to expand her impact beyond the classroom and became a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Colombia and pursued her Master’s in Education Policy and Analysis at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
She continued her passion for educational equity at Success Academy, New York City’s highest performing charter network, where she worked in Scholar Talent Strategy and Planning and later joined the Assistant Principal Fellowship while teaching fourth grade. Yasmin founded ROYO based on her experience as a teacher. She was always looking for tools that were adaptable to the unique range of skills in her classroom, that would help reinforce the skills that students were already learning. Yasmin has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations with a minor in Psychology and Law from the University of Southern California. She currently lives in New York City.
Lara Pinto Stein
Lara Pinto Stein is an experienced educator with both the academic credentials and practical experience to be considered an expert in her field. Over almost two decades, she has held a variety of positions as a classroom teacher, staff developer, literacy coach, and has lectured at seminars in New York and California. In classroom settings as well as one-on-one and small group tutoring, Lara always focuses on personalized learning. She has dedicated her career to empowering young readers by giving them the foundational skills they need to succeed.
Trained extensively in the Orton Gillingham approach, Lara understands the profound impact of researched-based literacy instruction on children's reading development. She has a passion for teaching children and training teachers that is informed by a deep belief in the benefits of the science of reading. Lara has experienced firsthand how the skills taught through structured literacy alongside personalized and engaging texts can propel students forward with newfound confidence and abilities.
Lara holds a master’s degree in teaching from Columbia University Teachers College as well as a master’s degree in building and district leadership. Lara strives to give every child the opportunity to flourish as a reader and a learner.
