Exceptional Education Outreach (EEO) has supported literacy development across Eleuthera for over two decades, but this summer, the nonprofit launched a new camp with a holistic approach to literacy - experiential and problem-based learning.
Camp Sea Biscuit, focuses on literacy and reading interventions, but with a problem-solving element with a range of learning strands from multiple subject areas - science, art, math, design, language arts and comprehension.
Tiffany Bain, camp coordinator, said with the impact of the pandemic on education still lingering, the vast majority of students require learning support.
"We targeted students who were already a part of our program with the goal of growing the support we offer. To that end, enrollment was open to all students," said Bain.
The camp was open to students between grades three and nine. They worked to examine themes and solve problems around food security.
Students learned how to grow food and explored how to make foods themselves.
Answering the question "What food can we grow?" some students created an in-house food lab featuring fruits and vegetables that could be grown easily at-home and in gardens and farms while also creating models of what their ideal farm would look like.
Another cohort was given the scenario that their favorite foods could no longer be purchased from abroad or in restaurants. They ran a test kitchen to make their selected meals and compiled a cookbook of their favorite recipes which includes number one picks from the test kitchen.
The four-week camp provided students in South Eleuthera with an opportunity to connect, learn and work together in a way that they seldom get to do before their high school years - a level of inter-community engagement camp coordinator Tiffany Bain was proud of.
"So many of our students do not get to spend time in other parts of their island even though the settlements are small, the culture and demographics of each is actually really distinct," said Bain.
"Giving students a chance to build relationships, work together and appreciate their levels of diversity is perhaps Camp Sea Biscuit's best outcome."
EEO Bahamas aims for Camp Sea Biscuit to be one of many. They have a goal of hosting a camp in north, central and South Eleuthera in Summer 2024.
EEO which services students in Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells' purpose is simple - it allows each student to reach his/her full potential. That could mean for college or workforce readiness, or basic literacy and personal skill development for vocational work.
EEO is a program that is ideal for any student needing learning support. Students who are "falling a little under the crack" and even those with varying intellectual abilities are able to avail themselves of the help needed.
Believing that every child should be given learning opportunities to reach their full potential, EEO founded in 1999, and directed by Lang Hudepohl, has a mission to provide special education and literacy outreach programs to students and their communities in Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells.
Hudephol who lived on Harbour Island, recognized the need for learning support so students have the best opportunities, as not all schools have learning support to access learning at the same level.
Hudepohl was passionate about creating a sustainable and impactful program which centers each student as the main character of their educational story.
The project's vision for the islands is to ensure that children with special needs have access to innovative educational programs to help them reach their full academic and personal potential.
Collaborating with Bahamian and American educational organizations, EEO strives to equip teachers, parents and volunteers with skills and materials to assess students and remediate learning challenges. The efforts they say will result in a resourceful, student-supportive, sustainable education system for Eleuthera.
The program currently maintains nine EEO Centers and exists in partnership with Ministry of Education schools across the island. EEO teachers deliver reading and learning support services to students enrolled at the EEO Centers.
Intense reading interventions using a multisensory approach isn't the only service that EEO provides for its students. Students also benefit from vision, auditory and neurological screenings to identify any obstacles which hamper achieving maximum personal and academic success. EEO also facilitates community awareness, education and capacity development for exceptional education through year-round workshops for teachers, parents and families.
EEO's special outreach and literacy development program which has created a base model for special education intervention in the family islands was launched under a shade tree at a picnic table in the playground at Harbour Island All Age School with only 15 students.
EEO programs include individualized instruction, regular auditory and visual screenings, therapist evaluations, parent workshops and a teacher seminar series which builds understanding of learning differences and how communities can help children reach their full potential
Since its founding, EEO has helped more than 2,000 children.
EEO is a donor-funded program. It is through sponsorship, partnerships and contributions of donors with a passion for education that the program has been able to grow and expand over the past years.
As a non-profit, EEO is able to support learner education through the support of donors, supporters and granters like Lyford Cay and Cotton Bay Foundations as well as individuals and partners in their communities. To continue to follow the impact of and to support EEO Bahamas, check out the website, EEOBahamas.org or follow EEO on Linkedin and IG at @EEOBahamas.
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