For more than 40 years, Lexia has served as a leader in literacy education. But for George Scotti, Vice President of Marketing, the future of education hinges on more than tools or technology. It hinges on impact, integration, and giving teachers and students what they truly need to thrive. In this Q&A, George shares his personal perspective on the challenges ahead, what’s fixable, and why literacy remains one of the most powerful levers for national progress.
What will matter most in education over the next few years?
What matters most is impact and integration. For years, edtech companies have built wonderful standalone tools, but teachers are overwhelmed by products that don’t talk to each other. If we want to move the needle for students, edtech has to shift from being a collection of disconnected tools to becoming a cohesive ecosystem that supports educators in meaningful, measurable ways.
The solutions that win in the next five years will be the ones that drive real student growth and make teachers’ lives easier—not harder. Districts are under pressure to accelerate literacy performance, demonstrate return on investment, and maintain instructional quality despite staffing shortages. They can’t afford technology that adds more work or complexity. They need tools that integrate, simplify workflows, consolidate insights, and ultimately help them deliver effective instruction at scale.
Tell us about Lexia and the problem it aims to solve.
Despite decades of effort, the literacy needle in this country hasn’t moved. Fourth-grade reading scores today look almost identical to scores from the early 1990s. That’s alarming because literacy isn’t just an academic skill; it influences health, employment, economic mobility, and long-term wellbeing.
Lexia exists to solve what I believe is one of the most urgent challenges in education: closing literacy gaps at scale. What makes Lexia unique is that we’re the only company 100% focused on literacy, and we look at literacy not just through a student lens, but through a systems lens. Students need evidence-based instruction. Teachers need the right tools, training, and support. Districts need consistent, actionable data that helps them understand what’s working and why.
What is a fixable challenge educators face today?
A very fixable challenge is the overwhelming number of fragmented tools and data silos in the classroom. Over the past decade, educators have layered on free tools, district-purchased solutions, and supplemental apps—often with little integration or communication among them. Teachers end up juggling dashboards instead of teaching.
This isn’t the educators’ fault; it’s the natural result of rapid edtech proliferation. But it is fixable. We can streamline their experience by integrating platforms, simplifying workflows, and pulling insights into a single, coherent system. When teachers spend less time navigating technology, they reclaim time to focus on instruction, differentiation, and student relationships.
We can’t add more hours to a school day. But we can give educators tools that allow them to do more with the time they already have and, without burning out.
What is a challenge educators face today that will persist?
Instead of approaching literacy as a single product challenge, we treat it as an ecosystem challenge. Our solutions combine adaptive technology with research-based instruction, embedded assessment, professional learning, and data that helps teachers personalize instruction. When instruction is grounded in the science of reading, literacy becomes achievable for all students. My focus, and Lexia’s focus, is making that a reality in every district.
Two things: equity and personalization at scale.
Equity challenges will persist because they’re baked into the structure of our funding system. Educational budgets fluctuate with local tax revenue, economic cycles, staffing shortages, and changing political priorities. Even with excellent tools, inequities remain when schools in marginalized communities lack consistent resources or high-quality instruction.
At the same time, districts must balance the need for deeply personalized learning with the reality that they’re serving thousands of students with diverse needs. Every student learns differently. Every teacher has limited time. That tension of personalization versus scale will always exist, but it’s also the space where innovation can have the greatest impact.
What areas of education or workforce development are being overlooked?
We often overlook literacy as a workforce skill. The ability to read, analyze, and think critically is the foundation for every future career, not just in K–5, but across a person’s entire life.
If students aren’t proficient readers by third grade, they begin a long, difficult climb to catch up. And by the time they reach courses directly tied to career readiness, they may already be at a disadvantage. We need more aggressive early investment in foundational literacy skills, so students are prepared to participate fully in high school, college, and the workforce.
We also can’t overlook the professional learning needs of teachers. Many educators were never taught the science of reading in their preparation programs. When they finally learn how reading actually develops in the brain, they often feel frustrated that they weren’t given this knowledge earlier. Preparing educators with evidence-based instruction isn’t optional—it’s essential.
What role should AI play in education, and what concerns should we address?
AI is becoming unavoidable in classrooms, but the real question isn’t whether AI should exist in education—it’s how it should exist. We need to separate “AI” from “ChatGPT.” AI is a broad category, and not all AI is created or applied the same way.
This reality demands innovative solutions, and responsible AI integration is emerging as a critical part of the answer. While AI is flooding classrooms, the right approach can help schools maintain instructional integrity while addressing capacity challenges.
Used irresponsibly, AI raises real concerns: inaccurate outputs, privacy risks, or enabling students to take shortcuts that undermine learning. But when AI is used responsibly, with clear guardrails and targeted educational purpose, it can be a powerful tool.
That’s where Lexia stands apart. Our approach to AI is purpose-built for education—not as a shortcut, but as a complement to human teaching. We’ve embedded machine learning into our products for decades, and today our adaptive blended learning model intentionally combines artificial intelligence (AI) and human intelligence (HI) to personalize instruction, guide educators, and ensure students receive the right support at the right moment.
With patented systems, FERPA/COPPA compliance, and a 40-year track record of educator trust, we design AI that enhances, not replaces, the human connection at the heart of learning and teaching. The key is AI that aligns with instructional goals, respects student data, and helps schools scale instruction equitably and sustainably. When implemented thoughtfully and transparently, AI becomes a tool that strengthens educator impact, simplifies decision-making, and drives better outcomes for students.
What challenge do you foresee in education in the next three to five years?
A major challenge will be scaling high-quality instruction amid worsening teacher shortages. Some projections estimate a shortage of nearly 200,000 teachers by 2026. New teachers will enter classrooms with fewer mentors and more responsibility. They’ll need tools that are easy to implement, backed by research, and designed to support instructional fidelity.
The second major challenge will be proving ROI in a tighter funding environment. Districts will need clear evidence that every dollar spent improves outcomes. Edtech companies will be held to higher standards for transparency, research validation, integration, and impact.
The companies that succeed won’t just offer good products, they’ll offer measurable results, strong implementation support, and true partnership.
Why does all of this matter?
Because we’re preparing today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders, workers, citizens, and problem-solvers. If students don’t have strong literacy skills, they won’t be able to fully participate in society or meet the demands of our future workforce.
Education is the foundation of national strength and global competitiveness. We can’t take our foot off the gas. Literacy is not just a school issue—it’s a societal priority.