LIBERIA:

ALPP Grant Helps Improve a Learning Environment

June 4, 2008

Before the Accelerated Learning Program PLUS (ALPP) provided a school improvement grant to C.D.B. King Elementary School in Monrovia, students struggled to see the chalkboard and their own work. Today, the classroom is awash in light, among other improvements that have enhanced the way students in the ALPP Level II class are learning.

“Before our classroom was very dark, at times the teacher asked us from the back row to the front of the classroom to see what the teacher had written on the board,” said Aminata Kamara, a 10-year-old girl in the ALPP level II. “But, now, I can sit anywhere to participate in class.”

Another student, 11-year-old Lorenzo Johnson, an ALPP Level II student, said: “The white paint on the walls and dividers in the classroom have made the entire class brighter and given me freedom to sit in any part of the class and be able to copy from the blackboard.”

Separated into three sections by dividers, the classroom serves 337 ALPP students from levels I, II and III. ALPP provides over-age and out-of-school youths with the chance to obtain a sixth grade education in just three years. ALPP is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Creative Associates International in collaboration with Liberia’s Ministry of Education.

ALPP is designed to serve 54,000 over-age youth throughout six counties in Liberia. A total of 270 ALPP schools are serviced through six Learning Resource Centers, which act as hubs for ongoing teacher training, materials development and grants management, among other activities.

ALPP small grants program promotes youth leadership in schools undertaking community activities. Part of the ALPP Service Learning curriculum, these activities enhance learning and improve educational facilities and also involve community members in supporting the school.

At C.D.B. King Elementary, community members provided in-kind support to the project and painted the walls and dividers with a bright white and blue that enlivened the classroom. Twelve newly installed transparent roofing sheets allow more natural sunlight into the room that benefits the students sitting far from the windows.

“The room was once dark but the small grant has improved the learning environment for the students,” said Anthony Nelson, the school’s principal. Today, the students are flourishing.