At Impact Network, we work in partnership with the Ministry of General Education and strive to meet and exceed the benchmarks and expectations set for primary schools. One initiative that we were engaged in before schools closed was Let’s Read Zambia, a USAID funded initiative currently running a five-year program piloting in 5 provinces including Eastern Province where we operate. The ultimate goal of the project is to improve the reading outcomes for students from early childhood to grade four. The project aims to meet this goal through the following actions: implementing reading strategies, performance tracking, and increased parental and community engagement.

Let’s Read Zambia has supported a number of programs at Impact Network Schools and the following are some of examples:

· During Term 1, we selected teachers from Grade 1, 2 and 3 as well as our literacy teachers to attend a Let’s Read training along with our Teacher Supervisors. This training was facilitated by a Let’s Read team with support from our District Resource Center Coordinator and our Zonal Coordinators.

· The teachers received the training well and are getting more familiar with strategies being promoted, including phonics, letter recognition, and progressing from reading simple words to those that are a bit more complex. This also fueled an emphasis on reading words with good pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension.

· The program has encouraged the use of pair work as well as group work during literacy instruction. These strategies also encourage learners to interact with one another and with their teachers. The use of pair and group work in literacy instruction has made students active participants when they may have struggled in the past. It has given them confidence and a reason to work hard.

· Another aspect of the program includes “Let’s Measure’, as seen through the different assessments that have been conducted from week 5, 10 and 13 of each term. In Term 1, we saw our learner’s performance gradually improve and are anxious to see this continue when school resumes.

As a result of Let’s Read, teachers have improved professionally, and they have been able to improve their support to our scholars. We are happy to be in partnership with the Ministry of General Education and bring the benefits of the Let’s Read program and other initiatives to our students and teachers at Impact Network!

-Noah, Education Programme Officer for Katete

Working with the Ministry of General Education