USAID READ Community Outreach (READ CO) Quarterly Report (July-September 2016)

The activity aims to strengthen community outreach resulting in improved reading and writing skills of primary school children (grades 1 to 8) in five regions: Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, Tigray, and Somali. READ CO operates in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Regional State Education Bureaus, supporting 2,488 schools across the target regions. The medium of instruction in each of these schools is one of the seven READ-supported mother tongue languages spoken in the targeted regions. The READ CO community outreach model is designed to be rolled out nationally and integrated with existing MOE and RSEB structures and leadership. The model contributes to intermediate results through several strategies and implementation mechanisms. These include enhancing the literacy environment by making supplementary mother tongue reading materials available to primary grade learners, promoting the establishment of school-based reading and writing clubs, creating opportunities for children to practice reading and writing, and raising community and parental awareness on the importance of literacy. READ CO has adopted three Intermediate Results (IRs) to measure achievement towards its goal: IR 1, Access to supplementary reading materials in vernacular languages increased; IR 2, Opportunities for children to practice reading and writing created; and IR 3, Parental and community engagement to support learning to read strengthened. These IRs are aligned with the USAID/READ Sub-Intermediate Results framework for Ethiopia, which includes reading materials development, training, capacity building, support to community involvement, and monitoring and evaluation inputs. The activity has made significant progress in achieving its IRs. For example, READ CO has distributed over 1.5 million supplementary reading materials to schools and communities, and has established over 10,000 school-based reading and writing clubs. Additionally, the activity has conducted training for over 10,000 teachers and community volunteers on literacy and reading skills, and has engaged over 50,000 parents and community members in literacy activities. READ CO operates in partnership with several sub-partners, including Amhara Development Association, Adult and Non-formal Education Association of Ethiopia, Tigray Development Association, and Organization for Welfare and Development in Action. The activity has also established a strong monitoring and evaluation system, which includes regular data collection and analysis to track progress towards its IRs. Overall, READ CO has made significant progress in achieving its goal of improving reading and writing skills of primary school children in Ethiopia. The activity's community outreach model has been successful in enhancing the literacy environment, promoting reading and writing clubs, and engaging parents and community members in literacy activities.