USAID READ Community Outreach (READ CO) Quarterly Report Year 1: January – September 2015

The project works in partnership with Ethiopia's Federal Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Regional State Education Bureaus (RSEBs) in the five regions of Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, SNNPR, and Somali to design and roll out a comprehensive and replicable community outreach model to support improved reading outcomes. The project's primary objectives are to 1) increase access to appropriate reading materials, 2) provide children with additional opportunities to practice reading, and 3) strengthen parental and community engagement in support of children's learning to read. READ CO works to strengthen the capacity of the MOE, the RSEBs, and the City Administration Education Bureaus (CAEBs). In Year 1 (FY15), between January 1 and September 30, 2015, READ CO completed a number of key activities. The project's lead implementing partner is Save the Children Federation, Inc. (SC), and other implementing partners include Adult and Non-Formal Education Association of Ethiopia (ANFEAE), Amhara Development Association (ADA), Tigray Development Association (TDA), Organization for Welfare and Development in Action (OWDA), International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), National Archives and Libraries Association (NALA) of Ethiopia, NORC at the University of Chicago, CODE Ethiopia, and Ethiopia READS. The project's objective is to strengthen community outreach resulting in improved reading and writing skills of primary school children. The USAID program objective is to improve reading skills for 100 million primary-grade children by 2015. The life of the project is from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, with a total estimated agreement amount of $18,996,600. As of the third quarter of 2015, the accrued expenditures were $175,190, and the cumulative accrued expenditures to date was $457,410. The estimated expenditures for the next quarter are $1,288,400. The project's activities are designed to complement the support being provided by other USAID-funded READ projects. READ CO works to strengthen the capacity of the MOE, the RSEBs, and the CAEBs to support improved reading outcomes. The project's primary objectives are to increase access to appropriate reading materials, provide children with additional opportunities to practice reading, and strengthen parental and community engagement in support of children's learning to read.