About

Team

Community

The Problem

By age 3, children with professional parents get vocabulary exposure that is 2x larger than working class children (Hart & Risley). As working class children comprise the majority of American kids, this word gap, that persists through primary education, creates a reality where 65% of all students read below level in 4th grade and 64% of all students still read below level by 8th grade (NCES). We must do more to creatively find ways to help students learn words during their developmental years —particularly to disrupt cycles of educational (and consequently economic) inequalities in America.

The Solution

Rhymes with Reason was launched in 2017 by Austin Martin to help students learn important English words by showcasing their existence in widely-known music lyrics. By using popular music, a bank of vocabulary known to people of all economic and racial backgrounds, our program provides an engaging and equitable solution to vocabulary access. This culturally-relevant, music-powered approach to closing the vocabulary and reading gap serves as a refreshing learning experience for all.

3,000+

Vocab Words

4,000+

Learning Exercises

2,200+

Quiz Questions

400+

Units

Badges

235K+

Students have had access since 2017

Our Team

Austin Martin

Founder/CEO

Stéphane Deuvaert

Software Engineer

Jabril King-Mahdi

Content Developer

Rob Silva

Software Engineer

Ruvinee Senadheera

UI/UX Designer

Jackie Whang

Educational Methodology/
Curricular Designer

Footprint since Launch

Rhymes with Reason has been used in over 300 schools and educational programs across the United States, with more joining all the time! Check out our map to see some of Rhymes with Reason's partnerships near you!

California

August Hawkins High School (Los Angeles, CA)

Boys Academic Leadership Academy of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)

Brotherhood Crusade (Los Angeles, CA)

Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) (Bakersfield, CA)

Charles Drew Middle School (Los Angeles, CA)

Children’s Defense Fund (Los Angeles, CA)

Collaborative Classroom (Alameda, CA)

Compton Centennial High School (Los Angeles, CA)

Cuyamaca Prep Community School (El Cajon, CA)

East County Community School (El Cajon, CA)

East Oakland Youth Development Center (Oakland, CA)

Elementary Institute of Science (San Diego, CA)

EPATT (Palo Alto, CA)

Escondido Community School (Escondido, CA)

E3 Civic High School (San Diego, CA)

El Camino High School (Oceanside, CA)

Educate University (Los Angeles, CA)

Founder’s First CDC (San Diego, CA)

Francis Parker School (San Diego, CA)

Gateway High School (San Francisco, CA)

Greenleaf Elementary – middle grades only (Citizen’s Schools) (Oakland, CA)

Girls Inc.

Helix High School (La Mesa, CA)

Horizons Alternative Schools (Pleasant Hill, CA)

ICAAN Academy (Los Angeles, CA)

Innovations Academy of Empowerment (San Diego, CA)

Jackie Robinson YMCA (San Diego, CA)

John Muir Middle School (via Brotherhood Crusade) (San Diego, CA)

La Mesa Community School (La Mesa, CA)

Laguna Creek HS (Elk Grove, CA)

Links Achievers (San Diego, CA)

Lindsay Community School (San Diego, CA)

Monarch School (San Diego, CA)

Morningside High School (Inglewood, CA)

Muir High School (Pasadena, CA)

North County Technology and Science Academy (San Marcos, CA)

Prospect (Alternative) High (Pleasant Hill, CA)

Reality Changers (San Diego, CA)

Ritter Elementary (Los Angeles, CA)

San Diego Blueheart Foundation (San Diego, CA)

San Diego SOAR Academy (San Diego, CA)

San Pasqual Academy (Escondido, CA)

Summit Continuation High (La Quinta, CA)

SPAAT (Oakland, CA)

Steele Canyon High School (Spring Valley, CA)

UCSD Trio (San Diego, CA)

ULDI (San Diego, CA)

UP Medical Magnet Academy (Los Angeles, CA)

USC Brio / Ednovate (Los Angeles)

Victoria Community School (San Ysidro, CA)

Verde K-8 School (Richmond, CA)

West Oakland Youth Center (Oakland, CA)

Westlake Middle School (Citizen’s Schools) (Oakland, CA)

Whaley Middle School (Compton, CA)

WME Foundation (Beverly Hills, CA)

37ECB (San Diego, CA)

Florida

B. Wright Leadership Academy (Miami, FL)

TAPP (Collier Schools) (Naples, FL)

Robert Ingram Elementary School (Dade County, FL)

21st CLC Broward County Public Schools (Broward, FL)

Georgia

Ace Academy Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)

KippWays Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)

Marbut Theme School (Lithonia, GA)

Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)

Atlanta Smart Academy (Atlanta, GA)

Kindezi Schools (Atlanta, GA)

Illinois

Broadmeadow Elementary (via SocialWorks) (Chicago, IL)

CCIE Charter (via SocialWorks) (Chicago, IL)

Collins HS (via SocialWorks) (Chicago, IL)

Founder’s First (University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation) (Chicago, IL)

Kaneland Harter Middle School (Sugar Grove, IL)

Noble Academy (Chicago, IL)

SocialWorks (Chance the Rapper’s Non-profit) (Chicago, IL)

Bernard Long Elementary (Madison, IL)

Indiana

Marion Community Schools (Marion, IN)

Maryland

Ryan Institute (Baltimore, MD)

City Neighbors Hamilton (Baltimore, MD)

Barstow Elementary School (Prince Frederick, MD)

Massachusetts

Cambridge High School Extension Program (Cambridge, MA)

East Somerville Middle (Citizen’s Schools) (Somerville, MA)

Hanson High School

Putnam Ave (Cambridge, MA)

Whitman Hanson High School (Whitman, MA)

Whitman Middle School (Whitman, MA)

Winter Hill Middle (Citizen’s Schools) (Somverville, MA)

Michigan

Bow K8 (Detroit, MI)

Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan (Detroit, MI)

Central Collegiate Academy (Detroit, MI)

Class Act Detroit (Detroit, MI)

Detroit Int’l Academy for Young Women (Detroit, MI)

Downtown Boxing Gym (Detroit, MI)

Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men (Detroit, MI)

GDYT (Detroit, MI)

Heroes Tech

Restoring Urban Libraries (Detroit, MI)

Scott Middle School (Flint, MI)

Sound Mind Sound Body (Detroit, MI)

United Way of SEM (Detroit, MI)

Urban Neighborhood Initiative (via GDYT) (Detroit, MI)

The Yunion (via GDYT) (Detroit, MI)

YMCA of Metro Detroit (via GDYT) (Detroit, MI)

Youthville (Detroit, MI)

Mississippi

Pontotoc Middle School (Pontotoc, MS)

Missouri

Grain Valley High School (Grain Valley, MO)

Nevada

YMCA of Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)

New Jersey

Founders First (2021-22)

Hackensack High School (Hackensack, NJ)

Pennsauken High School (Pennsauken Township, NJ)

Plainfield Public Schools (Union County, NJ)

Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County (Hudson County)

New York

Breakthrough Manhattan (Manhattan, NY)

Brooklyn Prospect Charter School (Brooklyn, NY)

Ember Charter School (Brooklyn, NY)

Galway Jr. High School (Galway, NY)

Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy II (Harlem, NY)

Bronxworks (Bronx, NY)

North Carolina

Alderman Elementary (Wilmington, NC)

Hendersonville Middle School (Hendersonville, NC)

Operation Xcel (Greensboro, NC)

Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, NC)

Laney High School (Wilmington, NC)

Pennsylvania

Founders First (2021-22)

Rhode Island

Aventure High School (Providence, RI)

Central High School (Providence, RI)

Classical High School (Providence, RI)

Community Prep School (Providence, RI)

Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School (Providence, RI)

E-Cubed Academy (Providence, RI)

JSEC (Providence, RI)

South Carolina

Berkeley County School District (Moncks Corner, SC)

Gray Court-Owings Elementary Middle School (Gray Court, SC)

Hickory Tavern Elementary Middle School (Gray Court, SC)

Laurens District High School (Laurens, SC)

Laurens Middle School (Laurens, SC)

Laurens PA Preparatory Academy (Laurens, SC)

Sanders Middle School (Laurens, SC)

Village Group (Georgetown, SC)

Tennessee

The Howard School (Chattanooga, TN)

Texas

Founder’s First (2021-22)

ForOakCliff (Oak Cliff, TX)

Big Thought (Dallas, TX)

Virginia

Andrews PreK-8 (Hampton, VA)

Bethel High School (Hampton, VA)

Chesterfield Juvenile Detention Homeschool (Chesterfield, VA)

Eaton Middle School (Hampton, VA)

Jones Middle School (Hampton, VA)

Lindsay Middle School (Hampton, VA)

Phenix Middle Schools (Hampton, VA)

Spratley Gifted Center Middle School (Hampton, VA)

Syms Middle School (Hampton, VA)

Tarrant Middle School (Hampton, VA)

Virginia Beach MS (Virginia Beach, VA)

Washington

Ace Academy (Renton, WA) AND MORE!

What Our Community is Saying

Rhymes with Reason takes me to a song that I like or an artist that's really popular and it gives me the context and I figured out how to develop those skills.

Channing Radcliffe
CCIE
Student

Students in Hampton City Schools have seen growth in their reading lexile level and writing ability through using this program in our tier II intervention/enrichment program.

Kelli Cedo, PhD
Hampton City Schools
K-12 ELA Curriculum Lead

We [Social Works] believe in [Rhymes with Reason]. Let's continue to bend the lines of what 'cultural curriculum' is, what that relevance looks like, and not be afraid to...really invest in our students.

Justin Cunningham
(Chance the Rapper's nonprofit)
Co-Founder of Social Works

Work with us.

At Rhymes with Reason, we aim to reimagine and change the future of education for the better. We are interested to hear more about you and your desire to join us in our mission. Here are some of the current openings:

Marketing & Communications Director

Paid Position / Paid Contract role @ Rhymes with Reason San Diego, CA (work will be remote in 2022!)

The Part-Time Marketing & Communications role is an opportunity to become an integral part of this growing team. This role will support the team through managing the content marketing calendar with tasks across marketing & communications efforts. This role can become full time with the right candidate.

Responsibilities

Develop content (Social Media posts, Blog Content, Email Newsletters, and the like) and manage the publishing calendar across multiple social media channels, including (but not limited to) Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
Assist with campaign execution and ideation including (but not limited to) drafting creative briefs, assist in writing press releases and media content, vetting and compiling contact databases and lists, monitoring coverage and compiling campaign reports.
Proactively seek out relevant influencers and brands within our space to build relationships.
Assist with community engagement with direct messages and comments. Resolve customer questions in a positive and timely way.
Develop and manage the CRM Content and Calendar (Email Newsletters, Consumer Lifecycle Emails). Manage the CRM Database.
Other duties as assigned by management.

Skills/Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Communications or similar
Some experience in PR, Social Media, and/or Marketing in a professional setting
Strong writing, editing, proofreading and layout/design skills are essential
Salesforce experience preferred.
Ability to multi-task, to work independently and as part of a team.
Must be a self-starter with energy, drive and determination to accomplish goals.
Superior project, time and organizational management skills
Have a strong public presence – articulate, optimistic and energetic with the ability to motivate and inspire people at all levels.
Flexibility with changes in task and priorities along with using sound judgment.
Strong knowledge and understanding of current trends in social media and digital media

Time Required:

To be considered for the opportunity, please forward your resume with a cover letter to: pr@rhymeswithreason.com with the subject line: Marketing Candidate