Georgia Primary Education Project Monthly Report March 2016

The project began in 2015 and is implemented by Chemonics International Inc. in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. The project's primary goal is to enhance the quality of primary education in Georgia, with a focus on reading and math skills. Implementation of the project involves several key components, including the development and dissemination of educational materials, teacher training, and the establishment of a portal for teachers and schools to access resources and information. The portal, known as the G-PriEd Portal, provides a platform for teachers to access e-sessions, training materials, and other resources to support their teaching practices. The portal also allows teachers to report on their activities and receive feedback from the project team. In March 2016, the project team continued to work on various aspects of the project, including the development and dissemination of educational materials. The team completed and uploaded six e-sessions in math and differentiated instruction, as well as three e-sessions in reading. Additionally, the team developed a training program for a refresher one-day training session for school principals, scheduled for April. The project also focuses on teacher training and development. In March 2016, the team delivered a two-day training to 121 teachers from expansion ethnic minority schools, and sustained the portal-based electronic training in Georgian pilot schools. The team also conducted 240 visits to expansion schools, observing 496 reading teachers and 102 TLC facilitators, and conducted 16 visits to ethnic minority pilot schools, observing 60 math teachers and five TLC facilitators. The project also places a strong emphasis on parental engagement. In March 2016, the team finalized contest guidelines for a new project, "Read aloud for 15 minutes," and prepared and uploaded presentations/recommendations for parents and schools' representatives on G-PriEd's Facebook pages, covering topics such as formative assessment and how to support child's literacy development. The Business Skills Program for Education (BSPE) is another key component of the project, aimed at developing business skills in students. In March 2016, the team completed recruitment and signing MOUs with private sector companies, trained one additional private sector company in Ambrolauri, Racha, on the delivery of business skills lessons, and continued delivery of business skills programs in 39 pilot schools. The project also cooperates with the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) to organize workshops and resolve technical issues related to the portal. In March 2016, the team worked with the MES and its agencies to organize a workshop for presentation of the portal and to resolve issues related to technical aspects, integration of teachers' accounts into Teacher Pr.