Lecture Pour Tous: All Children Reading
Senegal
Plan International USA partnered with Chemonics International to provide technical assistance to the Government of Senegal in the improvement of reading skills for children in early primary grades.
This USAID-funded project worked in partnership with the Ministry of National Education to develop an effective, sustainable and scalable national reading program, with the goal of improving reading levels for students in grades 1-3.
Plan led the portion of the initiative that focused on improving parent and community engagement in early grade reading. To do so, Plan built the capacity of school management committees in target districts to further integrate them into their surrounding communities and promote parents’ and caregivers’ active participation in their children’s reading and learning.Plan actively worked with local government officials, community-based organizations and NGOs and civil society leaders to encourage dynamic engagement in children’s education. In particular, Plan:
- Increased awareness, understanding and demand for high-quality education within communities to improve early grade reading instruction and outcomes.
- Supported evidence-based interventions to engage communities and parents to support reading, including the availability of relevant and age-appropriate materials for students in the early grades.
- Provided parents and caregivers with materials and training to support children’s reading and writing at home, including tools to promote home-school communication.
- Provided parents and school management committees with the skills and tools they need to effectively monitor the delivery of early grade reading instruction in schools.
The Lecture Pour Tous program supported communities in six regions of Senegal: Diourbel, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Louga, Matam and Saint Louis. In all target communities, a social behavior change communication campaign was implemented to address the goals listed above in a manner that actively engaged parents and ensured community buy-in of program initiatives. Over the course of the project, Plan rigorously documented best practices, with the goal of developing a scalable and highly effective model for parent and community engagement in early grade reading. With a view towards long-term sustainability, Lecture Pour Tous developed a suite of practical tools for school management committees, such as a comprehensive guide and video series, that build off previous donor efforts and support effective school-community partnerships to improve education outcomes, particularly early grade reading.
During COVID-19, Lecture Pour Tous’ established digital networks to complement in-person networks with parents and school administrators to help facilitate the transition to distance learning and demonstrate the importance of actively engaging parents and caregivers in children’s learning, especially during school closures.
Donor: USAID
- Prime: Chemonics
- Amount: $4,433,631
- Project Start Date: December 2016
- Project End Date: April 2021
- Technical Areas Covered: Education, Early Grade Reading, Parent and Community Engagement, and Social Behavior Change Communication
Project
impact
- 100,000
- parents and caregivers engaged.
- 8,265
- discussion forums and other community events held with parents and community members.
- 371
- WhatsApp groups hosted during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep up engagement.
Students watch a skit on gender-based violence, performed by local actors.
Scholarship students pose outside of their dormitory at school.
Students learn to create their own reusable menstrual pads with materials from their communities.
Donors include
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