By Yspaniola | Local Staff
Since re-opening our doors for the Spring 2016 semester, the Learning Center has continued to grow and improve. Students and teachers alike are enjoying extended instructional time, and the Learning Center’s Food Program continues to provide healthy snacks to students prior to classes Monday through Thursday.
In our last update we shared some of the successes from last semester’s Reading A-Z testing. February marked a new round of testing for students in the Learning Center, and out of the 56 students tested, 48 increased their reading comprehension levels. Seeing this consistent progress is extremely important for us here at Yspaniola, and we are thrilled to see student success like that of Jonel, who, since his last round of A-Z testing, has jumped from a level C to a level G reader, bringing him closer to reading at grade level.
2016 also marks the addition of a Pre-Kindergarten class in the Learning Center. Out of the 126 students our Learning Center serves, our Pre-K class caters to 21 students, allowing teachers and assistants to work closely and in small-groups with the community’s youngest learners. Additionally, we have integrated music into the Pre-k curriculum, using different musical tools to support literacy learning for many young students who come from Haitian Creole speaking households and know very limited Spanish. Yspaniola is thrilled about this addition to our Learning Center, as Pre-kindergarten programs are proven to help build a fundamental educational base for children and support their success when they enter the formal school system.
Additionally, with the collaboration of Ani Yanachkova, Yspaniola’s new Executive Director, Sabrina Grille, the Director of the Learning Center, and Emma Compton, the Local Program Manager, Yspaniola has been able to integrate multiple programs and better support current staff. In the fall, Mayra, an Yspaniola University Scholar, chose to complete her university internship in Yspaniola’s Learning Center. This collaboration is an important example of Yspaniola’s goals to provide quality education from pre-k through university and to support community members as they themselves work for the improvement of their community. With similar goals to support the work of community members, Yspaniola has implemented monthly teacher trainings and professional development meetings, which have focused on topics such as lesson planning and reading strategies. Increasing quality education means focusing on empowering local teachers; Yspaniola currently has 7 local teachers and assistants, and these monthly trainings aim to provide local staff with important resources and experience to help ensure the sustainability of Yspaniola’s education programs in Batey Libertad.
Stay tuned for Yspaniola’s next update as we celebrate summer vacation in the Learning Center and prepare for another fun-filled Summer Camp in Batey Libertad!
By Isaac Bloch | Princeton in Latin America Fellow
By Yspaniola | Project Leader
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