Luminos in Liberia
Tragedies of war and disease have badly damaged Liberia’s education sector, with 56% of primary-school-aged children missing out on an education.
Since 2016, Luminos has worked in close collaboration with community-based organizations and the government of Liberia to scale our catch-up education program to reach thousands of out-of-school children. In one school year, we support children to achieve foundational reading, writing, and math skills with transformational results.
To date, we have served over 12,650 students and trained 497 teachers across multiple counties.
450,000
Number of children out of school (primary school)
56%
Percent of children out of school (primary school age)
8%
Government expenditure on education (as % of government expenditure)
47%
Qualified teachers in primary school
Barriers to Learning
Child Labor
Orphanhood
Gender
Language
Learning Environment
Poverty
Our Approach
Luminos applies the best global knowledge regarding what’s most effective for first-generation readers and reimagines it for the Liberian context.
Through a joyful and phonics-centered curriculum, we enable children to become independent readers. Our classes of 25-30 students run five days a week for 10 months, covering the first three grades of school.
In Luminos classrooms, on average, five hours are spent on literacy. Children see themselves in the texts, and reading is presented as an integral part of the world around them.
We use a structured approach to phonics to ensure students build the requisite skills to read by the end of the program. We try to strike a balance between direct instruction, which is essential to teach the technical aspects of reading, and activity-based learning, which is at the core of our pedagogy. Students practice using Elkonin Sound Boxes and Blending Ladders, as well as finger tapping as a multi-sensory way to learn spelling and syllables. We are streamlining the process wherein teachers give students weekly timed reading assignments and remedial support is provided to the bottom performers. Our goal is to not leave any child behind as a reader.
Additionally, we provide weekly coaching and supervision in the classroom, conduct regular teacher training workshops, and are proud to partner with the Liberian Ministry of Education (MOE). For example, the MOE provisions some classroom space to Luminos, and we train MOE officials on our program pedagogy.
“I want to teach other children how to read.”
Meet Mechan
12,650
Children given a second
chance education
89%
Transition to
government school
497
Teachers trained
Cumulative Program Results
Community Partners
In Liberia, Luminos works with the government and the following community-based organizations:
- Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence (LIPACE)
- Restoring Our Children’s Hope (ROCH)
- Youth Movement for Collective Action (UMOVEMENT)
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The Luminos Fund is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt charitable organization registered in the United States (EIN 36-4817073).