Centers for Excellence in Teacher Training
The Centers for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT), announced by President Bush in April 2001, work in the
Latin America and Caribbean region to improve the quality of classroom reading instruction in grades 1-3, with emphasis on poorer countries and disadvantaged communities. Activities are implemented through three regional centers based in Jamaica (Caribbean Regional), Honduras (Central America Regional), and Peru (Andean Regional).
- Teachers receiving CETT training throughout the region are working hard to learn and use the new strategies for teaching reading and writing. Teachers report that their students now read with understanding and are more expressive and creative.
- Teachers and principals report that, for the first time, children are interested and enthusiastic about reading. In the Caribbean, libraries are provided to CETT classrooms through a partnership with Scholastic Books. Teachers now read more frequently to children, and children have daily opportunities to enjoy books.
- Bolivian teachers are enrolling in a CETT on-line distance education course. Teachers learn computer skills, receive instruction on how to teach reading, and have opportunities to meet in groups and work personally with CETT trainers. As the distance education component expands from pilot to full implementation, training will be available to more teachers, ultimately benefiting more children.
- Nearly 5,000 teachers have been trained in effective reading instruction methodologies, helping over 225,000 children in Latin America and the Caribbean learn to read and, more importantly, understand what they read.
Transforming Reading Instruction in the Classroom
Teachers in less advantaged communities in Latin America and the Caribbean typically lack the training or education to teach reading effectively.
Sonia, a 44-year-old teacher in a large urban school serving working class poor in Quito, is typical of teachers in the CETT program. In her 22 years of teaching, she has always worked with children in first or second grade. "I was against the CETT project at first. It was a lot of work, and using sounds [phonemic awareness] was different than working with syllables, as I had done before. However, the director encouraged me to stay in the program, and the trainer came to the school and showed us practical things, such as how to make materials and how to work with the children. By staying with the program, I came to appreciate how the new skills let me really know my students. I have changed my entire approach to teaching from my participation in the project. I exhibit the children's work on the wall, which I had never even thought of before, and I'm more accepting of differences in children. I am going to stay in this grade next year and continue to apply what I have learned, even if there is no followup by the project."
- The change process is slow, and classroom followup is essential. Teachers and principals in all three CETTs have commented that the training was excellent, and the followup visits by trainers to their schools and classrooms have made a critical difference in teachers' ability to implement new learning.
- Sustainability of CETT requires involvement of key education stakeholders beyond teachers, including principals and Ministry of Education advisors and supervisors. For example, in Nicaragua, Ministry of Education teacher supervisors provide classroom followup support to CETT teachers.
- Private sector partnerships in education contribute more than monetary value. Partnerships can provide high quality resources that may motivate parents and communities to support their schools. In addition to improving the quality of education locally, community engagement often contributes to greater understanding of school needs and greater demand for educational quality.
Note: Results for this initiative were reported through USAID's consolidated reporting system
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