Quarterly Progress Report: EducAcción Project, April 1, 2015 – June 30, 2015

The project aims to improve education outcomes in Honduras by increasing citizen participation in education and supporting the development of a more effective education system. The project is being implemented in collaboration with six local organizations: CARE Honduras, Catholic Relief Services Honduras, ChildFund Honduras, Fundación Aned, Fundación para la Educación Ricardo Ernesto Maduro Andreu (FEREMA), and Save the Children Honduras. During the second quarter of 2015, from April 1st to June 30th, the project engaged in several strategic activities. The project team analyzed the project's exit and sustainability strategy, which was developed in 2014, and updated it to reflect the project's current stage of implementation. The team also conducted a meeting with partner organizations to identify gaps between the current status of project results and the goals set for the remainder of the intervention. As a result of this meeting, the implementing partners agreed to develop an exit and sustainability work plan aimed at achieving the project's goals in each area of intervention. The project also implemented several technical activities during the quarter. Under Result 1, Continued support to reach EFA goals, TCPP personnel trained teachers and educational authorities and provided a pedagogical support tool for educational authorities to use in support of the classrooms they visit. A total of 3,920 teachers and 487 educational officials were trained during this quarter. The training focused on topics such as communicative and problem-solving approaches to teaching Spanish and math, use of DCNB support materials, developing teaching plans, and preschool education. In addition to these activities, the project also implemented the Promising Reading Interventions (PRI) component, which was approved by USAID in mid-May. The PRI component aims to improve reading skills in students from 1st to 3rd grade. The project team conducted an orientation workshop for newly recruited personnel, which included staff from the Component Coordinator, Education Assessment Specialist, Implementation Monitors, and Pedagogical Advisors. The workshop covered topics such as the methodology and design of a rigorous impact evaluation, gender issues in education, technical guidance on the application and analysis of end of grade tests and formative assessments, and the monitoring and evaluation system of the PRI component. The project team also held meetings with educational authorities at the departmental and municipal levels to present the purpose of the intervention and its design, potential risks, and the support requested from the educational authorities. The educational authorities have accepted the intervention and are providing support to the project's technical activities. The project team is working on the development of a format for reporting PRI component costs by group, based on guidance from Mathematica regarding information needed for the cost analysis that will be done as part of the impact evaluation. Overall, the project made significant progress during the second quarter of 2015, with a focus on implementing the PRI component and continuing support to reach EFA goals. The project team is working closely with partner organizations and educational authorities to ensure the success of the project and its impact on education outcomes in Honduras.