Bambini Kindergarten

The Dominican Republic ranks last among all countries that take the annual PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests. These assessments measures students’ abilities in reading, math and science. 

Consistently over recent years, the Dominican Republic scores at the very bottom of the list of countries for education scores. This is something that the government has been trying to address by hiring more teachers, but still the lack of quality teacher training programs has had a negative impact on the slow progress of academic achievement.  

I spent a few weeks at Bambini Kindergarten in the bustling and noisy town of Mao. Bambini is a small, but growing school that currently offers programs for kids from 2-9 years old, with the plans to continue adding a grade level each year until the end of the primary school years. They operate in two separate buildings located across the street from each other. One houses the youngest students up to Kindergarten age, while the other has two classrooms with Grade 1 and Grade 2/3 groups. 

Bambini stands out from the other schools in the area in several ways. First, most noticeably, is small size of the classes. They have fewer than 12 students which allows the teachers to really get to know and interact with each child individually. Especially in the primary classes, since there are only two rooms with two regular teachers, the students mingle with each other and their teachers in a way that fosters close relationships and stronger bonds. 

But what makes Bambini even more special from the other locals schools is the focus on learning English. Although the amount of English instruction has decreased over the past couple of years, the students are still exposed to lessons in English that takes up about a third of their day. Most importantly, their teacher, Emma from Belgium, is a strong English speaker who uses proven methods for teaching a second language to young learners. Classes in science and art are also held in English to give the students even more exposure to vocabulary and fuller immersion throughout the day. 

English is taught in all other schools in the Dominican Republic, but often the teachers do not have a strong grasp of the language and rely on videos and other distant methods to expose the students to the language, rather than through direct instruction, letter sounds and regular speaking practice. 

The post-secondary schools in the country have a requirement for a component to be completed in English. Therefore, students hoping to move onto university courses and a degree must have a strong understanding of English coming out of high school. Unfortunately, due to the lack of quality education many students are not able to fulfil the requirements for university entrance and must choose another job path. 

The parents of the students at Bambini all recognize the value of learning English and have chosen to enrol their children in a school that prioritizes quality instruction in a small school environment with highly-trained teachers. Unfortunately for most families in Mao, they are unable to afford the costs that come with this type of education, contributing to the cyclical nature of poverty and poorly-paying unskilled labour. 

Bambini has big plans for their future, with the hopes of moving into a larger facility that can accommodate all their students under one roof and allow them to grow in numbers. Even while I was at the school for a few weeks in January, improvements were being made to the newer building housing the primary school students. Wireless internet was finally installed, new whiteboards were put up, a climbing wall and swing were set up in the play area and more outdoor playing areas provided new activities for the kids during their break times. 

The success of Bambini and the introduction of proven teaching methods and resources has started to spill over to other schools in the area. The teachers from Bambini have been able to provide the public schools with new ideas for teaching, especially in the area of reading and language instruction for the younger learners - an area that is in drastic need for improvement according to the country’s PISA scores. 

In addition, Emma, the main English teacher at Bambini, has been working on a community initiative that would see a mobile library set up in Mao that would provide access to books for the kids in the town. There is a shocking lack of children’s storybooks and novels available, and most parents are not able to travel to the bigger cities to find better alternatives. If Emma’s mobile library bus is successful, it will be a huge benefit to the children in Mao, by opening up new options, sparking a love a reading and hopefully propelling the students to higher academic success and a brighter future - not just at Bambini, but across the entire town.