NEWSLETTER April - June 2018 PHOTO: Juan Cruz PHOTO:

Honduras Reading Activity Launch special guests, from left to right: Marcial Solís, Minister of Education, Juan Orlando Hernández, President of ; Heide B. Fulton, Chargé D’affaires of the U.S. Embassy; Fernando Cossich, Mission Director of USAID Honduras and students from the Juan Lindo School in , Honduras.

HONDURAS READING ACTIVITY “The important investment to our team. We are all USAID and the U.S. committed to implement this OFFICIALLY Government is giving to the project that will respond to education of Honduran boys the hopes and dreams for LAUNCHED and girls will reflect in hope all children in Honduras. We and dreams for our people,” want them to have dreams The HRA launch served as a platform said President Hernández for our country; we want during his speech. “Reading them to believe they can to formally present the project to key is one of the most basic and grow and cherish their life in education stakeholders from rural and important lessons a human Honduras. And to do that, being needs in order to they have to start by learning urban areas of Honduras. develop and grow.” to read and to make their imagination grow.” At the end of April, the Colorful balloons and folk Thanks to the success of Honduras Reading Activity dances provided a vivid the project launch, the HRA The HRA’s objective is to (HRA) was formally launched backdrop for the event, which now has a public platform benefit 700,000 children in Gracias, a town about 300 was attended by 350 people, on which to establish and through key activities kilometers from the capital, including the President of strengthen connections with such as training teachers, . To underscore Honduras, Juan Orlando key education stakeholders providing reading materials, the concrete efforts to Hernández, the Chargé in order to achieve its strengthening existing collaborate across donor D’affaires of the U.S. Embassy, objectives. “The launch libraries or opening new ones initiatives, the USAID-funded Heide B. Fulton, the Minister was a success,” said Seidda and encouraging parents and Quality Reading Materials of Education, Marcial Solís, Mendoza, HRA Deputy Chief caregivers to be actively Project also participated in and the Mission Director of of Party. “All the challenges involved in the educational the launch. USAID Honduras, Fernando and work ahead are exciting outcomes of their children. Cossich. ■

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A student in Erandique, Honduras, reads a short story using the new techniques provided by Mirza Orvelina Sánchez, one of the HRA Teacher Facilitators.

Updated teaching practices provide a strong foundation to improve students’ reading abilities. HONDURAN CHILDREN

LEARN TO READ Leonardo Mejía Bonilla from the Perpetuo Socorro School in San Pedro WITH UPDATED Sula shares an idea during the Directors Meeting. TEACHING process, the HRA also met the workshop provided with 241 school directors them with an opportunity METHODOLOGY to present the project’s to develop and practice mission and objectives. new instructional methods HRA reaching initial group of 750 Teacher Directors also expressed for the first time. “This their interest in the project workshop has been one of Facilitators to serve as model for new given their concerns about the most important things reading methodology. the quality of the current I’ve learned in my career,” reading instruction offered said Roberto Dubón, a The Honduras Reading identify 750 skilled teachers in schools. Teacher Facilitator from Activity (HRA) is training to support the project Santa Bárbara. teachers in evidence-based as Teacher Facilitators. From June 11-29, the HRA instructional practices and The HRA Master Trainers conducted the Teacher “My colleagues and I has already begun to see the provide these teachers Facilitator Workshop in have received incredibly results in action as teachers with specialized training Santa Bárbara, Central important training. The adopt these methodologies in improved teaching District, Tela, San Pedro knowledge we have in the classroom. techniques for reading. Sula and Lempira, Honduras. acquired will reflect in the The Teacher Facilitators are This workshop built on the classroom and quality of In preparation for these then tasked with sharing and previous training conducted education of boys and girls. trainings, the HRA coaching teachers in these with HRA Master Trainers, Such is the excitement of worked with the General techniques in more than who led this workshop. long awaited change in this Directorate of Professional 12 schools in their school All 750 facilitators kind of subject that teacher Development (DGDP) to networks. During this participated, and for many, facilitators shared inspiring

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Yorleni Calderón, one of the HRA Master Trainers, shares new meth- odologies with Teacher Facilitators during the training.

Beky Zelaya, a HRA Master Trainer, walks teachers through materials during the training in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During a three-week workshop session, 750 Teacher Facilitators received instruction in evidence-based teacher training. moments with each other. and testimonials serve as inspirational fuel to the “We [the teachers] are the protagonists of change We [the in Honduras. It is our teachers] are responsibility [to ensure] the protagonists this process reaches the of change in classrooms, improving Honduras. It is reading outcomes in our responsibility children. We want our [to ensure] this efforts and voices strong process reaches and direct as they have been the classrooms, during our participation in improving reading this workshop that has left During the workshop session, the Teacher Facilitators model engaging outcomes in us positive and inspired.” reading instructional activities with their peers. children. Roberto Dubón Once the training ended, Teacher Facilitator the HRA Master Trainers José Cecilio del Valle asked the Facilitators to School, Macholoa, share videos of themselves Santa Bárbara, using the new instructional Honduras methods in their schools. About a week later, the HRA began to receive HRA team, reminding the footage of children from project to continue to rural schools learning how focus on its objectives, to read using the successful as more pictures, videos reading techniques that and inspiring stories are were taught during the developing everyday in Teacher Facilitator, Arnold Leiva, from San José de Colinas in Santa workshop. The footage Honduran schools. ■ Bárbara department teaching his class.

3 NEWSLETTER DE LECTORES A LÍDERES READING CURRICULUM STANDARDS UPDATED Updated reading curriculum standards are key to the HRA’s work.

National education Florida State University staff tour the UPNFM campus in Tegucigalpa. assessments and international experience reveal the urgency and need to update the reading curriculum standards in Honduras. To achieve this aim, the HRA is supporting the General Directorate of Curriculum and Evaluation (DGCE) to incorporate updates to the standards in order to align HRA held meetings with FSU prior and after the first visit. with international experience. Daisy Coello, HRA’s Standard and Curriculum Advisor

In May, the HRA shared for the Honduran educational FSU AND UPNFM the proposal to update the system and for the work of PRIORITIZE EARLY current reading curriculum the HRA, since it serves as the standards with the project’s point of reference for reading GRADE LITERACY international reading experts. instruction. The purpose is This was then shared with to work hand in hand with TOGETHER the DGCE, and the project the Ministry of Education received feedback in early to ensure the alignment and FSU met with UPNFM officials to discuss June from the DGCE. The coherence of the processes HRA’s three international and didactic products that the update of pre-service teacher training. reading experts and the HRA make harmonized teaching technical team held a two day instruction possible. In June, Florida State At the UPNFM campus, teleconference on June 25 University (FSU), one of the the technical teams shared and 26 to review the DGCE “The role and leadership Honduras Reading Activity’s and discussed the current proposed changes. A new played by the HRA technical (HRA) partners, conducted training methodology and version of the standards is advisory team working its first visit to theestablished a start date slated to be completed in with DGCE has advanced Francisco Morazán National to accompany FSU in the mid-August. efficiently in our effortsPedagogical University review of the study plans for of updating our reading (UPNFM). Technical teams the primary school teacher The revision and updating curriculum standards,” said from both universities met program, which will support of the reading curriculum Daisy Coello, HRA Standards to outline next steps to the HRA’s in-service teacher standards is very important and Curriculum Advisor. ■ adapt the in-service teacher training efforts. training model for pre- service teacher training. As one of the next steps in this process, FSU will During the visit, the conduct a mixed-methods FSU team visited several baseline assessment of the educational spaces, including teacher training centers, the UPNFM campus and a evaluating their structures, school, where they spoke teaching methods, and to teacher facilitators and specific strengths and HRA technical team in meetings at the DGCE. school directors. constraints. ■

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