We’re all familiar with slogans such as Reading Is Fundamental or No Child Left Behind. To Saki Dodelson, a business entrepreneur and trailblazer in the field of enhancing reading, writing and comprehension for inner city and public school students, these are mantras that have guided her for the last 17 years. “When kids come to school it’s already too late,” she shared. “They’re only in school 165 days a year and it’s impossible to fix the problems in one year. Kids come to school and think they’re equal with their peers but then they get pulled out to Resource Room and they see they’re not equal.”
Dodelson told The Jewish Link that it has been her mission to try to close the gap in reading abilities for children of all ages in all socioeconomic backgrounds. “We have so many kids in this country who don’t speak English or who are born into seemingly insurmountable circumstances. What I’m trying to do is help establish equity for all so that fewer students fall behind in their studies. I want to level the playing field by closing that gap as early as possible and helping each child learn to read at their individual reading level.” Dodelson’s programs have always been for anyone regardless of race, religion or skin color.
In 2001 Dodelson and Dr. Susan Gertler founded Achieve3000, Inc., an online provider of differentiated reading solutions. Today millions of kids use those solutions, which are research based and have been proven to be highly effective. The program uses patented technology to reach all students at their age and reading level and, without removing them from the classroom, build their skills. Of note is that the intention has never been to replace the teacher but rather to supplement and enhance the teacher’s efforts.
Earlier this year both Dodelson and Gertler left Achieve3000. In addition to charity work and spending more time with her family, Dodelson is keeping her finger on the pulse of the education market with an eye to the possibility of one day helping all kids from newborn to middle school—regardless of socioeconomic background.
Dodelson’s model was built on the notion that the kids remain in the classroom and have individualized reading material at their specific reading level. This means that you could literally have one child reading American history at a first-grade level while the student next to them is reading at a fifth-grade level, but they’re all learning the same material. “Not only do we keep the kids in the classroom, it shows that we respect the kids.” There are 11 different reading levels in the public school system, said Dodelson. Through their technology, they have the ability to test each student online and determine their individual reading level and then provide the appropriate reading materials.
Prior to starting Achieve3000, Dodelson served as business and finance manager with AT&T. Some of her honors include being named entrepreneur of the year by Ernst & Young/Microsoft, a hall of fame entrepreneur by New Jersey Business Journal, one of New Jersey’s best 50 women in business by the New Jersey Business Journal and 2012 private company CEO of the year by the New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC).
When Dodelson was just starting Achieve3000, she maxed out her credit cards and took out a second mortgage on her house—that’s how committed she was to this idea. Slowly the company began to raise money and show early success. This was enough to convince the NJTC Venture Fund to invest in the company. The influx of money combined with a dedicated staff and an important goal allowed the company to grow revenue and profits at an impressive clip, reaching approximately $100M in revenue by the time she left.
Dodelson takes great pride in being a successful CEO who also happens to be a woman. Over the years she has noticed the under-representation of women in leadership roles, especially as entrepreneurs. She has faced unique challenges that her male counterparts have not, making the successes she has achieved all the more remarkable. Dodelson believes she has not only succeeded as an entrepreneur, but also paved the way for other women to assume leadership roles. Dodelson is a member of Springboard, an organization that helps entrepreneurial women, and has been asked to play a key role in the Diversity Tech Summit, an initiative supported by SalesForce, Intel, Amazon/AWS and others.
“My primary focus has always been ‘mission with a margin,’” shared Dodelson. “Every decision was weighed keeping in mind both the mission—to provide equity for all students—and the margin—to create and sustain an extremely successful, profitable company. Customers learned that I really did care about their students. They came to trust me; they knew I was looking out for their benefit and would not sacrifice on quality or on customer service in order to increase profits. Time and time again I proved to them that I would only be satisfied if their students truly gained from our solutions. And I took great care in hiring people who I believed had the same goals in mind.”
By Sara Kosowsky Gross
