Iowa City firm is cracking the reading code

More than 20 years ago, two researchers in different fields decided to tackle a shared question: Why were so many U.S. children lagging behind in reading skills?

Carolyn Brown and Jerry Zimmermann have long tackled the question, first with their shared reading research and support business called Breakthrough to Literacy, then with their partnership with the Iowa Language and Literacy Institute, and since 2009, with their…