The vision for Basic Education and Literacy at Rotary is that together, we seek a more equitable and just world in which all children and adults have access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities that equip them with numeracy and literacy skills. This vision and the passion of members to make a difference motivated me, Sara Poehlman, to join Rotary in April 2025 as the Area of Focus Manager for Basic Education and Literacy Area of Focus and to continue to build on the work of Regina Fuller-White, former area of focus manager for basic education and literacy and BELRAG members.
The United Nations estimates that without additional measures, 84 million children and young people will be out of school by 2030 and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life. Recent cuts in national and overseas assistance budgets create challenges to resource and strengthen schools and outcomes for children and youth, especially for women and girls, and the most vulnerable people. These changes offer opportunities for Rotarians to step up their impact. Especially as BELRAG members, you have the possibility to increase our work for Basic Education and Literacy through service projects, engagement and advocacy to contribute to the acceleration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education - to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Joining you at Rotary, I bring 25 years of experience in more than 40 countries tackling local and global issues in education, early childhood and peacebuilding. In the spirit of service, my education training began as a literacy volunteer and AmeriCorps member supporting children and families in homeless shelters and under-resourced schools in the United States. Decades of experience and collaboration enabled me to grow to become a bilingual literacy specialist, anti-bias educator, parent and teacher trainer and global leader in education. Positions with UNICEF, Save the Children and the Global Partnership for Education enabled me to build education systems, strengthen evidence and advocacy for children, develop child-friendly policies, deliver education projects, and rebuild schools and communities affected by war and disaster.
As we look forward to achieving our strategic priorities, we can look to the words of Rotary’s founder Paul Harris, "Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves." I look forward to working collectively to increase our impact and build on the global work of Rotary that has emphasized the importance of getting children the numeracy and literacy skills they need while they’re still in school. With a vision that emphasizes collaboration, action-oriented service, and positive impact, we can make change on a global scale, within local communities, and even on the individual level.
Throughout the process to develop the first Basic Education and Literacy Area of Focus strategy, Dr. Fuller-White and Rotary members reflected on how to best build on Rotary's legacy in education work and chart a path forward for stronger projects that lead to measurable outcomes for students and teachers.
Looking at past successes and future opportunities, our members are likely to succeed in service projects that address:
Education and technology programs
Teacher training
Early childhood education
Literacy and numeracy skills
These priority programs aim to focus our offerings, improve our ability to achieve and measure impact, and set members up for success. "Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves." Our Rotary vision offers a guidepost towards changes we can make in ourselves and our work within the Areas of Focus.
In particular, the Basic Education and Literacy strategy seeks to:
Improve our monitoring and evaluation to better measure the results of our projects and build towards long-term projects
Invest in priority programming projects and implementing projects that are based on evidence
Expand connections across the areas of focus and our focus on gender and equity within education
Increase opportunities for strategic partnerships and raise awareness of our work and results in the global education sector
The upcoming International Convention 2025 provides a great opportunity for us to discuss, learn and exchange so we can grow the reach and strengthen the impact of our joint efforts. We look forward to your engagement and providing support to move forward our objectives and bring quality education opportunities to your communities and children and adults across the globe.