Education Development Center Inc

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INC. (EDC), IS A GLOBAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT ADVANCES LASTING SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE EDUCATION, PROMOTE HEALTH, AND EXPAND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. SINCE 1958, WE HAVE BEEN A LEADER IN DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING POWERFUL AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS IN MORE THAN 80 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. OUR WORK IS ORGANIZED BY THE FOLLOWING BODIES OF WORK: BEHAVIORAL, PHYSICAL, AND MENTAL HEALTH; CAPACITY BUILDING FOR INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND SYSTEMS; EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING; ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION; HIV AND SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH; OPIOID AND OTHER SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION; OUT-OF-SCHOOL LEARNING;STEM; SUICIDE, VIOLENCE, AND INJURY PREVENTION; YOUTH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT; EVALUATION; IMPLEMENTATION; POLICY AND RESEARCH. THE REGIONS WHERE WE WORK IS AS FOLLOWS: AFRICA; ASIA; LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN; MIDDLE EAST AND THE UNITED STATES

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION (IDD):A. DISTANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES AND COVID 19: IDD HAS CONTINUED TO ASSIST DONORS, OTHER NGOS AND COUNTRY GOVERNMENTS TO ADDRESS ISSUES RELATED TO SCHOOL INTERRUPTIONS DUE TO COVID-19. IN 2021, IDD CONTINUED TO SUPPORT VARIOUS DISTANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES IN ZAMBIA, RWANDA, HONDURAS, AND MADAGASCAR AS THESE COUNTRIES RESPONDED TO COVID 19. UNESCO/ZIMBABWE/SOUTHERN AFRICA PUBLISHED THE EDC-AUTHORED HANDBOOK FOR INTERACTIVE AUDIO INSTRUCTION: PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING RADIO LESSONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA IN 2021. IN MANY OF THE COUNTRIES IN WHICH EDC WORKS, SCHOOLS BEGAN TO OPEN FOR IN PERSON CLASSES TOWARDS THE LATTER HALF OF 2021. IDD FIELD OFFICES GRADUALLY BEGAN TO OPEN AS WELL, SOME ON STAGGERED SCHEDULES TO MAINTAIN COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS. MANY PROJECTS, INCLUDING THOSE THAT WERE DESIGNED TO USE DISTANCE EDUCATION METHODS, PRE-COVID-19, BEGAN TO RAMP UP WORK AND ACCELERATE PROGRAM PRODUCTION, INCLUDING IN DRC, HAITI, MALI AND OTHERS. FASTER IAI DEVELOPMENT: ONE OF IDD'S THEMES FOR 2021 WAS DISTANCE EDUCATION AND THERE WAS A CONCERTED EFFORT ON BUILDING OUT OUR DISTANCE EDUCATION SOLUTIONS. ONE INTERESTING INNOVATION IN OUR IAI WORK FOCUSED ON RAPIDITY. OUR IAI WORK GENERALLY FOCUSED ON CAPACITY BUILDING-WORKING WITH LOCAL COUNTERPARTS TO BUILD THEIR CAPACITY TO DESIGN AND PRODUCE QUALITY IAI PROGRAMS THEMSELVES. THIS IS A TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS AND, IDD HAS ALWAYS BELIEVED, A WORTHWHILE ONE. HOWEVER, COVID-19 BROUGHT ABOUT INCREASING DEMANDS FOR FASTER PRODUCTION. UNICEF, OTHER DONORS AND EVEN GOVERNMENTS WANT THE PROGRAMS PRODUCED QUICKLY SO THEY CAN BE ON THE AIR QUICKLY; THEY DO NOT WANT THE EMBEDDED CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS, WHICH CAN TAKE OVER A YEAR FOR JUST ONE OR TWO GRADES OF IAI PROGRAMMING. IDD'S ICT TEAM LED THE PROCESS OF OUTLINING AND COSTING NEW MODELS FOR IAI PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT THAT WERE MARKEDLY FASTER. TO DATE, WE ARE WORKING WITH UNICEF IN ZAMBIA AND BANGLADESH AND THE IDB IN HAITI TO RAPIDLY DEVELOP SEVERAL SERIES OF IAI PROGRAMS, IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND FOR DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS IN 9 MONTHS OF TIME. WE HAVE MOBILIZED PAST EDC IAI SCRIPTWRITERS FROM OTHER PROJECTS AND OUT HOME OFFICE IAI EXPERTS HAVE TAKEN ON MUCH OF THE DIRECT WORK OF DESIGNING THE PROGRAMS, WRITING SCRIPTS AND EVEN DOING SOME OF THE PRODUCTION. WHILE TIME CONSUMING, THIS PIVOT TO "DOING IT ALL OURSELVES" (WITH IN-COUNTRY REVIEW FOR CULTURAL AND CONTEXTUAL APPROPRIATENESS) GIVES IDD STAFF MORE LATITUDE TO BE CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE IN PROGRAM CREATION AND MIGHT ULTIMATELY LEAD TO MORE APPEALING AND EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS. ONLINE LEARNING: THE LEBANON HIGHER EDUCATION CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (HECD) IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW COVID-19 FORCED IDD TO INNOVATE AND DEEPEN ITS CAPACITY VIS A VIS DISTANCE EDUCATION, IN THIS CASE IN DEVELOPING COURSES FOR ONLINE LEARNING. WHILE EDC HAS IN THE PAST DONE A GREAT DEAL WITH ONLINE LEARNING (I.E. THE ED TECH LEADERS ONLINE (ETLO) PROJECT OF A DECADE OR SO AGO), IT HAS NOT BEEN A VERY RECENT FOCUS AREA. IN LEBANON, SELECTED CONTENTS OF WRN AND BYOB WERE PUT INTO AN ONLINE MODULAR FORMAT; LEBANESE UNIVERSITY FACULTY WERE INSTRUCTED IN HOW TO BECOME ONLINE INSTRUCTORS AND WERE ABLE TO DELIVER THE CONTENT TO THEIR STUDENTS DURING THE PANDEMIC. THIS EXPERIENCE AND SOME OF THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM IT HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE AS WE CONSIDER HOW TO FURTHER DEVELOP ONLINE COURSE MODULES TO COVER MORE OF OUR OFFERINGS. INDEED, THE ICT TEAM HAS PUT TOGETHER A COURSE ON DEVELOPING ONLINE COURSES TO USE WITH OUR OWN STAFF TO FURTHER DEVELOP INTERNAL CAPACITY. RAPID IMPACT: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE ACCELERATION OF INNOVATIVE THINKING FOR IMPACTFUL PROGRAMMING COMES FROM IDD'S WORK IN HONDURAS. WHILE THE PROJECT WAS ALL BUT GOING TO END AT ONE POINT UNDER THE PAST ADMINISTRATION, IT IS NOW BEING ASKED TO CONTINUE AND TO DEVELOP PROGRAMMING TO HELP STOP THE FLOW OF MIGRATION FROM HONDURAS TO THE U.S. USAID ASKED EDC TO DEVELOP A 30/60/90 APPROACH, WHICH LAYS OUT STEPS THAT CAN BE TAKEN IN 30 DAYS, 60 DAYS, AND 90 DAYS TO ADDRESS AND ALLEVIATE THE MIGRATION CHALLENGE. B. NEW PROJECTS: EDC WAS AWARDED NEW PROJECTS IN 2021 IN THE DRC, LIBERIA, AND SOUTH AFRICA. START-UP BEGAN ON THOSE PROJECTS, DESPITE COVID-19. C. SELECTED IDD PROJECT SUCCESSES: ADAPTATION AND EXPERIMENTATION: FINALLY, EDC'S LARGEST PROGRAM, THE USAID/INTEGRATED CHILD AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT (ICYD) ACTIVITY IN UGANDA HAS INNOVATED IN THE FACE OF DAUNTING CHALLENGES, AND WITH USAID SUPPORT, TO IMPLEMENT ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES NOT FORESEEN NOT BUDGETED FOR IN THE PROPOSAL. AT FIRST THE PROJECT TEAM ADJUSTED PROGRAMMING TO EXPECT DELAYS IN SCHOOL OPENINGS, BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE TEAM NEEDED TO OFFER ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF EDUCATION SERVICES. HOME LEARNING WAS THE BEST ALTERNATIVE. THE ICYD TEAM MOBILIZED 5,000 CERTIFIED TEACHERS, NOT YET EMPLOYED, TO SUPPORT HOME LEARNING STUDY GROUPS. WITH ICYD TRAINING AND SUPPORT, THESE TEACHERS PULLED MATERIALS FROM CURRICULUM, DEVELOPED ADDITIONAL REPLACEMENT MATERIALS, AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FORM GROUPS OF 20 CHILDREN (FROM THE EARLY GRADES, 1-4) TO INSTRUCT, AT THE HOME NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY LEVELS. WHEN SCHOOLS REOPEN IN JANUARY 2022, THESE 5,000 TEACHERS WILL THEN TRANSITION TO WORK WITH LOCAL READING GROUPS AFTER SCHOOL AND ON WEEKENDS TO ADDRESS THE LEARNING LOSS CHALLENGES. ICYD ALSO DEVELOPED RADIO PROGRAMS TO USE DURING SCHOOL CLOSURES, FOR STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND PARENTS TO SEE IF THESE WOULD BE EFFECTIVE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT VEHICLES. LISTENERSHIP RESEARCH INDICATED THAT THE PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WERE NOT REACHING THEIR INTENDED AUDIENCE AS STUDENTS DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE FAMILY RADIOS. HOWEVER, THE PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS DID DEMONSTRATE SOLID LISTENERSHIP. HENCE THE PROJECT TOOK THE STUDENT PROGRAMS OFF THE AIR BUT CONTINUED WITH PROGRAMS FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS. THE UGANDA PROJECT DEMONSTRATES HOW IDD STAFF WERE ABLE TO ADAPT AND EXPERIMENT AND LEARN DURING THE UNCERTAINTY OF COVID-19. EGYPT TEACH FOR TOMORROW PROJECT: THE TEACH FOR TOMORROW PROJECT IN EGYPT RAMPED UP ACTIVITIES IN 2021 DESPITE A SLOW START IN 2020 DUE TO COVID-19. THE PROJECT PRODUCED AND THE MINISTRY VALIDATED A SET OF STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS, A BEDROCK ELEMENT OF THE OVERALL PROJECTS. THE STANDARDS WERE USED AS A BASIS TO DEVELOP A CONTINUOUS TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LICENSURE FRAMEWORK IN LATE 2021. THE STANDARDS WERE ALSO SHARED WITH THE WORLD BANK TEACH SUPPORT PROJECT IN EGYPT AND WILL SHAPE THE WORK OF THAT PROJECT AS WELL. DESPITE RESTRICTIONS ON CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS, THE TEACH FOR TOMORROW TEAM ALSO CONDUCTED A GENDER ANALYSIS, RELATIVE TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION AND TEACHING AND LEARNING IN EGYPT. ENHANCING SERVICES AND LINKAGES FOR CHILDREN AFFECTED BY HIV AND AIDS (ELIKIA) PROJECT. EDC WRAPPED UP ITS ELIKIA PROJECT IN APRIL OF 2021. THE PROJECT DEMONSTRATION SOME IMPRESSIVE RESULTS. IN THE DRC, AN ESTIMATED 42,000 CHILDREN ARE LIVING WITH HIV. THE EPIDEMIC HAS ALSO LEFT 391,000 HIV/AIDS-RELATED ORPHANS. BUT MAKING SURE THESE CHILDREN AND THEIR CAREGIVERS HAVE ACCESS TO MEDICAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES THAT CAN HELP THEM HAS BEEN DIFFICULT. MANY HIV-AFFECTED FAMILIES LIVE IN POVERTY, AND THERE IS TREMENDOUS STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIRUS. BY THE END OF THE PROJECT, HIV AND AIDS PATIENTS WERE CONSISTENTLY TAKING THEIR MEDICATION, VULNERABLE FAMILIES HAD DEVELOPED SOME SAVINGS AND MORE CHILDREN WERE IN SCHOOL. D. NEW AWARDS: FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY FOR IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL RESILIENCE (FLIER) IN THE DRC: EDC WAS SELECTED TO LEAD A COMPREHENSIVE FIVE-YEAR, $28 MILLION EDUCATION INITIATIVE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC). FUNDED BY USAID, THE FLIER PROJECT ACTIVITY WILL INCREASE ACCESS TO EDUCATION, IMPROVE THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) AND LITERACY INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS, AND BUILD COMMUNITY AND PARENTAL SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN'S LEARNING. A CORE CONCERN OF FLIER IS TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, INCLUDING THE BATWA (PYGMY) COMMUNITY, GIRLS, AND CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. AS SUCH, FLIER SEEKS TO BUILD SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT INCORPORATE HEALING AND NURTURING APPROACHES IN THE CLASSROOM. THE ACTIVITY WILL ALSO USE INTERACTIVE AUDIO INSTRUCTION TO REACH AN ESTIMATED 170 COMMUNITIES IN THE PROVINCES OF ITURI, TANGANYIKA, AND EQUATEUR, AS WELL AS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE COUNTRY'S CAPITAL, KINSHASA. MADAGASCAR/UNICEF PROJECT TO SUPPORT MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION IN RADIO PROGRAM PRODUCTION: EDC WAS SELECTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S EMERGENCY FUND (UNICEF) TO SUPPORT THE MADAGASCAR MINISTRY OF NATIONAL EDUCATION )MEN) IN PRODUCING RADIO PROGRAMS FOR PRIMARY, MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOL, AND TECHNICAL CLASSES. UMURIMO KURI BOSE (UKB) PROJECT, RWANDA: EDC HAS BEEN SELECTED TO IMPLEMENT THE UKB ACTIVITY, A TWO-YEAR, $1.5 MILLION EFFORT TO SUPPORT YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES IN RWANDA.

U.S. DIVISION: IN 2021, EDC'S U.S. DIVISION CONTINUED TO EXPAND IN PROGRAMMATIC AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY AND FOCUS. EDC'S LEADERSHIP OF THE SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCE CENTER AND THE ZERO SUICIDE INSTITUTE HAS HELPED IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AT RISK OF SUICIDE. TO DATE, OVER 80,000 PRACTITIONERS HAVE COMPLETED EDC'S ASSESSING AND MANAGING SUICIDE RISK TRAINING. EDC ADDRESSES SUBSTANCE MISUSE NATIONWIDE THROUGH A NUMBER OF VEHICLES. THROUGH PREVENTION SOLUTIONS@EDC, EDC PROVIDES TRAINING AND SUPPORT TO SUBSTANCE MISUSE PREVENTION PROFESSIONALS. IN ADDITION, EDC DEVELOPED ONLINE AND IN-PERSON TOOLS TO HELP CHILDREN AFFECTED BY THE OPIOID CRISIS. EDC STREAMLINED OUR WORK IN MENTAL HEALTH, SCHOOL HEALTH, AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTO AN EDUCATION & WELLBEING SUITE OF TRAINING AND CONSULTATION SERVICES FOR PREK-SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEMS. EDC'S SERVICES INCLUDE HELPING TEACHERS INTEGRATE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) PROGRAMS INTO PRACTICE, SUPPORTING EDUCATOR MENTAL HEALTH, ASSISTING EDUCATION SYSTEMS ASSESS THEIR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS, AND HELPING LEADERS CREATE POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT SUPPORT SEL FOR ALL. IN THE UNITED STATES, EDC CONTINUED ITS INNOVATIVE STEM EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WORK, INCLUDING LAUNCHING THE RURAL & READY STEM INITIATIVE AND LEADING 30 COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION PROJECTS. EDC CONTINUES THE YOUNG MATHEMATICIANS WORK WITH TEACHERS, PRESCHOOLERS, AND FAMILIES FROM HEAD START CLASSROOMS AND ALSO PROMOTE COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN PRESCHOOLERS. IN 2021, EDC'S WORK ON THE AMGEN BIOTECH EXPERIENCE (ABE) PROJECT EXPANDED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF A VOLUNTEER PROGRAM TO HELP SUPPORT STAFF ENGAGEMENT AND EXPANSION TO ADDITIONAL ABE SITES. ABE IS NOW AVAILABLE IN 20 LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD. TO DATE, THE PROGRAM HAS REACHED OVER 850,000 STUDENTS ACROSS AMERICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA PACIFIC. IN 2021, EDC CONTINUES FIRST 10 INITIATIVES TO CLOSE OPPORTUNITY GAPS FOR LOW-INCOME CHILDREN AND IS NOW OPERATING IN FOUR STATES. THROUGH WORK WITH THE OFFICE OF HEAD START, EDC HELPED HOME VISITORS, HEAD START STAFF, AND CAREGIVERS SUPPORT CHILDREN'S HEALTH, WELL-BEING, AND SCHOOL READINESS ACROSS ALL 50 STATES AND FIVE TERRITORIES. TO DATE, THE HOME VISITING COLLABORATIVE HAS SERVED 10,500 FAMILIES AND OVER 325 HOME VISITING AGENCIES. IN 2021, EDC CONTINUED TO LEAD THE REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY NORTHEAST & ISLANDS AND ALSO PARTNERED WITH TWO OTHER REGIONAL EDUCATION LABORATORIES AND TWO COMPREHENSIVE CENTERS. NATIONWIDE, LEADERS TURN TO EDC FOR CREDIBLE, UP-TO-DATE RESEARCH ON WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION. SIGNIFICANT PROGRAM SERVICES (2021)-A SAMPLE: PRODUCE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION FINDINGS THAT GUIDE DATA-BASED DECISION-MAKING AND POLICYMAKING NATIONWIDE. LEAD 12 NATIONAL CENTERS TO IMPROVE PRE-K TO GRAY EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND MENTAL HEALTH. DEVELOP HIGH-QUALITY, ENGAGING ONLINE AND PRINT RESOURCES TO SUPPORT LEARNERS OF ALL AGES. CREATE STRONG, COHERENT PRE-K GRADE 3 SYSTEMS AND ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO IMPROVE EARLY SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND LITERACY LEARNING. CREATE AND TEST LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND DEVELOP ENGAGING CLASSROOM CURRICULA, MEDIA INSTRUCTION, DIGITAL TOOLS, AND TEACHER TRAINING. WORK ACROSS INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL BOUNDARIES TO INTEGRATE EVIDENCE-BASED INJURY, SUICIDE, SUBSTANCE MISUSE, AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION INTO PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS.