Every question parents ask before enrolling — answered completely.

The program runs through The Loop — Read → Think → Speak → Write — across 16 structured weeks. Each session involves live instruction with a Navigator, structured practice between sessions, and progress tracking using Lexile and 6+1 Trait frameworks. Your child moves through grade-level content, not simplified material.

Five combinations, all 16 weeks per cycle. Summit is three literature sessions plus one writing session each week. Core — the most common — is two literature plus one writing. Flex 1 is two or more literature sessions; Flex 2 is two writing sessions; Flex 3 is one or more GPA sessions per week and pairs with any of the others. Literature sessions run 25 minutes, writing sessions 50, on a fixed weekly schedule.

The ELA Program begins at Grade 3 and runs across seven levels to college-tier academic English — each level two to three 16-week cycles. Little DODO is a separate programme for ages 5 to 8, with its own early-childhood educators. Placement comes from the diagnostic, not from your child’s school year.

One-on-one. Every child works with a dedicated Navigator for the full 16 weeks. Live sessions are always 1:1.

Sessions are recorded and accessible within 24 hours. Your child’s Navigator will adjust the following session to address any gaps. Two consecutive missed sessions trigger a parent check-in to assess whether the cohort timing is correct.

DODO builds English Thinkers at mastery level—children with the cognitive capacity to reason academically in English at the highest level — the ability to read complex texts, argue a position with evidence, and write with precision. An after-school class builds conversational skills. The Loop trains reading comprehension, analytical thinking, oral argument construction, and structured writing. These are not language skills. They are cognitive architecture.

AI is a tool your child will use for the rest of their life, and using it well is a skill in itself. What it cannot do is build the judgment behind the question. It will answer whatever you ask; a Navigator teaches your child which question is worth asking — how to read a difficult text closely, hold a position under challenge, and write something that earns its conclusion. In a session your child does the reading and the reasoning; the Navigator presses on the point they haven’t made yet.

The LCS System is DODO’s curriculum framework — Literacy, Composition, Speaking. Literacy is the reading treasury, where language goes in: whole unabridged classics, the Latin and Greek roots beneath English, and an ear for how good writing is built. Composition is the construction engine: grammar first and fast, then sentence to paragraph to essay. Speaking is our own strand, and the one a book cannot deliver — oral defence, Socratic dialogue, taking the other side. Inside every session those three run as one sequence: Read → Think → Speak → Write.

Because that is the order the thinking wants to go in. Reading puts something worth arguing about in front of your child. Thinking gives them a position on it. Speaking makes them defend that position out loud, where the gaps show. Writing is where it settles into something they own. Run it backwards and you get fluent sentences with nothing underneath.

One session runs the full sequence, not one quarter of it. A literacy session is 25 minutes; a writing session is 50. Your child reads, is asked what they make of it, says it aloud to a Navigator who presses on the part they haven’t thought through, and then writes. The next session does the same thing with harder material.

The sequence stays. The material moves. That is what the seven ELA levels are for — L1 begins at Grade 3 and L7 is college-tier academic English, with each level running two to three 16-week cycles. A child at L1 and a child at L5 have the same session shape and completely different books.

Most classrooms teach reading and writing as separate subjects, a term apart. Here they are one motion, three times a week, with one Navigator who has read everything your child has written. School measures whether the work was done. We measure the Lexile at Week 0, 8 and 16, and the 6+1 Trait scores alongside it.

At the level the diagnostic puts them, not at the level their grade implies. The 20-minute consultation measures where their reading actually sits, and that decides which of the seven levels they enter. Every session runs the full Read → Think → Speak → Write sequence from the first week, whatever the level.

A Navigator is your child’s dedicated instructor for the full 16 weeks. They guide your child through The Loop, track Lexile and 6+1 Trait growth, adjust content difficulty in real time, and communicate progress to you every four weeks.

A teacher delivers curriculum to a classroom. A tutor remediates gaps. A Navigator builds cognitive systems. They do not reteach what your child’s school already covered — they construct the thinking architecture that lets your child use what they already know at a higher level.

Matching is based on three inputs: baseline Lexile score from the entrance assessment, 6+1 Trait writing entry level, and the parent diagnostic call. We match cognitive profile, not personality. Your child’s Navigator is selected for their ability to guide your child’s specific thinking development — not to be their friend.

Yes. Consistency is non-negotiable. Changing Navigators mid-program disrupts the trust required for cognitive risk-taking. If a match is incorrect, we address it in week 2 — not week 10.

Every Navigator holds a graduate degree from a world top-50 university (Oxford, U of T, Queen’s, LSE and others) with a specialist background in English literature or composition. All are native English speakers, all are certified Lexile assessment practitioners, and all are trained in the 6+1 Trait writing framework. Most have longitudinal experience teaching bilingual students in North American academic contexts.

Navigators review notes from the previous session before every meeting. They track question response patterns, depth of reasoning, and where your child pushed back or went quiet. This allows them to adjust the next session’s difficulty in real time — your child never repeats work they have already mastered.

You will know by week 2. If the match is incorrect, we reassign within 48 hours. After week 4, reassignment becomes disruptive to progress and is only considered in exceptional circumstances. The diagnostic call exists to prevent mismatches — use it.

One grade level of Lexile growth — 100L to 150L increase — over 16 weeks. This is the evidence base for what 16 weeks of structured, rigorous instruction produces. Your child will also show measurable improvement in 6+1 Trait writing scores, specifically in Ideas, Organization, and Voice. See our methodology page for framework details.

A Lexile level quantifies reading comprehension ability on a scale from 0L to 2000L. It is measured using standardized assessments that evaluate sentence complexity, vocabulary demand, and conceptual density. DODO uses MetaMetrics-certified Lexile assessment tools. Learn more on our Lexile page.

The 6+1 Trait framework measures seven dimensions of writing: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, and Presentation. Each trait is scored independently on a 5-point rubric. DODO focuses on Ideas, Organization, and Voice during the 16-week program. Full framework documentation is available on our methodology page.

One grade level — 100L to 150L. This is achievable for students starting between Lexile 400L and 1000L with consistent session attendance. Growth above 150L in 16 weeks is possible but not typical. Growth below 100L signals a mismatch between content difficulty and baseline ability — we adjust immediately.

Three times. Week 0: entrance assessment before the first session. Week 8: mid-program check. Week 16: exit assessment. All assessments are administered by your child’s Navigator using MetaMetrics-certified tools. Results are shared with you within 72 hours of each assessment.

If your child shows less than 50L growth by week 8, we initiate a diagnostic review. This involves a parent call, Navigator observation, and content difficulty audit. If the issue is engagement, we adjust. If the issue is developmental readiness, we defer enrollment to a later cohort and refund the remaining balance.

School grades measure compliance and effort. Lexile scores measure comprehension capacity. Your child may receive an A in English class while reading below grade level. DODO reports what your child can do — not how hard they tried.

Yes. You receive a progress report after weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16. Each report includes Lexile trajectory, 6+1 Trait scores, and Navigator observations from the previous four weeks. You will never be surprised by the final assessment — you will have watched your child’s growth unfold across four data points.

Yes, and the strongest evidence sits under the vocabulary work. Teaching the Latin and Greek roots beneath English is one of the most-researched strategies in education. About 60% of English comes from those roots — over 90% of the words in science — so a term your child has never seen becomes one they can take apart and solve. In a study of 493 middle-school students, root-based teaching outperformed memorization for gifted and typically-developing students alike (Gallagher, 2017, Roeper Review). Across dozens of controlled studies, teaching word structure produces measurable gains in vocabulary, decoding and spelling (Goodwin & Ahn, 2010, 2013; Bowers, Kirby & Deacon, 2010). One more finding shapes how we choose texts: children grow most on rich, challenging material rather than simplified readers, which is why we read real, unabridged classics set a step above the comfortable level.

It starts with a diagnostic consultation — 20 minutes with a Navigator, not a sales call. We measure your child’s Lexile level, identify the exact gaps, and show you what the first 16 weeks looks like for a student exactly like yours. Families who enroll during a new city’s launch are recognised through the Founding Family Program. Book your consultation to begin.

Five programme combinations, all 16 weeks per cycle, all with full personalization included. Summit (全境领航) — $2,830: 3× literature + 1× writing session per week. Core (稳健航行) — $2,250 *(most popular)*: 2× literature + 1× writing session per week. Flex 1 (文学阅读自由航行) — $1,185: 2× literature sessions per week — reading foundation first. Flex 2 (大师写作自由航行) — $2,110: 2× writing sessions per week — writing specialisation. Flex 3 (GPA管理自由航行) — from $750: 1× GPA tutoring session per week — school academic management; pricing varies by subject. All tiers include entrance, mid-program, and exit assessments, four progress reports, and full access to recorded session archives.

Everything. Sixteen weeks of live Navigator sessions per your chosen tier (Summit / Core / Flex 1 / Flex 2 / Flex 3 — see pricing breakdown above). Entrance, mid-program, and exit assessments. Four progress reports. Recorded session archive. Full personalization at every tier. No add-ons, no material fees, no hidden costs.

No. The enrollment fee covers the entire 16-week program. You will not be asked to purchase books, software licenses, or supplementary materials. If your child needs accommodations — extended session time, translated materials, assistive technology — those are included at no additional cost.

Two options. Lump sum at enrollment, or weekly payments. Weekly rates: Flex 1 from $74/week, Flex 2 from $132/week, Core from $140/week, Summit from $177/week. Flex 3 weekly rate varies by subject (typically from $47/week). Both lump-sum and weekly options are available for every tier.

Full refund if you cancel before the first session. 50% refund if you cancel before week 4. No refund after week 4. If DODO initiates a program withdrawal due to lack of measurable progress, you receive a prorated refund for the remaining weeks.

No. Every student begins at week 1. The Loop is a sequence — joining mid-program would require skipping phases, which undermines the methodology. If the current cohort has already started, you will be placed in the next available cohort.

Only if the current cohort is full. DODO runs cohorts every 6–8 weeks in each city. If you are waitlisted, you receive priority placement in the next cohort and a 48-hour early enrollment window before general availability.

Yes. Students who complete the 16-week program and show measurable Lexile growth are eligible for Advanced Loop — a continuation program with elevated content difficulty. Enrollment details are shared during your week 16 exit assessment review.

No. Research shows that maintaining first-language proficiency strengthens second-language acquisition. The issue is not Chinese at home — it is fragmented cognitive development. If your child is learning English conversationally while thinking academically in Chinese, they develop two incomplete systems. DODO builds cognitive depth in English — and that depth protects both languages.

Speaking easily and reading a difficult text closely are different capacities. A child can hold a conversation without effort and still lose the thread of a chapter, or write a paragraph that lists rather than argues. The conversation is surface. What we build sits under it.

Because conversational fluency and academic cognition are not the same skill. Your child may navigate social situations in English while still processing complex texts, logical arguments, and written analysis in Chinese. DODO trains the cognitive architecture required for academic English — not the vocabulary required for casual conversation.

As one system, not two competing ones. We build depth in English — close reading, argument, structured writing — and that depth is portable. A child who can take a position and defend it in English does not lose that ability when they switch languages. Cognitive depth protects both.

The ELA Program starts at Grade 3, when academic reading begins to ask more than decoding. Little DODO covers ages 5 to 8 before that. There is no closing door: L7 is college-tier work, and students move up the ladder for as long as it keeps stretching them.

No. The work is structural, and structure travels. A child who learns to hold a position under questioning, or to build an argument that earns its conclusion, keeps that capacity whichever language they are working in. We do not teach Chinese, and we do not ask families to set it aside.

DODO does not teach Chinese. But by building English mastery at the cognitive level, it strengthens your child’s ability to operate in both languages. A student who can analyze a text, construct an argument, and write a structured essay in English can transfer those cognitive skills back to Chinese. The thinking structure is portable.

Six diaspora cities: Vancouver, Richmond BC, Markham, Toronto, San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles. These cities represent the highest concentrations of bilingual Chinese-English families in North America. Expansion to additional cities is planned for 2027.

Sessions are scheduled in your local timezone. Vancouver and Richmond BC cohorts run on Pacific Time. Toronto and Markham cohorts run on Eastern Time. San Francisco and Los Angeles cohorts run on Pacific Time. Your child will never need to attend a session outside of reasonable local hours.

No. Cohorts are city-specific. A student in Vancouver cannot join a Toronto cohort. This ensures that all students in a cohort are working within compatible schedules and cultural contexts.

Sessions are delivered through DODO’s proprietary platform, which integrates live video, screen sharing, collaborative annotation, and session recording. You do not need to install ClassIn, Zoom, or any third-party software. Everything runs in a browser.

Weekday evenings (5:00 PM to 8:00 PM local time) and weekend mornings (9:00 AM to 12:00 PM local time). Exact session time is assigned during the diagnostic call based on your schedule and Navigator availability. Once assigned, session time remains fixed for all 16 weeks.

No. DODO observes major school holidays in each city — winter break, spring break, and summer holidays. If a holiday falls during your cohort, that week is skipped and the program extends by one week. You are notified of holiday adjustments at enrollment.

Not yet. The current program is optimized for the six diaspora cities listed above. If you live outside these cities, you can join a waitlist for future expansion. DODO will notify you when enrollment opens in your area.

Little DODO is the K-2 foundational-reading sibling of the ELA Program. Live, one-on-one with a dedicated early-childhood educator specializing in phonetics, fluency, and pronunciation. High-frequency, low-pressure sessions that build vocabulary and the love of reading, book by book.

Ages 5–8 — kindergarten through Grade 2. The point is foundational reading at this stage: confidence to read aloud, comfort with comprehension questions, and the joy of understanding what they read.

Little DODO is the K-2 entry point. It uses the same live, one-on-one delivery model as the ELA Program, but a different specialist team: dedicated early-childhood educators trained in phonetics, fluency, and pronunciation, rather than literature and composition. Pace and pressure are adapted to the age. Formal Lexile measurement begins later, in the ELA Program. Little DODO builds the comprehension foundation that Lexile measures.

High-frequency, low-pressure. The cadence is set with you during the diagnostic call to match your child’s attention span and family rhythm — never longer than the child can sustain.

No. Lexile is appropriate from Grade 3 in the ELA Program. At Little DODO ages, the outcomes are confidence with reading aloud, comfort with comprehension, and the steady habit of opening a book. Formal Lexile assessment starts later.

Typically around Grade 3 — when your child is ready for Lexile-measured reading and the 6+1 Trait writing arc. Your child’s Navigator tracks readiness and recommends the transition with you. There is no automatic age cutoff; the readiness signal is the gate.