Entrepreneurs’ Literacy Program Takes Off in D.C. Schools

Washington

It would have been easier to write a check.

But Nina Zolt wasn’t convinced that simply providing money for disadvantaged students in the District of Columbia would have the desired effect on their reading skills, or spark an appreciation of reading.

Lacking knowledge in the field, the former entertainment lawyer set out to school herself in learning theory and instruction, as well as the workings of the bureaucracy in the 65,000-student district, for insight into...