Quarterly Progress Report, April-June 2018

The project will assist the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) and its development partners in harmonizing early grade reading teaching and learning approaches in Cambodia. It will also help coordinate and support the implementation of rigorous, feasible, practical, scalable, and inclusive early grade reading interventions and models in Cambodia. The project will build upon pre-existing early grade reading tools, textbooks, and approaches in partnership and coordination with early grade reading and inclusive education partners working in Cambodia. It will provide coordination, logistical, secretariat, and financing and technical assistance services to the Technical Committee for Early Grade Reading of the MoEYS, and the technical task forces under this body. All Children Reading-Cambodia will assist the MoEYS in developing official MoEYS-endorsed early grade reading resources, including curriculum documents, teaching and learning materials, and modules and materials to support both in-service and pre-service training. The project will work with subnational officials, NGO partners, and the private sector to develop and take to scale early grade reading interventions that can be implemented district-wide and/or province-wide. This will include subawards or grants to partner(s) as part of this approach. In areas where USAID directly funds implementation, the project or implementing partners will support education and/or other relevant Ministry staff to screen children for disabilities and refer them to services for identification and support as needed to enable them to access school. The project will also support schools to ensure teachers have strategies for including these students within lessons and ensuring they are learning effectively. An additional focus of the project is to support the MoEYS in developing and putting into operation a national early grade reading program, strategy, and plan. This plan will be developed in close coordination with the MoEYS and its other programs and projects. The project will assist the MoEYS in increasing the proportion of children in grades 1-3 who are able to read and understand at grade level. The project will also support the development of a coordinated and harmonized, evidence-based early grade reading and writing program endorsed and implemented in grades 1-3 that is feasible, practical, and scalable. The project will work with the MoEYS to develop official MoEYS-endorsed early grade reading resources, including curriculum documents, teaching and learning materials, and modules and materials to support both in-service and pre-service training. The project will focus on strengthening partnerships and coherence to support early grade reading objectives in Cambodia. It will also provide assistance for the development of a coordinated and harmonized, evidence-based early grade reading and writing program endorsed and implemented in grades 1-3 that is feasible, practical, and scalable. The project will work with the MoEYS to develop a national early grade reading program, strategy, and plan that is aligned with the Global Partnership for Education-funded EGR activities. The project will also support the MoEYS in developing and implementing a system to support the implementation of early grade reading interventions and models in Cambodia. This will include the development of a monitoring and evaluation system to track progress and identify areas for improvement. The project will also provide technical assistance to the MoEYS to support the implementation of early grade reading interventions and models in Cambodia. The project will be implemented in Cambodia from April 24, 2017, to April 24, 2019. The project will be led by RTI International, with subcontractors including World Education, Room to Read, Open Institute, Save the Children, Krousar Thmey, Planete Enfants et Développement, and Kampuchean Action for Primary Education (KAPE). The project will be funded by USAID/Cambodia, with a contract number of AID-OAA-TO-16-00017 Number: REQ-ASIA-16-00017.