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OUR APPROACH

The Problem

“Education should be a means to empower children and adults alike to become active participants in the transformation of their societies.”

(UNESCO, 2017)

Many youth in Central America face barriers to learning such as outdated curricula, poor physical infrastructure, inadequate teacher preparation and support, and lack of access to new technologies. While there are programs that aim to improve the quality of education being implemented, the region’s political and economic unrest often affect their delivery of services.

The region benefits from a network of creative and resilient individuals working towards positive change to address important education needs at the local community level. ConnectED harnesses the energy and commitment of these individuals as local leaders in education by nurturing, building, and mobilizing their skills and strengths. As ConnectED Fellows, they receive access to resources and support, and work alongside teachers and mentors to create projects that meet the changing and growing priorities of their communities.

By improving local learning outcomes, ConnectED Fellows make it possible for the next generation of leaders to dream without boundaries and transform their own societies.

What We Do

Our Theory of Change

ConnectED believes that by using human-centered design to foster local education leadership, we can equip youth with the skills they need to succeed.

IF

Education leaders are empowered to effect change—through capacity development, resource provision and support of locally-driven solutions

THEN

They can improve access, quality and relevance of formal and non-formal education in their community

Which will result in

Improved learning outcomes prospects for youth in select communities

And ultimately Will

Provide education leaders with the opportunity to build skills and gain relevant experience to improve their own livelihood

HOW WE DO IT

Fellows Model

We are passionate about locally-driven solutions, and at the heart of our work are the ConnectED Fellows. The Fellows model was created in partnership with local communities to support education leaders to improve access, quality, and relevance of education for youth. With the right support networks, tools, and leadership development, Fellows become change agents who use human-centered design to engage and empower others in addressing education needs. We provide our Fellows with access to resources and capital, capacity development and mentoring and networking opportunities.

The Phases

Phase 1
Identify local Fellows

We work with local partners to identify and select rural education leaders to serve as Fellows.

Phase 2
Develop local capacity and leadership

We provide our Fellows with training in leadership and project management, and engage our partners and education mentors to further support our Fellows’ technical capacity needs.

Phase 3
Assess community needs

We support Fellows in engaging key stakeholders to identify critical education challenges in their community.

Phase 4
Generate project designs

We collaborate closely with Fellows in developing project work plans, setting goals, and designing responsive and relevant education projects.

Phase 5
Implement projects

Together with Fellows, local partners, and community stakeholders, we pilot and adaptively manage local small-scale education initiatives.

Phase 6
Monitor, evaluate, and scale impact

We monitor and evaluate the outcomes of Fellows’ projects to gain insights, share them with our network, and apply what we learn to scale successful initiatives to new locations.

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Phase 7
Fellows Network

We continue to support our Fellows to make connections for leadership development and project implementation in education and beyond, and facilitate connections for Fellow Alumni to mentor new Fellows.

DOWNLOAD THE FELLOWS MODEL BROCHURE
The training I received has been a great achievement for me since I enriched and strengthened my knowledge, which enabled me to take ownership of new teaching dynamics and strategies. I am now able to implement what I learned with the children I teach. As a result, a better teaching-learning process has been achieved.
Isaura Lara Pizarro // Ostional, Nicaragua
We have learned how to complete a community assessment, how to identify our needs and express them to others, and how to strengthen our weaknesses. These are all things that we have learned by collaborating with ConnectED. The teachers in our community are now more aware and able to transmit relevant knowledge to our students. Before, many of our youth graduated from high school without having touched a computer, and now they can find employment related to technology!
Ernesto Vallejo Espinoza Pizarro // La China, Nicaragua
The trainings have served us immensely! We are proud because due to the success of our project, we have been invited to present our work in two municipalities who are impressed by what we have achieved. We now have great confidence and work ethics. Our work in water management with the community is now being done at an improved level. We deliver printed digitized reports and are able to save more money as a community because more people understand and are paying into our water system. This allows us to protect ourselves as a community.
Alba Luz Martinez // La China, Nicaragua
The future of our youth has been improved because now they can go to school and think about what they want to do professionally. This brings progress to our community because they will be prepared with more ideas and new ways of thinking.
Elmer José Gutiérrez // Los Horquetas, Nicaragua
ConnectED has no bureaucracy, everything is done democratically and they work hand in hand with the community leaders. I like the transparency with which they work and the way they invest in what the community actually needs. From the beginning, I was delighted with the relationship since they involve everyone and are very capable. Nothing has been left half-done.
Byron Altamirano // Las Horquetas, Nicaragua

The ConnectED Advantage

Low cost, high reward
Working with local partner organizations and education leaders, our model achieves significant social return from collective investments in education.
We believe that lasting change starts with people. ConnectED builds on the existing knowledge and resources of a given Fellow and their community, supporting them to be self-sufficient to continue the projects we start together.
Communities know best what they need. When ConnectED Fellows design a project, they engage their community at-large to determine education priorities and local solutions.
ConnectED invests in long-term partnerships that build local capacity and enable collaboration to drive change. Our partners – local government, academic institutions, and local organizations – not only help us source our Fellows, but also extend resources to them and their community.
Our Fellow’s Model is designed to be simple and flexible so it can be adapted successfully in a range of contexts. We constantly seek feedback from our partners and adaptively manage our approach to be relevant to the local realities of where we work.
Working With Communities
A fundamental part of our achievements comes as a result of working hand-in-hand with communities to build capacity and collaboration for education change at the local level.
FIND OUT WHO WE SERVE
Get Involved

How can you make a difference?

Give.

You can make the transformative power of education possible through a simple donation.

Volunteer.

Your talents and skills can help support our organization and the work of our Fellows.

Collaborate.

You can join us in improving education outcomes in Central America.