Nation Marks AI Literacy Day, Amira Learning Calls for Focus on the Reading Crisis First

While tech giants push AI literacy, some of the country's lowest-performing states are already using AI to solve the literacy crisis — and seeing real results

SAN FRANCISCO, March 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On National AI Literacy Day, Amira Learning (Amira), the learning agent combining the Science of Reading and AI to deliver proven student reading growth, is calling on leaders across technology and education to reconsider the rush to AI literacy and focus first on the literacy crisis already in front of them. With less than a third of U.S. 4th graders reading at grade level, the push to teach students how to use AI risks widening the very gaps it promises to close.

Tech giants like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI are urging schools to teach AI literacy but for millions of kids who still can't read at grade level, AI literacy is a luxury. The tech industry has repeatedly pushed society to adapt — from learning to use computers and navigate the internet to mastering social media, mobile devices, and virtual reality. This time, the rush risks missing a more fundamental challenge: students need reading literacy before AI literacy can matter.

"AI literacy is a great idea — for students who can already read. For the millions who can't, it's just another way the gap widens," said Amy Scholz, COO of Amira Learning. "The question we should be asking isn't how do we teach kids about AI — it's how do we use AI to make sure every student, regardless of background, gets the foundation they need to be strong, confident readers."

Some of the country's lowest-performing states in reading scores aren't waiting. Louisiana and Oklahoma have deployed Amira statewide, and districts across all 50 states are using the award-winning learning agent to help more students reach reading proficiency. Rather than widening gaps by concentrating AI tools in already well-resourced schools, Amira's proven approach uses AI to extend the reach of trained educators and deliver 1:1 reading practice with microinterventions and real-time feedback at scale. Students reading with Amira for just 30 minutes per week gain an average of nine extra weeks of growth during a standard 36-week school year — progress that independent studies show time and again.

"The most powerful thing AI can do right now is solve the foundational literacy crisis, not add another skill on top of it," said Scholz.

Amira is calling on superintendents, chief academic officers, and state education leaders to make a critical distinction: not all AI is created equal. The real opportunity isn't teaching students about AI — it's deploying agentic AI that is purpose-built, scientifically grounded, data privacy and designed to extend the reach of educators to every student in every classroom nationwide.

About Amira LearningAs the leader in agentic learning, Amira Learning champions every student to becoming a proficient reader. It makes this promise a reality with Amira, the first Learning Agent for Reading Growth,.TM Developed from 30 years of neuroscience research out of Carnegie Mellon University, and expertise in the Science of Reading and AI, Amira is every district's catalyst, creating coherence across assessment instruction and tutoring, and executing the district's unique literacy vision from strategy to high-fidelity implementation in every classroom. Independent studies show time and again that Amira is proven to work; students reading with Amira at dosage experience measurable gains. Amira serves 5 million K-8 students worldwide and growing every day. Visit www.amiralearning.com to learn more.

Media ContactFelice Cat-Tuong Luu[email protected]

SOURCE Amira Learning