ReadWell wins Rep. Dave Min’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 47th District
Rep. Dave Min has named Jiarui Li of Orange County School of the Arts as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 47th District. Their app ReadWell offers a dyslexia-friendly reading experience with fully customizable visual settings, including adjustable font sizes ranging from 14 to 32 points, variable line spacing up to three times the standard, and multiple background color options designed to reduce visual stress.
When asked what inspired the creation of ReadWell, Jiarui Li said, “Since elementary school, I’ve remembered what it feels like to be the kid who gets called on to read and immediately feels exposed. I have dyslexia, and for me, reading out loud was never just ‘sound it out.’ It was trying to fight through a sentence while everyone else sat there waiting. The help I got usually fell into two extremes: either I was given easier, baby-looking material that felt embarrassing, or I was told to ‘slow down and try again,’ which didn’t actually make the words any clearer.
“At the same time, I’ve seen how hard this is on teachers. They can tell which students are struggling, but they don’t always have the time to sit with every single reader, listen to every sentence, and track how that student is improving day by day.
“I built ReadWell to close that gap. I wanted something that lets a student practice reading in a way that feels private and safe while also giving teachers real, useful information about how that student is doing and where they need help.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.