Telugu badi review — can a US-born 7-year-old really learn to read?

Two years in: our daughter reads Telugu picture books slowly but proudly. What the Sunday format gets right, where home practice matters, and the WhatsApp group that keeps parents honest.

What actually works

Placement by reading level (not age), fifteen-minute rotations so nobody's bored, and a homework load small enough to survive soccer season. The teachers are volunteer parents trained on the Telugu badi curriculum used across US chapters.

The honest catch: without ten minutes of home reading twice a week, Sunday alone won't do it. The class WhatsApp group posting photos of kids reading is the accountability engine nobody admits to needing.