Summits Education Awarded $500,000 Grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation to Build Teacher Training Center in Rural Haiti
Boston, MA, September 07, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Summits Education (www.summits.org) has received a grant of $500,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek Mich. to build a teacher training facility in Haiti's Central Plateau. With this grant, Summits Education will establish a permanent home outside of Mirebalais that will act as a regional teacher training center for the organization and its partners.
“This is a transformative opportunity for Summits to continue to raise the standards of education available to Haiti’s most vulnerable students,” said Mike Chambers, Executive Director/Co-Founder of Summits Education. “This space will enable us to deliver intensive trainings for the thousands of educators and students in our network and beyond.”
Summits Education operates a network of 41 primary schools across rural Haiti’s Central Plateau. The network serves nearly 10,000 students and employs 350 educators.
Designed to accommodate upwards of 300 people, the multi-purpose facility will fill a major gap in the current infrastructure of the lower Central Plateau. At present, there is no indoor space in the region that can accommodate the entire Summits educator team which hinders its ability to deliver comprehensive group training and conferences.
The new facility will be constructed on land currently owned by Summits Education. Additionally, the space will serve as an administration building for the organization’s management team that oversees the primary school network.
“Summits Education designs its programming and partnerships to meet the needs of the whole child, creating school environments where students are healthy, safe, challenged, engaged and supported,” Chambers said. “This holistic approach ensures the development of all aspects of a child's well-being, preparing them for success in and out of the classroom.”
Summits Education works in partnership with international and domestic organizations including Partners in Health and Zanmi Lasante (www.pih.org), the University of Massachusetts Boston (www.umb.edu), the Université Quisqueya (www.uniq.edu.ht), the University of Notre Dame (www.nd.edu), and the Haitian Ministry of Education among others. This space will allow Summits and its partners to consistently and efficiently deliver high-impact training to the teachers and administrators.
“Education is a catalyst for social and economic change,” said Marie Flore Chipps, Haitian social justice advocate and Summits Co-Founder said. “Now we have a centralized facility to host partners, community members, and staff to effectively orchestrate training and programming that will change lives and communities.”
Boston-based organizations Build Health International (www.buildhealthinternational.org) and architectural firm DMS Designs (www.dmsdesign.com) will serve as the construction partner and the design developer of the facility. Construction is set to begin in early 2017.
About Summits Education: Summits builds education systems to transform the world’s most vulnerable communities. In Haiti’s Central Plateau, Summits is raising the standards of education through programs that address the needs of the whole child.
Currently, 85% of schools in Haiti are privately operated with minimal oversight from the government. Private and public organizations have traditionally worked in isolation resulting in inconsistent and fractured school systems. Summits seeks to build a data-driven, public/private model for education in Haiti with the help of key stakeholders both internationally and domestically.
The Summits primary network grew out of the work of Partners In Health over the last 25 years. Recent partnerships include the Digicel Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, University of Quisqueya, and University of Notre Dame.
www.summits.org | @summitsed
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.
www.wkkf.org | @WK_Kellogg_Fdn
Press Contact
Mary Hurd
Director of Communications, Summits Education
mary@summits.org | 716.226.0094
“This is a transformative opportunity for Summits to continue to raise the standards of education available to Haiti’s most vulnerable students,” said Mike Chambers, Executive Director/Co-Founder of Summits Education. “This space will enable us to deliver intensive trainings for the thousands of educators and students in our network and beyond.”
Summits Education operates a network of 41 primary schools across rural Haiti’s Central Plateau. The network serves nearly 10,000 students and employs 350 educators.
Designed to accommodate upwards of 300 people, the multi-purpose facility will fill a major gap in the current infrastructure of the lower Central Plateau. At present, there is no indoor space in the region that can accommodate the entire Summits educator team which hinders its ability to deliver comprehensive group training and conferences.
The new facility will be constructed on land currently owned by Summits Education. Additionally, the space will serve as an administration building for the organization’s management team that oversees the primary school network.
“Summits Education designs its programming and partnerships to meet the needs of the whole child, creating school environments where students are healthy, safe, challenged, engaged and supported,” Chambers said. “This holistic approach ensures the development of all aspects of a child's well-being, preparing them for success in and out of the classroom.”
Summits Education works in partnership with international and domestic organizations including Partners in Health and Zanmi Lasante (www.pih.org), the University of Massachusetts Boston (www.umb.edu), the Université Quisqueya (www.uniq.edu.ht), the University of Notre Dame (www.nd.edu), and the Haitian Ministry of Education among others. This space will allow Summits and its partners to consistently and efficiently deliver high-impact training to the teachers and administrators.
“Education is a catalyst for social and economic change,” said Marie Flore Chipps, Haitian social justice advocate and Summits Co-Founder said. “Now we have a centralized facility to host partners, community members, and staff to effectively orchestrate training and programming that will change lives and communities.”
Boston-based organizations Build Health International (www.buildhealthinternational.org) and architectural firm DMS Designs (www.dmsdesign.com) will serve as the construction partner and the design developer of the facility. Construction is set to begin in early 2017.
About Summits Education: Summits builds education systems to transform the world’s most vulnerable communities. In Haiti’s Central Plateau, Summits is raising the standards of education through programs that address the needs of the whole child.
Currently, 85% of schools in Haiti are privately operated with minimal oversight from the government. Private and public organizations have traditionally worked in isolation resulting in inconsistent and fractured school systems. Summits seeks to build a data-driven, public/private model for education in Haiti with the help of key stakeholders both internationally and domestically.
The Summits primary network grew out of the work of Partners In Health over the last 25 years. Recent partnerships include the Digicel Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, University of Quisqueya, and University of Notre Dame.
www.summits.org | @summitsed
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.
www.wkkf.org | @WK_Kellogg_Fdn
Press Contact
Mary Hurd
Director of Communications, Summits Education
mary@summits.org | 716.226.0094
Contact
Summits Education
Mary Hurd
716-226-0094
www.summits.org
Mary Hurd
716-226-0094
www.summits.org
Contact
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