The Luminos Method
The Luminos Method is a collection of best practices derived from our experience working in the hardest-to-reach communities in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, and The Gambia, which we are making available to the broader education sector to address an urgent challenge:
The global community is at risk of failing a generation of young people in the Global South who may never become the doctors, leaders, human rights activists, or teachers they might have been. Millions of children were already shut out of school. And, since COVID-19, millions more have fallen so far behind they are at grave risk of dropping out forever.
The Luminos Fund is tackling this challenge head-on, working alongside governments and community-based organizations to run accelerated education programs that help children catch up to grade level, reintegrate into government schools, and prepare for lifelong learning.
Yet the challenges facing young children today go beyond anything a single organization can accomplish alone.
We believe by sharing the Luminos Method it is possible to accelerate our vision of helping all children achieve foundational learning across the globe, even in some of the world’s most challenging contexts.
80%
of children in low-income countries cannot read by age 10
59
million primary-school-aged children are out of school around the world
Elements of the Luminos Method
Select elements of the Luminos Method below to access interactive web pages with videos and downloadable resources of our best practices. Additional elements will be published quarterly, and highlighted in blue as they become available online.
Community Teachers
High-potential, local young adults become successful community teachers with solid training and support.
Teacher-Led Assessment
Regular assessment and follow-up support are crucial to ensure student learning stays on track.
Identity & Self-Belief
Through valuing local cultures and providing students with opportunities to succeed, we build students’ belief in themselves as successful learners.
Phonics for First-Generation Readers
We teach children to read using a proven, phonics-based approach that is grounded in international evidence and local best practice.
Committed Parents
We partner with parents to support their children’s learning throughout the program lifecycle.
Joyful Learning
Learning is student-centered, incorporating a variety of games and activities with local learning materials and stories.
Learning to Learn
Students process and make creative and intellectual use of new concepts, problem-solve, and work collaboratively in groups, setting them up for success in future classroom environments.
Frontline Partners
We partner with community-based organizations to co-create and deliver our country-specific programs.
Real-Time Data
We use a data dashboard to monitor Key Performance Indicators, capture a holistic view of the program and drill down to granular insights, and identify struggling students and teachers.
While the Luminos Method represents the core practices across all countries where we work, certain aspects of our programs are customized to the country-specific context, in partnership with community-based organizations and ministries of education. Reading materials, songs, plays, and role-play are relevant to the children’s mother tongue and culture. Luminos community teachers draw on their experience with the community and culture when developing resources.
Applying the Luminos Method has achieved transformative results in our accelerated education programs, and we believe by sharing these resources, we can unlock the light of learning in every child.
“The rate at which Luminos students are performing is exceptional… I want to applaud Luminos Fund for the tremendous work being done in improving results in education in Liberia.”
Minister Tarnue Marwolo Bongolee
Assistant Minister for Student Personnel Services, Liberia
Contact us to learn more about the Luminos Method
Latest news
Unpacking the Reading Wars and Advocating for Phonics
On May 23, the Luminos Fund convened leading education experts to discuss the U.S. reading wars and refocus attention on the crucial task of teaching children how to read. This was the second webinar in the Luminos Method series, which also marked the launch of our...
Test-Learn-Adapt: Lessons from Year 1 in Ghana
In 2022, when Luminos launched our catch-up education program in Ghana, we drew on our experience working in multiple countries, reaching thousands of out-of-school children aged 8-14. In just one school year, Luminos students progress from not recognizing letters of...
Cracking the Code: Phonics 101
In Luminos classrooms, we use a systematic and explicit phonics-based approach to teach children to read. But what is phonics and why do we use it? Phonics is a step-by-step way of teaching children to decode and recognize new words rather than just memorizing words...
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The Luminos Fund is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt charitable organization registered in the United States (EIN 36-4817073).