Eight local businesses and organizations contributed a combined $193,000 to the "Mission: Educate Bahamas Foundation" in a newly formed private/public sector partnership geared towards improving education in public primary schools.
The funding was provided by Furniture Plus Co. Ltd., Kelly's House and Home, Fidelity Merchant Bank, Royal Bank Of Canada, Caribbean Bottling Co., Credit Suisse, The Cable Cares Foundation, and Len-Glo Bus Service of Andros will facilitate the immediate expansion of the breakthrough, melodic learning program "TuneIn To Reading (TiR) Program" throughout Government Primary Schools throughout the country.
Several additional primary schools are now able to receive the necessary laptop computers, headsets, instructional teacher training, and TiR software needed to facilitate the program and bring them on stream, according to Minister of Education, Science and Technology Jerome Fitzgerald. He also said that in the coming weeks several Members Of Parliament including himself, will invest an additional $160,000 from their respective constituency allowance into the TiR expansion.
"Research shows how effectively children learn with emerging tools for the classroom that enhance the teaching and learning process through the use of interactive technology. This is particularly so for primary schools, where students' future success depends heavily on their experiences in the early grades," said Fitzgerald. "Consequently, there is a demand for more innovative programs such as TuneIn To Reading that will captivate young students' interests and allow them to improve their reading skills in an interactive and enjoyable way."
TiR uses music-based computer lessons to help students improve in the areas of literacy, reading fluency, comprehension and word-sight recognition. The US-based program is designed to reach struggling readers where they are, allowing children of varying reading levels to learn side-by-side in a classroom setting without the social stigma of being placed in lower-level classes.
TiR was launched in New Providence, four years ago by brothers Christopher and Terry Tsavoussis, proprietors of Wendy's Bahamas and Marco's Pizza. It debuted at Columbus Primary School.
Over the years Wendy's has spent in excess of $351,000 to get the program up and running in 14 local public primary schools. On average, students using the program demonstrate reading gains of 1.4 to two years, after only nine weeks of use, comprising of three 30-minute sessions each week. In addition to the strides made in reading, teachers and administrators have praised the program for restoring excitement, enthusiasm and a renewed sense of confidence among their students.
"Mission: Educate Bahamas" is purposed to increase literacy and improve our students' learning abilities through technology-based tools that enhance and deepen their learning experience," said Tsavoussis. "I am extremely grateful for the support of our corporate and private sponsors, and can report that together our private/public sector partnership will continue to move literacy and education to new and exciting frontiers in this country."
The "Mission: Educate Bahamas Foundation" is committed to providing local schools and educators with technology-based tools to boost literacy and improve student education, engagement and empowerment. For more info, or to donate visit: www.missioneducatebahamas.com.

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