Literacy and Library Project forElementary and Middle Schools

In Ethiopia, slightly less than half of the population is illiterate (The Borgen Project).  Given the extreme disadvantage that low literacy rates puts on communities, there have been multiple efforts to improve the Ethiopian education system and increase literacy across Ethiopia, the rates of which have continued to grow substantially over the past decade.

The main outcome of this project is to develop English language skills among its students across all elementary and middle school grades.  To achieve this overarching task, educators will be trained in  second-language research-grounded techniques and methodologies.  Teacher training will have an additional intended outcome of increasing reading and writing skills among the teachers themselves, along with their students. Since the majority of textbooks are in the English language from middle school on, it is imperative for students to have English as their second-language in order to move onto secondary education and college.

Project Details:

• Ten (10) schools identified as having a low level of literacy among students
• Students: Grades 5-8
• 3-day English-as-a-second language training for 40 identified teachers from the 10 schools
• Support, guidance, and monitoring of teachers’ progress by staff from Together We Learn
• Analysis and periodic reporting of student progress
• Retraining sessions, if needed