The first beneficiaries of the Organization of American States (OAS) Scholarship Program for Haiti began their online training recently at a specially designated computer center in the Ecole Superieure d'Infotronique d'Haiti (ESIH) in Port-au-Prince. The first of hundreds of scholarships to be granted by the OAS and its educational partners were awarded to Haitian teachers for participation in a teacher professional development program delivered by Teachers Without Borders (TWB).

The OAS and TWB have partnered to offer joint scholarships to train approximately 90 Haitian teachers each year, over the next three years. Participants will learn to improve their presence in the classroom, ensure a better learning environment for students and become leaders and mentors in their schools and communities. Upon successful completion of the program, each teacher will receive a certificate and will have developed a professional portfolio. This will enable them to advance their careers and contribute their experiences and expertise to projects managed by TWB.

The program also contains a "train the trainer" component through which participants will be taught various methods to train other teachers.

"We thank the OAS for this opportunity to improve our skills, to become better managers of our classrooms, and to ensure a proper learning environment for our students," said Haitian Literature teacher Henry Fombrum, speaking on behalf of the scholarship recipients.

Hugues Carre, Assistant Director in the country's Ministry of Planning, commended the OAS for launching such an important program and challenged the teachers to put the skills they will acquire to good use.

Patrick Attie, Assistant Director of ESIH, emphasized the importance of this training for Haiti and reiterated that ESIH and its staff were pleased to partner with the OAS and were ready to provide all necessary support to the teachers.

This is a four-week program tailored to the needs of the teachers, and designed around the school schedule. The first cohort of 28 teachers participating in the program was selected in collaboration with the Haitian Ministries of Education and Planning.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2980-haiti-education-60-scholarships-for-university-distance-learning.html

BF/ HaitiLibre