Our Beginnings

Vowel Valley began with Shantelle Oliphant’s mission to help K–6 educators improve literacy by strengthening students’ understanding of speech and word building—boosting confidence in both reading and writing. She was a state literacy specialist coaching teachers and principals in Idaho. 

Frustrated with expensive, worksheet-heavy methods, she developed engaging, science-backed tools like magnetic word-building kits with whiteboard folders to support phonemic awareness and encoding in Tier 1 instruction.

Improving Tier 1 instruction begins with high engagement and quality application of concepts. As she visited classrooms across Idaho, she recognized a need. Shantelle didn’t set out to start a business, she just wanted to save money for the schools that she coached and she wanted to save time for the teachers she loved. 

When young readers figure out how the code works, they seek patterns and are motivated to learn more. Vowel Valley word mapping kits works so well, that kids are confident and eager to understand word structure and gain meaning.

As demand grew, Vowel Valley expanded nationwide in 2023, providing affordable, high-quality resources that make early literacy learning effective and engaging for both teachers and students.

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
— Frederick Douglass