Why I'm Building Cocovox in Public

2 in 3 American students can’t read at grade level (NAEP 2024).

54 million adults read below sixth grade — too low to fill out a job application (Barbara Bush Foundation).

We’ve seen the headlines. Not enough action. A few weeks ago, I introduced Cocovox — an AI learning platform I’ve been building for 2 years. Today, I’m committing to finishing this build in public.

What I’ve Built

Seven literacy lesson types. One practice system. Every card has a practice bar: read aloud for instant word-by-word feedback, rate how it felt, and spaced repetition schedules the next review automatically. The full feature breakdown is on the portfolio page.

Why Phonemic Awareness First

Phonemic awareness is the #1 predictor of reading success. So I built blending (“/c/…/a/…/t/” → “cat”), segmenting, and rhyme matching into the core — not as premium add-ons.

Progress That Parents Actually See

Dashboards update after every session. No more “how was tutoring?” followed by a shrug.

Why Literacy First

Literacy first because it’s foundational. You can’t learn anything else if reading is a barrier.

But there’s another reason I started here — and it connects to how I’m building everything in Cocovox. “Accessibility-first” isn’t a feature. It’s the architecture.

If you work in education or literacy, I’d love to hear what’s missing from tools you’ve tried. Let’s work together.