Progress Report From Our Newest Partner School

We are now 6-months into our partnership with Oldeani Primary School(OPS). When we started our partnership with the government to co-manage OPS, there were only 6 teachers for 700 students, limited school supplies and learning materials, crumbling infrastructure, and little student support. While partnering with a new primary school comes with a unique set of obstacles, having successfully partnered with Gyetighi Primary School for over 15 years, we were ready for the challenge. Our proven model focuses on developing three critical areas during the launch of each school partnership:

ImprovIng Infrastructure and Resources: At the start of our partnership with OPS, the school was lacking the critical learning materials and supplies needed to give students the education they deserve. In the first 6 months, we have supplied the books, pens, chalk, desks, and other critical materials that are essential for learning. While we ensure that we have all the resources needed inside classrooms, we are also working to repair school infrastructure to create a campus that students can feel proud of.

Holistic Student Support: Through our partnerships with Gyetighi Primary and Oldeani Secondary Schools, we have proven that students need nutritional access in order to excel in their studies. To ensure students have full bellies and the fuel they need, we are in the process of rolling out our OPS school lunch program. We are starting with students in critical National Exam years, with plans to offer nutritional support to all students in the months ahead.

Increasing Capacity: To give students the individualized attention they deserve, we have hired 13 new teachers to join the OPS faculty, bringing the student-teacher ratio from 116-to-1 down to 37-to-1. With plans to hire even more teachers in the years ahead, we are also providing all OPS teachers professional development to improve their skills through seminars, interactive planning days with teachers at Gyetighi Primary School, and more!

While we still have a long road ahead, we are very proud of our progress in the past few months of our partnership with OPS. We can’t wait to give these students the education they deserve!