Thirty-Nine New Literacy Leaders in the OECS!

Aligned with the ongoing mission to improve early grade reading levels in the OECS, the Early Learner’s Programme (ELP) within the OECS’ Education Development Management Unit (EDMU) collaborated with the Caribbean Society for the Advancement of Higher Education Research (CSAHER) and St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia Canada to certify 39 educators in Literacy Leadership.

The Literacy Leadership Programme was based on a series of professional development initiatives carried out over a two year period for the ELP National Focal Points (NFP’s) and ELP Literacy Coaches in six Member States within the OECS, focusing on key areas including: best practices in teaching reading, leading workshops, classroom observations and in-school coaching sessions with teachers. Additional areas of development included curriculum development, language policy development, formative assessment and how it informs teaching practice.

A special ceremony was held in Saint Lucia on Tuesday November 26, 2019 following a two-day workshop for Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and NFP’s, where the EDMU presented certificates in Literacy Leadership to the seven (7) NFPs and two (2) ELP team members who successfully fulfilled the professional development requirements.

The CEOs and Directors present at the ceremony, representing the six Member States also received certificates to be presented to thirty (30) ELP Literacy Coaches at their own in-country ceremony.  These coaches have begun applying their newly acquired skills in mentoring and coaching every Grade K-3 teacher in the six independent OECS Member States thereby impacting over 30,000 Early Grade Learners.  

About OECS/USAID ELP:

OECS/USAID Early Learners Programme is a Programme within the Education Development Management Unit of the OECS Commission and was established in March 2015 to improve the reading skills of children in the early primary grades with the goal of providing a foundation for improved learning outcomes and enhanced opportunities for students in the six independent Member States of the OECS (Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). The OECS/USAID ELP will run through to September 2020 developing and implementing several initiatives that continue the advancement of early grade reading throughout the OECS.