Haiti Pilot: Blended Learning in Remote & Hybrid Environments

Haiti is a nation rich in culture and history and with incredible human potential. In 1804, education was enshrined as a right in Haiti’s constitution when Haiti became the first Black republic and the first and only country founded by a successful revolution of enslaved people. Education is still highly valued by Haitian students and families; and yet, since Haiti’s founding as a nation, schools have remained a reflection of Haiti’s colonial past.

Students are often taught in French rather than their native Creole, curriculum is deficit-based rather than culturally affirming, and instruction remains traditional and lecture-based. Not only is investment in quality and equitable education lacking, almost all Haitian students have experienced disruptions to education in recent years due to natural disasters, political unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These disruptions have compounded the challenges of skills inequality and uncertainty in Haiti. Given that only 45% of Haitian households have access to power, let alone internet or a device that would enable them to participate in online learning (Boothby et al., 2021), the gap is widening between wealthy students who are able to continue their learning, and poorer students, especially in rural parts of the country.

A Haitian mother and her daughters work together on Blue Butterfly’s distance learning program.

All Haitian students deserve the right to a quality and continuous education that is a pathway to economic opportunity, wellbeing, and agency. With an initial grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and additional support from the McNulty Foundation, Digital Promise Global has convened partners working in Haiti – Model School Network (MSN), Anseye Pou Ayiti (APA), Summits Education, and Blue Butterfly – and a monitoring and evaluation partner, Education Development Center (EDC), to implement a blended learning pilot program. This work has started with a phased approach in the 2022-23 school year and will reach 33 schools in the regions of Mirebalais (Central Plateau) and Gonaives (Artibonite).

The pilot focuses on (i) improving the capabilities of Haitian teachers to deliver high-quality learning using technology and tools; (ii) expanding the availability of culturally relevant, standards-aligned, Haitian-Creole digital content to teachers and students; and (iii) improving accessibility to broadband connectivity and electricity for schools and school networks. The approach emphasizes applying lessons from past efforts and iterating over time to ensure that the results and impact are sustainable.

A teacher at Summits Education in Mirebalais, Haiti, works with his students on Blue Butterfly’s Eksploratoryòm science education program.

• All 33 schools will have access to adequate sources of electricity and internet connectivity, as well as high-quality, culturally relevant digital content.
• 100 educators will be trained and will use technology in their classrooms to deliver digital instructional content for active, engaging learning.
• 1,650 children will participate in digital learning in their classrooms.
• Professional learning and ongoing coaching that combine technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge will be provided to Haitian teachers to evolve their instructional practice and classroom culture towards effective blended learning, allowing students greater self-direction and leading to improved student outcomes.

Teachers from Model School Network and Anseye Pou Ayiti participate in a blended learning training in Gonaives and Mirebalais, Haiti. Photo credit: Alfredo Adné Paul & Joseph Thierry Antoine

Interested in learning more or partnering with us? Please contact April Williamson, Haiti Project Director, at awilliamson@digitalpromise.org.