Debre Work Pre-Primary & Primary School
Opened in 1948 with just 16 students, Debre Work Pre-Primary & Primary School now serves 2,066 children, including 31 with additional support needs. Before Partners’s involvement, students were learning in unsafe mud classrooms with class sizes averaging over 60. The new school — our first project in East Gojjam — was built through exceptional community leadership, with local residents contributing 85% of total costs and funding a three-year salary for a junior education expert to support implementation.
Debre Work has become a model for community engagement and inclusive education. Parents regularly visit classrooms to observe experiential, student-centred teaching methods, including innovative special needs instruction that was once unavailable in the region. The school’s science and computer labs have elevated learning quality, and teacher training and mentoring continue to strengthen outcomes.
In just a few years, Debre Work went from ranking last out of 63 schools to receiving district awards for top school and top principal. The school’s educational gardens and live fencing projects (maintained by students) are now thriving, producing both learning opportunities and harvests for the community.
