Since 2017, BELRAG has emphasized Rotary’s commitment to basic education and literacy by offering clubs and districts an opportunity to share their BEL projects with the Action Group. Four projects, three for Rotary clubs and one for a Rotaract club initiative, are selected to receive a $500 award.
All projects are evaluated based on their ability to:
- Identify a community need,
- Create a broad impact for beneficiaries,
- Create public awareness of Rotary’s involvement with education and literacy through social media posts and events,
- Demonstrate Rotarian involvement, and
- Identify the overall effectiveness of the project.
We are pleased to receive project applications from all over the Rotary world. The quilt of projects was excellent - choosing one over the others was a difficult decision. Our congratulations are extended to Rotarians in Rotary Club of Calgary, Alberta, Canada (District 5360), Rotary Club of Port Moody, Canada (District 5050), Rotary Club of Tygerberg, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa (District 9350), and Rotary Club of Little Rock After Hours, Little Rock, Arkansas USA (District 6150). This year’s Rotaract BEL Award was awarded to Rotaract New Kingston, Jamaica (District 7020), which partners with its sponsoring Rotary Club to implement its project.
Thanks to the BELRAG members who served on the review committee. Led by Brenda Parsons (England) and Carol Marcotte (USA), reviewers included Joan Littleford (Canada), Courtney Doldron (Canada), Frank Romano (USA), Amanda Flayer (Guatemala), and Maria Mohammed-Maharaj (Trinidad and Tobago).
These BEL projects give hope to communities through Rotary’s strong support for literacy programs worldwide. Detailed descriptions of the projects (and those selected in previous years) are posted on the BELRAG website. If one seems like a potential fit for your community, be sure to contact the project developers. Throughout the year, additional notable projects will be featured in the newsletter. Congratulations to the award recipients.
Cambodia Literacy Integrative Project (CLIP 3) Increases Literacy Opportunities
The goal of the CLIP 3 project was to support teachers and parents, which will result in increases in educational opportunities for disadvantaged communities with respect to early childhood education. The Host Club (RC Pursat) conducted community assessments with education officials and representatives. With the results, activities were designed in 5 key areas:
- Create Teaching Resources (books, songs, games, worksheets, videos, crafts),
- Continue to enhance the online digital library (in Cambodia’s native language, Khmer) by uploading all of these newly created resources and allowing teachers to upload their creations,
- Conduct seven (full-day) workshops for Kindergarten teachers on a variety of topics, from basic computer skills, how to use the prescribed curriculum, creating visual aids to classroom management, how to create their own resources,
- Use Social Media (4 platforms: Facebook, Telegram, Youtube, Website) to distribute the resources to a wider audience, and
- Engage education officials (both District and Provincial level) in workshops and community assessment and evaluation.
The impact on the direct beneficiaries was remarkable. Teachers trained in the previous CLIP project now return to participate in the workshop as facilitators and demonstrate how successful a teacher can be once they implement the recommendations and use the resources.
We are finding that teachers who have been trained in the CLIP project are now sharing their knowledge with other teachers outside the project. The resources created are available on the digital library website to anyone for free (no subscription required) and are in their native language, Khmer.
Belize Education, Literacy and Safety Project Enhances Basic Literacy Skills to Incarcerated Women
The Belize Central Prison is the only prison in Belize incarcerating men, women, and youth and housing remanded and sentenced offenders, as well as immigration detainees. The prison is operated under contract by the Kolbe Foundation, which is closely linked to the Rotary Club of Belize. The Foundation receives limited government funding and has limited resources for education and other rehabilitative programs. The goal of the project was to enhance basic education and literacy in the nation’s only prison.
This project leverages the use of Open Educational Resources (OER), which include educational resources such as curriculum maps, learning management systems, course materials, textbooks, videos, multimedia applications, and other materials that have been designed for use in teaching and learning. These materials are available for use by educators and students without an accompanying need to pay royalties or license fees.
Within the prison population, literacy and overall educational attainment are low. The prison has little funding for rehabilitative programming but does have a demonstrable commitment to rehabilitation and program delivery. There are only two staff teachers for an inmate population of 1200. Improved literacy, education, and employment skills improve the likelihood of successful reintegration and a safer society.
Education technology such as RACHEL, workstations, and other supporting technology, along with teacher and facilitator training, has dramatically increased access to educational resources for most inmates in the prison. Key elements of this initiative included:
- Augmenting educational resources for youth offenders to strengthen literacy and basic education results,
- Provide basic literacy training to adult offenders,
- Making standardized curriculum available to adult offenders to improve educational outcomes and certifications, and
- Training inmate facilitators and trainers in the development and use of educational technology to support basic education and literacy.
There are many beneficiaries of this project. This is evidenced by RACHEL being accessed by as many as 400 inmates monthly. This represents one-third of the inmate population. For many inmates, this was their first use of a computer and an opportunity to acquire basic computer skills. Scheduled access, typically accessing the RACHEL devices for four 1-hour sessions each week.
Glen Brown, jamesglenbrown@gmail.com
Rotary Club of Port Moody, Canada
District 5050
Education and Uplift Raises Levels of Foundational Literacy Skills
The primary objective of the Educate and Uplift Project was to raise the skill levels of Foundation Phase learners (Grade R to Grade 3, ages 5-10) in Maths and Literacy at 8 rural schools on the fringes of the Cape Metropole. A study in the UK showed that by using tablets for 30 minutes a day for a month, the learners were 3 months ahead of their peers. A similar study in Malawi proved the effectiveness of tablets in the development of Maths and Literacy by training teachers and providing them with 11 tablets per class.
In 2022, the club gave Alpha Primary tablets to 4 Grade 1 classes to assist teachers with teaching Maths and Literacy. There were up to 40 learners in class, thus 40 tablets were given. The teachers were going to share the tablets on a roster basis. A few months later, when we returned to the school, we found that the teachers had divided the tablets amongst themselves, i.e., 10 per class, as it suited the way they gave instruction. In large classes, the learners are put into smaller groups and taken to a spot that separates them from the rest of the class. Here, the teacher explains a concept to the group and gives them exercises to work on. The teacher would monitor the progress of each learner and try to help struggling learners. Using tablets, the teacher had more time to work one-on-one with learners. After explaining the concept, learners could work on their own. The app monitored their progress and gave feedback as they completed their exercises. Learners who were ahead of the group could move on to more difficult exercises or work on a different app as guided by the teacher.
The project was successful in the following areas:
- Utilize literacy and numeracy software to make learning more engaging,
- Increase learner engagement and interactivity,
- Enable efficient assessment and monitoring of learner progress with reduced teacher intervention, and
- Enhance access to educational resources available on the internet.
The learners were able to develop essential numeracy and literacy skills as well as enhance their cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The children had increased creativity and innovation. Another facet of the project was that children have improved academic outcomes, which will lead to better career prospects. There was a teacher aspect to the project as well, where they received training to adapt to the new instructional methods that needed to be used with the new technology.
The long-term effects of the project will be to bridge the digital divide between under-resourced schools and well-resourced schools, ensuring equitable access to quality education for all learners. In the words of one of the teachers, we will be bringing the world into their classrooms and opening their eyes and minds. Most importantly, a better education will lead to better career prospects and jobs, ultimately resulting in the upliftment of the community.
Margaret Lambert, margaretlambert@gmail.com
Reading Ladder Celebrates Literacy Success in Readers Through Incentives
Rotary Reading Ladder is a responsive literacy program designed around the needs of its beneficiaries in Little Rock, Arkansas. The program is in its third year of implementation. In its current form, the program provides new, high-quality, age-appropriate, and developmentally appropriate books and in-kind partnership items (e.g., Chick-fil-A children’s meal gift cards and stuffed animals donated by Chick-fil-A) to participating schools to incorporate into their own literacy programs to use as reading incentives. All Little Rock School District (LRSD) elementary students receive a bookmark, which is their ticket into the program and provides basic instructions for tracking their reading time. K-2nd student reading time is automatically tracked on a platform already provided to students by LRSD.
Meanwhile, 3rd-5th grade students log their own reading progress via a secure online platform provided by the Central Arkansas Library System, a program partner. Teachers and school librarians reward students known as “rising stars” and “top performers” based on their potential and reading performance compared to their peers. At the end of the program, reading time is compiled by each participating school. Top-performing schools are awarded monetary prizes for use toward book fairs or for further incentivizing student readers to encourage students to continue reading in the coming summer and subsequent months.
Rotarians and key partners are involved in the program development, implementation, and evaluation. Rotarians have been involved in all end-of-year celebration events to celebrate students’ reading success. Examples of celebration events include two parties with interactive activities for top readers at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library, a movie day at the Ron Robinson Theater managed by the Central Arkansas Library System, and check presentations at top-performing schools.
Making Magic through Literacy and Numeracy Through Targeted Coaching and Competition
This joint initiative with the Rotary Club of New Kingston and the Rotaract Club of New Kingston aims to focus on two facets of education: reading and mathematics. The project focused on the youth – ages 6-17 - in Whitfield Town and surrounding Kingston 13 communities. The initiative was implemented through a three-pronged approach:
- Community coaches and tutors to assist identified students with preparation for the Numeracy and Literacy competition,
- Competition to test the aptitude and ability of the participants, and
- Workshops will be held to improve the participants’ reading, writing, public speaking, and mathematical and financial skills through partnerships with local companies, community groups, and churches within the community.
The participants benefited from skills improvement, with over 50 primary and secondary school students enhancing their literacy and numeracy skills through targeted coaching and competition. When pre-tests and post-tests were compared, several students’ literacy levels moved from a low of 42% to a high of 84%, while Math levels moved from 35% to 52 %.
The competition highlighted students’ talents from inner-city communities, fostering a sense of pride and achievement. Through this, there has been a positive engagement within the community as the project engaged parents and community members, promoting a supportive environment for students and encouraging collective celebration of their achievements. By showcasing the students’ skills and potential, the initiative helped to challenge negative stereotypes associated with inner-city communities. It also inspired students to continue developing their skills, contributing to a culture of learning and academic success within the community.