This spring I traveled to Kenya to gauge and experience progress in schools involved in the Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya (EMACK) project. EMACK, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), started in 2006 and is currently winding down its final phase. The project focuses on primary school children’s successful transition to upper elementary grades in poor regions of Kenya. It does so by improving student learning and teaching techniques, and by getting parents involved in their children’s schooling.

EMACK has worked with 800 schools and thousands of communities across the Coastal, North Eastern, and Nairobi regions in Kenya. It has trained over 3,200 teachers and reached over 120,000 children. Outside Mombasa on the coast, I visited schools of all kinds – both formal public schools, and low-cost private schools started outside the public education system in the informal settlements that have sprung up around East Africa’s largest cities.

After numerous trips to schools and communities involved with EMACK over the years, what strikes me is how different and important each individual school is. When we share education stories with the public, we often highlight the teacher who goes the extra mile or the student who excels. Still, it’s important to value the whole system, and there the school principal sets the tone: Making a difference often comes down to the individual school, the group of parents engaged with school’s management committee, and the school’s principal.

Those dynamics are what I looked for in my visits. I may visit three or four schools in a single day, aiming to catch a glimpse through an open window into that system.

On April 1 I was welcomed at the Tezo Primary School in Kilifi with a warm smile from the head teacher, Mrs. Rosalia Mbaluto. A visit by an outside guest puts a lot of pressure on a school principal and their teachers. So much about the visit depends on the students’ circumstances that particular day. Despite that extra stress, Mrs. Mbaluto showed me the school with enthusiasm and confidence. At one classroom, Grade 3 teacher Josephine Kosholo had 39 students in a reading lesson. Even with so many students, she managed with authority and warmth to engage as many of them as she could.

I was impressed how the teacher used a method of instruction known as Reading to Learn, which involves storytelling and the use of stories familiar to the students as a way to explore vocabulary and elements of language. At one point, Ms. Kosholo even picked up one small student so he could reach the blackboard and make his mark. She delivered an outstanding lesson with so much ease, demonstrated so well in interactions with her students.

Leaving the school that day, I reflected on the commitment and professionalism shown by both teacher and principal, and the importance of their work despite the challenges they face in their daily life. These caring and well-trained teachers are opening doors of opportunity and the joy of learning to tens of thousands of young Kenyans.

For more about the EMACK project, see a project fact sheet here.

Linda Ulqini, Senior Program Officer for Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., with David Taylor, Communications Officer