In the News and Impact Stories

Ce blog a été écrit et publié à l'origine par la Fondation Bill et Melinda Gates et la CONFENMEN à l'occasion de la conférence « Apprendre pour Demain » à Dakar, au Sénégal (janvier 2025). Il a été publié sur le site web de la conférence (https://linktr.ee/apprendrepourdemain) et dans le répertoire de documents (https://sites.google.com/view/apprendrepourdemain/resources-ressources/others?authuser=3). Cet article décrit comment l'activité « Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous » (RELIT, 2021-2026) de l'USAID s'est efforcée de renforcer la capacité du système éducatif à dispenser un enseignement bilingue dans les premières années de la scolarité, en s'appuyant sur une pédagogie structurée et le renforcement des capacités institutionnelles.

This blog was written for and originally published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CONFENMEN on the occasion of the "Apprendre pour Demain" conference in Dakar, Senegal (January 2025). It was published on the conference website (https://linktr.ee/apprendrepourdemain) document repository (https://sites.google.com/view/apprendrepourdemain/resources-ressources/others?authuser=3). This article describes how USAID's “Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous” (RELIT, 2021-2025) activity has been working to strengthen the education system’s capacity to deliver bilingual education in the early grades, with structured pedagogy and institutional capacity-building as central pillars.

Ces Success Stories ont été préparées par l'équipe du projet Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous de l'USAID au Sénégal en 2023. SS05 '"Compréhension à l’audition et enthousiasme des élèves de CI : les premières semaines de classes de lecture en pulaar renforcent la motivation de l’enseignante Fatoumata Sané" donne l'éxperience d'une enseignante en Pulaar qui utilise les materiaux RELIT. SS07 « La co-création avec le ministère de l'Éducation aboutit à des plans de développement des capacités pour préparer le personnel à fournir aux enfants du Sénégal une éducation bilingue de haute qualité » décrit le processus collaboratif de développement des capacités du ministère à fournir une éducation bilingue durable et de haute qualité et SS08 « La cartographie linguistique de plus de 1 000 écoles renforce la capacité du personnel du ministère de l'Éducation à soutenir durablement la mise en œuvre de l'enseignement bilingue au Sénégal » décrit comment le dialogue avec les communautés a permis d'identifier laquelle des langues locales convenait le mieux à l'enseignement en classe.

These Success Stories were prepared by the project team for the USAID Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous program in Senegal in Calendar year 2023. SS005: "Improved listening comprehension in Pulaar garners enthusiasm from Grade 1 pupils and their teacher Mme Sané" SS011 " At the El Hadj Oumar Aidara school in Kédougou, student reading achievement in grade 1 is a milestone in adoption of bilingual education" and SS006: "RELIT helps students in remote areas of Senegal learn to read through effective early grade bilingual instruction" describe teachers' experiences using the newly-introduced RELIT materials in their classrooms. SS07 "Co-creation with the Ministry of Education results in capacity development plans to prepare personnel to provide Senegal’s children with high-quality bilingual education" describes the collaborative process of developing ministry capacity to provide sustainable and high quality bilingual education and SS08 "Language mapping of over 1,000 schools builds the capacity of the Ministry of Education staff to sustainably support implementation of bilingual instruction in Senegal" describes how talking to communities helped identify which of the local languages best serves classroom instruction.

Ces Success Stories ont été préparées par l'équipe du projet de Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous de l'USAID au Sénégal au cours de l'année civile 2022. SS001 : « 50 personnes-ressource du Ministère de l’Education Nationale et du partenaire d’exécution mettent en place, ensemble, les mécanismes de mise en oeuvre de RELIT». Décrit le co-lancement collaboratif et local du programme en 2022. SS002 : « A l’école élémentaire Boly Diaw de Saint Louis, le programme RELIT mobilise une communauté de parents d’élèves autour de la lecture et l’enseignement bilingue." Décrit une école qui a organisé une célébration à l'échelle de la communauté pour le lancement du programme RELIT en 2022.

These Success Stories were prepared by the project team for the USAID Renforcement de la Lecture Initiale pour Tous program in Senegal in Calendar year 2022. SS001 : "Fifty resource persons from the MEN and the implementing partner put in place, together, the mechanisms for implementing RELIT." Describes the collaborative and locally-led co-launch of the program in 2022. SS002: "At Boly Diaw elementary school in Saint Louis, the RELIT program mobilizes a community of parents around reading and bilingual education." Describes a school that created a community-wide celebration for the launch of the RELIT program in 2022. SS003: "Innovations in the teaching of early grade reading: RELIT designs early learning materials for three new national languages" Describes the process and outputs of the first Grade 1 materials in 5 national languages that were developed in time for the new school year in Senegal. SS04: "A participatory approach to assessing the institutional capacity of Senegal’s education system" describes the approach to capacity assessment using the "Core Components" model of System Strengthening.

This video success story documents the experience of a math teacher participating in a pilot of new math materials and teacher training and his inspiring observations on students' learning.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Ministry of Preschool and School Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, launched the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program. The teacher featured in this success story was one of a group of teachers selected to pilot the new student textbooks and teacher guides introduced by the program. She and her colleagues participated in various professional development workshops on student-centered teaching and adopting new teaching materials. After applying these new approaches, the teacher implemented the strategies she had learned using the new textbooks and teacher guides. She saw a dramatic improvement in her students' engagement and achievement. They were more motivated and interested in the material. Her new teaching style worked for her and her students.

Primary school teachers were offered professional development training through the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Program was designed to equip teachers with innovative teaching strategies and tools that would enable them to create a student-centered learning environment. To improve her teaching skills and help her students succeed, the teacher feactured in this success story, worked hard to attend the training sessions and applied the new teaching techniques in her classroom. She created interactive lesson plans, encouraged student participation, and facilitated collaborative learning. The results were remarkable. Students became more engaged in the learning process, and they developed critical thinking skills. They were able to apply what they learned to real-life situations, and their academic performance improved significantly.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, launched the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program. One of the objectives of the Program was to create student textbooks, workbooks, and teacher guides on teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) to be used as the main teaching material in local schools of Uzbekistan.The Program involved international experts in the process of creating the books to ensure Uzbek boys and girls have access to the best learning and teaching materials, which will lead to stronger student performance and the long-term success of the Uzbek children. Cambridge University Press laid the foundation for the development of the books, Florida State University experts supported the creation of the student standards, and the local Product Review Group of seven experts from Uzbekistan helped with the cultural customization of these teaching and learning materials to make them appropriate for Uzbek society. In the 2021–2022 academic year the Program piloted the new books in two regions. Local teachers were provided with professional development trainings from foreign and local trainers on how to effectively use these teaching materials, and over 600,000 school students have already enjoyed learning from the new textbooks. Starting in the 2022–2023 academic year, the Ministry of Public Education printed and distributed books for all schools in the Republic of Uzbekistan