Our Mission
Decodable Reads is transforming how structured literacy is taught by making personalized, engaging reading instruction accessible to every educator and student who needs it.
We're addressing the national reading crisis head-on. Despite growing awareness of the Science of Reading and evidence-based instruction, educators still struggle with a fundamental challenge: creating personalized materials that target specific phonics skills while engaging students with content they actually care about. Traditional decodable texts often feel generic and uninspiring, especially for older struggling readers who need them most.
Our AI-enhanced platform solves this by empowering reading interventionist, tutors, and teachers to instantly generate custom reading materials, writing activities, and comprehensive lesson plans tailored to each student's skill level and interests. A student practicing the “ai” vowel team can read about basketball, dinosaurs, or space exploration—whatever sparks their curiosity and keeps them engaged.
We're driven by a deep personal commitment to this work. As educators who have spent countless late nights creating materials by hand and witnessed the frustration of students who deserve better resources, we built Decodable Reads to give teachers back their time and give students the engaging, effective instruction they deserve.
Every feature we build, every improvement we make, is guided by one question: Will this help more students discover the joy of reading?
Meet Our Team
Educators and technologists united by a shared mission to improve literacy outcomes.
Paul Heinemann
Co-Founder & CEO
Paul Heinemann is the CEO and co-founder of Decodable Reads. As a certified Orton-Gillingham reading interventionist and former public school teacher, Paul intimately understands the challenges educators face in implementing structured literacy at scale.
After graduating from Saint Louis University and teaching middle school English in St. Louis Public Schools, Paul earned his Master's in Education from Washington University in 2021. He created Decodable Reads to solve the very problems he encountered daily: the endless hours spent creating personalized materials and the struggle to keep older struggling readers engaged.
Paul continues to work directly with students, ensuring that every feature of Decodable Reads is grounded in real classroom experience and genuine educational need.
Joe de Lorimier
Co-Founder & CTO
Joe de Lorimier is the CTO and co-founder of Decodable Reads. With six years of experience as a backend and data engineer at Red Ventures—where he built and scaled systems for major brands—Joe brings essential technical expertise to the platform's development.
His experience with database management, user interface optimization, and building stable, secure web applications ensures that Decodable Reads delivers professional-grade tools that educators can rely on daily.
A Saint Louis University graduate, Joe met Paul as a college freshman, and their shared passion for education and technology—forged during a summer as live-in camp counselors in North St. Louis—ultimately led them to build Decodable Reads together. Joe's technical vision ensures the platform can scale to serve thousands of educators while maintaining the speed and reliability teachers need.
Sophia Zimmerman
Marketing Intern
Sophia is a senior at Saint Louis University studying marketing and communications. She is helping the Decodable Reads team with marketing strategy, design, and positioning as we expand our reach to educators nationwide.
Her fresh perspective and digital marketing expertise are essential to helping us connect with the teachers and tutors who need our platform most.
What Drives Us
Our core values guide every decision we make.
Mission-Driven
Every feature we build serves our mission to improve literacy outcomes for struggling readers everywhere.
Research-Based
Grounded in the Science of Reading and structured literacy principles proven to help all students succeed.
Student-Centered
Designed to spark joy and engagement in young readers by meeting them where they are with content they love.
Ready to Transform Your Literacy Instruction?
Join thousands of educators using Decodable Reads to create engaging, personalized reading materials for their students.