Education Ministry Promotes Early Presentation and Improvement of Math and Language in Schools

Education Ministry Promotes Early Presentation and Improvement of Math and Language in Schools
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 9/4/2011

The deputy minister of Technical and Pedagogical Services of the Ministry of Education (MINERD in Spanish) held a meeting with national, regional and district technicians as well as allied institutions with the goal of discussing and analyzing focalized intervention strategies in the first cycle of elementary school, to be promoted by the schools as a way of committing to improving and strengthening these subjects in these early grades.

“This is a process that, by its very nature, is transcendent for the present educational endeavor because it is the most important intervention ever undertaken in this educational field as it is oriented toward reading, writing and mathematics …

The objective of these strategies is to increment the learning achievements of students on this level, especially in the areas of Spanish language and math. The strategy will be carried out jointly with the Pontifica Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the el Poveda Cultural Center (CCP) and the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI in Spanish).

Referring to the foundational decision of placing emphasis on strengthening educational policies in the early grades and, in representing the Minister of Education Josefina Pimentel, Minerva Vincent in her capacity as Technical and Pedagogical Services deputy minister, said that the process will involve developing educational activities to improve teaching practices for docents who will be dealing with these new programs foreseen for the students.

“This is a process that, by its very nature, is transcendent for the present educational endeavor because it is the most important intervention ever undertaken in this educational field as it is oriented toward reading, writing and mathematics which form the basis of all learning which one will undertake throughout one’s life,” emphasized the Ms. Vincent.

Regarding the reach of the strategies, she said interventions provided in the early years of elementary school place an emphasis on learning the Spanish language and mathematics, essential areas in any curriculum at this level.

“The proposal covers actions directed at all the actors in this educational process starting with the existing curriculum and the prospect of its revision and updating,” said Ms. Vincent.

The meeting to analyze and discuss this policy of integration of math and language into elementary schools was held at the Hotel Melia and was attended by 500 technicians that included regional, national and district teams for the improvement of the quality of learning in the early years of elementary schools. There were also representatives from accompanying institutions.

The welcoming address and introduction to the proposals were given by Carmen Sánchez, director general of Early and Basic Education followed by the deputy minister in charge of Evaluation and Educational Supervision, Adarberto Martínez. The latter offered an evaluation of the accompanying strategies to the pedagogical work in the first grade, assisted by information technology and communication through the System of Accompaniment and Supervision (SAS).

On the other hand, Ministry of Education work teams and schools that carry out the strategies through the Effective Schools programs of the PUCMM-USAID, the Poveda Center and the OEI also spoke at the meeting.

In this sense, the regional work groups of La Vega, San Francisco de Macorís, Santiago, Mao, Puerto Plata, Monte Cristi, Nagua and Cotuí are under the responsibility of MINERD and the PUCMM-USAID.

For its part, the Poveda Center is in charge of the regional groups from Barahona, San Juan de la Maguana, Azua, San Cristóbal, Santo Domingo II, Santo Domingo III and Bahoruco while the MINERD and OEI are  responsible for  San Pedro de Macorís, Higüey and Monte Plata.

Others who spoke at the meeting included Rita Ceballos, director of the Poveda Center; Sara González, representative of the PUCMM; Catalina Andújar, director of the OEI in the Dominican Republic; Liliana Montenegro, Spanish language specialist from the PUCMM and Ancell Schéker Mendoza, director of Evaluation of Quality of Education.

Deputy minister of Technical and Pedagogical Services, Minerva Vincent, speaking to participants at the meeting to share teaching strategies. At the main table, seated from left to right, are Sara González, Carmen Sánchez, Adarberto Martínez, Liliana Montenegro and Onelda Gómez, director of the first cycle of elementary education of MINERD.