Wotet Abay Elementary School

In 2017, when Wotet Abay Elementary School was built, it had 2,033 students, including 17 with special needs. At that time, 20% of grade 1 children were over-age (8-12 years old). Academic achievement had been poor: no Wotet Abay student had passed to grade 9 in the past two years scoring 50% or over in all subjects. During 2017, Partners in Education demolished the existing mud classrooms and replaced them with 4 new, well-lighted and ventilated cement blocks (16 classrooms), along with an admin block, a science lab and new separate boys and girls latrine blocks. The school has now become the poster child of Partners in Education’s excellent model, incorporating progressive student-centred teaching methods and resources. Many government officials have visited Wotet Abay, resulting in our Executive Director being invited to speak at numerous education conferences to share our model. The special needs program has expanded to two classrooms in 2021.

Progress

Teachers have been increasingly embracing the methods introduced in the teacher training workshops and ICS shadow visits, and classrooms are filled with unique, student-centred learning materials. The special needs class is particularly progressive, and resource materials having been specifically donated to the classroom by ISEE-urk. Several outdoor classrooms have been created and are enthusiastically used. The school is becoming recognized by the regional Education Department as a model centre of excellence. Playing fields, with basic sports equipment, was included as part of the project in 2021.

A pump has recently been installed in the river below the school, sending water to a 20,000 litre tank in the schoolyard. This is used to irrigate the prolific educational garden and canopy trees, and to provide water for sanitation in the schoolyard. The greening program has also been wholly embraced by the parents, teachers, students, and administration, and is producing strawberries and cabbages for sale already. These will provide income to support disadvantaged students with their fees and uniforms, and will be incorporated into various subject teaching materials.

Facilities