Case study · Sydney, AU · heritage language

Sydney Heritage Language Program.

A community-funded Sydney program serving Vietnamese, Greek, Arabic, and Tagalog heritage learners ran 12 cohorts on Koydo in one year. 87% of families renewed at year-end.

Cohorts

Renewal rate

87%

Languages served

Heritage programs operate on thin margins

Community-funded heritage language programs in Australia operate on grants + family contributions. Most can't afford a dedicated platform; spreadsheets + Zoom + WhatsApp are common. Coordination overhead eats funding.

What changed

Moving to Koydo meant one platform for scheduling, attendance, parent communication, gradebook, and billing. The coordinator's hours dropped from 30/wk to 8/wk; the grant funding went further. The program added Tagalog and Arabic as additional language tracks within the same operational envelope.

Why renewal hit 87%

Renewal in heritage programs is typically 40-60% — kids age out, families decide it's optional. SHLP attributed the jump to two things: the parent portal made parents feel informed (and thus engaged), and the kids actually liked the structured cohort format better than the looser pre-Koydo arrangement.

The funding upside

Predictable platform costs + visible per-cohort outcomes made the renewal grant easier to secure. The board could show 'here are the 12 cohorts we ran, here are the CEFR gains per cohort, here's the engagement evidence.' Previously, the grant report was anecdote.

Quick answer

Sydney Heritage Language Program. A community-funded Sydney program serving Vietnamese, Greek, Arabic, and Tagalog heritage learners ran 12 cohorts on Koydo in one year. 87% of families renewed at year-end. Cohorts: 12; Renewal rate: 87%; Languages served: 4. Community-funded heritage language programs in Australia operate on grants + family contributions. Most can't afford a dedicated platform; spreadsheets + Zoom + WhatsApp are common. Coordination overhead eats funding. Moving to Koydo meant one platform for scheduling, attendance, parent communication, gradebook, and billing. The coordinator's hours dropped from 30/wk to 8/wk; the grant funding went further. The program added Tagalog and Arabic as additional language tracks within the same operational envelope.

In their words

“Heritage language programs exist because community elders believe their language is worth passing on. They don't exist because the platform economics work. Koydo doesn't change that — but it makes the operational side stop fighting us.”

— Mai Pham · Program coordinator

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Why renewal hit 87%

Quick answer