The Peter-Hesse-Foundation continues to implement programs to improve the quality of early childhood education for at risk children in Haiti by training teachers at our residential training center in Liancourt, Artibonite, by establishing preschools in different parts of Haiti for qualified teachers who graduated from our training centre, by providing technical assistance to the preschools established by our graduate teachers and by providing in-service training for preschool teachers at our training centre in Liancourt.
Our teaching training center, “CENTRE MONTESSORI D’HAITI” in Liancourt is currently training a promotion of 27 Montessori student teachers. These student teachers would complete their training in July 2015. We are projecting that over 500 children will benefit from a better quality of instruction from the newly trained teachers in the coming academic year.
This academic year the Peter Hesse Foundation helped to set-up new Montessori programs in two schools in Goanives with an effective of 110 children in both programs, adding to the network of preschools which were assisted by the Foundation that benefit an average of over 3845 children yearly.
The Foundation held in-service training seminars for cultural subjects and Math as well as workshops for teachers to make their own materials. Thanks to our completed dorms we were able to accommodate teachers from 12 existing Montessori schools, in addition to the student-teachers who live at the training centre.
We also made site visits to 5 existing Montessori schools to provide technical assistance and to assure the quality of education in those schools which have a combined effective of 249 children.
We are keeping the promise to be environmentally friendly, by greening our teacher training center and implementing activities that make a positive difference in protecting the environment. Student teachers learn that it is their social responsibility to protect and care for the environment essential to our health, quality of life and survival. All student teachers are required to plant and to produce an environmental album with activities that they can implement with children in their schools when they become teachers.
This year we proudly raised one month of running costs of the teacher training center by renting the dining pavilion and other parts of the premises to small organizations in the surrounding areas for their own seminars and events. We hope that that we can increase the amount of clients next year. This is a baby step in self sustainability. We hope in the future that the center can fund itself in part.