Literacy, Language and Learning Initiative FY16 Q2 Quarterly Report (January-March 2016)

L3 programming targets the improvement of reading, math, and English-language proficiencies in grades one to four students. The L3 project is a partnership between Rwanda's Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), USAID, and technical partners. The project capacitates pre-service and in-service facilitators in proven reading and mathematics teaching strategies, and with community volunteers to support learning. L3 project resources project beneficiaries with innovative reading and math instructional materials as well as through interactive audio instructional programs. The L3 project has five intermediate results that support its strategic objective. These include Improved Quality of Teaching, Improved Availability of Teaching and Learning Materials, Support for English, Strengthened Ministry Capacity, and Improved Equity in Education. The project envisions that its programming will impact 100 million children by 2015. To achieve this goal, the L3 project has outlined several key activities for each intermediate result. For example, to improve the quality of teaching, the project aims to develop a shared vision of effective literacy and numeracy instruction, implement a school-based mentoring program, and support teacher training colleges to become centers of excellence for literacy and numeracy instruction. The project also focuses on improving the availability of teaching and learning materials. This includes developing a comprehensive package of materials, supporting student, teacher, and community production of low-cost or no-cost materials, and promoting a culture of reading. Additionally, the project aims to support English language instruction by developing a program to transition teachers and students to English as a language of instruction, using interactive audio instruction to reinforce and extend face-to-face ESL training, and revising the existing English curriculum. The L3 project also places a strong emphasis on strengthening ministry capacity. This includes strengthening the central capacity of the Rwanda Education Board, transforming teacher training colleges into centers of excellence for literacy and numeracy, and developing tools and systems for monitoring teacher practices and assessing students' reading and math competencies. Furthermore, the project aims to improve equity in education by ensuring equal access to quality instruction, promoting positive images of girls and other marginalized groups, and providing additional resources to rural and low-income areas. The project's progress toward results is monitored and evaluated through a performance monitoring plan. The plan tracks progress toward each of the intermediate results and identifies areas for improvement. The project also conducts regular lessons learned and shares best practices with stakeholders. The L3 project's finance and administration are managed through a comprehensive system, and the project collaborates with various partners to leverage resources and achieve its goals.