In2Books was created in 1997 to enhance the intellectually stimulating work available to students in low-income neighborhoods. A basic tenet of In2Books is that all children are capable of deep learning. Children cannot fully develop their learning potential without challenging learning experiences. In2Books promotes ambitious literacy learning in grades 2-5 by having students engage in authentic reading and writing experiences with adult pen pals. The pen pal experience is complemented by the classroom study of genre and genre-related literacy.
From its inception, In2Books has focused especially on under-resourced neighborhood where many students come from low-income, culturally diverse backgrounds. The thought-provoking In2Books curriculum includes carefully-chosen, high quality diverse books and research-proven teaching strategies. The strategies are aligned to grade-level literacy standards and science, social studies, and language arts instruction.

1997-2006

• 1997 - Nina Zolt creates In2Books.
• 1998-2000 – In2Books is implemented in 10 classrooms in Washington, D.C. elementary schools
• 1999-2000 - Westat, an independent research firm, conducts an assessment that confirms In2Books improves writing skills and develops higher level thinking skills.
• 2000-2001 – In2Books begins professional development program - Teachers can earn seat hour and/or graduate credit.
• 2003-2004 - In2Books expands to more than 6,000 student participants, including students in more than 60% of Washington, D.C. elementary schools.
• 2004 – External research study reports that students who used In2Books in grades 2-4 scored significantly higher on SAT-9 standardized reading tests than students in the same district who did not.
• 2005-2006 – In2Books continues to expand in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Illinois and Loudon County, Virginia.

2007-2009

• 2007 - In2Books merges with ePals, creating ePals, Inc. and the ePals Foundation. The mission of the combined entity is to encourage and enable rigorous collaborative learning experiences globally.
• 2007-2008 – In2Books makes the In2Books program totally digital, except for the books
• 2008-2009 - The all-digital In2Books is implemented successfully in more than 130 classrooms in 30 states.
• 2009 – In2Books expands to all classroom nationwide and, with underwriting from the ePals Foundation and national sponsors, In2Books is offered free to the first 1000 Title I classrooms enrolled for the 2009-2010 school year.