Yspaniola's Learning Center serves over 85 children in Batey Libertad, a marginalized community in the agricultural heart of the Dominican Republic. Our Center provides small-group Spanish literacy instruction for children in the community, including many who speak Haitian Creole at home with their families. This project will help sustain our programs for at-risk youth this school year: all funds donated will cover vital core costs including teaching materials, books and teacher's salaries.
The Dominican education system is one of Latin America's poorest. Classrooms are overcrowded, often with 30-40 students per teacher. According to the government's own statistics, 62% of the student population has not acquired reading proficiency by the age of 10. Many students leave primary school without mastering basic reading and writing, which means they cannot enjoy and excel in other subjects, and increases the risk of them dropping out before they graduate from high school.
At Yspaniola's Learning Center in Batey Libertad, our team of qualified local teachers and assistants work to motivate and inspire students to achieve reading and writing success! Our small class sizes and teaching methods favor individualized attention for each student. Our preschool team helps ensure that students get the best possible start to their educational journey from 3 years and onwards, and our teachers have helped hundreds of older students to learn to read and write fluently.
Thirteen years on from when Yspaniola was officially founded in 2009, we are beginning to see students who have been involved in our programs since their early teens graduating from university! By providing literacy-focused classes and tutoring sessions for students from preschool through to comprehensive university scholarships for talented students, we encourage young people to stay in school, to develop a love for education, and to go on to study for a university scholarship!
