This #GivingTuesday, Don't Give to Us.

This #GivingTuesday, we’re faced with a unique challenge...

#GivingTuesday was created as an antidote to the mass-consumerism of the holiday season. But this day of generosity is fast becoming a crowded and noisy space where thousands of nonprofits compete on the same day for donors' attention. On this day, your inbox is busier than Walmart on Black Friday as countless worthy causes send their appeals.

This year, the country in which we work - Haiti - has suffered another devastating natural disaster. Last month, Hurricane Matthew tore through Haiti’s southwest, leveling cities and killing hundreds. Although many organizations were swift to respond, 1.4 million Haitians are still in need of humanitarian aid.

Our 40 primary schools and communities in Haiti's Central Plateau were spared the brunt of Matthew's destruction. Others weren't as lucky - hundreds of thousands are still desperate for food, shelter, clean water, and medicine. 

This #GivingTuesday, don't give to us.

Rather than adding an appeal to the countless others, we’re highlighting the work of organizations still working on the frontlines of disaster relief. Your support can make a huge difference in Haiti during this time of immense need. Consider supporting one of these incredible organizations today:

Partners in Health - Partners in Health has worked to improve health care in Haiti for decades. This Giving Tuesday, your gift with be matched up to $350,000.

St. Boniface Haiti Foundation - SBHF is the leading healthcare provider in the devastated region with the only functioning referral hospital available to those affected.

Food for the Poor - This Giving Tuesday gifts for housing will be matched (up to $2 million) to help build homes for impoverished Haitian families who have been left homeless by Hurricane Matthew.

Tomorrow, we'll be back fundraising for the 10,000 students and 350 educators in our primary school network, investing in lasting impact through education.

Yolaine's Gift

After the earthquake, Yolaine Ciné lost everything.

Her home in Port-au-Prince destroyed, Yolaine made the decision to return home to the Central Plateau. With little more than her sewing machine, Yolaine and her daughter returned to her hometown, Bien-Aime, to rebuild their life. 

In Port-au-Prince, Yolaine was a seamstress. She bought second-hand clothing to fix and resell on the busy streets of the capital. Although it didn’t pay much, her work helped to pay for her daughter to attend school. 

When she returned to Bien-Aime, she found many children out of school simply because they could not afford uniforms. Without hesitation, Yolaine began giving what she could - her time and talent. She stepped into help, teaching sewing skills to the students so they could return to school.

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Yolaine started with 50 students. Today, she teaches more than 70 students with the same tireless sewing machine. Students hike down from mountain villages on weekends to learn from her. Some make uniforms for themselves, others for their sisters, brothers, and cousins.

“I saw that skills are nothing if not shared. Now, we work for their future and I share the skills that I have.”

After loss and hardship, Yolaine uses her skills to empower students, selflessly and without pay. She knows that an education is the cornerstone of a healthy, vibrant community. 

This giving season, we ask you to follow in Yolaine’s generous footsteps by giving education. With your help, students across all 40 Summits schools will have the skills they need to thrive. 

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““The sewing has helped me a lot. I started in 2012. Yolaine helped me sew my own clothes. I didn’t have clothes to wear and it helped me to have clothes and go to sell clothes in the market. I pay my own school and I help my parents with the money that I earned. I help my sisters and my brothers from the money I get from the sewing. Sewing is an activity that I like so much because it has helped me.”
- Dieuma, Summits student.”

Summits Celebrates #GlobalHandwashingDay

Since 2010, thousands across Haiti have been affected by a devastating cholera outbreak. The epidemic originated in the Central Plateau, where all 41 of our primary schools are located.

This past week, Summits primary school Foyer des Enfants hosted a celebration for Jounen Mondyal Lave Men or Global Handwashing Day. Hosted by our partner Zanmi Lasante, Summits students were taught best sanitation practices in order to protect against cholera and other water and sanitation-related diseases.

Six Summits schools attended the big event which also included dancing, a talent show, and many rounds of musical chairs.

An Update on Hurricane Matthew

 

Friends,

As Hurricane Matthew's impact on Haiti becomes more clear, we’ve heard from many of you asking about our team and the communities we serve in the Central Plateau. We’re grateful and moved by your thoughts and concerns.

Tucked in the mountains away from the coast, the Summits Network emerged relatively unharmed; seven of our schools suffered structural damage due to the hurricane’s heavy winds and rain. We’re working to address those needs thanks to the support of donors and the majority of our students returned to school this week.

Our thoughts are now are in Haiti’s Southwest, where entire cities have been leveled and where the death toll continues to rise. 

Summits is directing supporters to Partners in Health and the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, two organizations that have worked to deliver high-quality health care in Haiti for decades. These organizations are mobilizing teams to address the most pressing needs in the areas most affected by Hurricane Matthew.

It has been difficult for our team to see another part of the country suffer from such immense destruction. While being careful not to inject ourselves in the middle of emergency efforts, our team is in the process of gathering supplies requested by relief organizations including food and cleaning supplies.

We’ve all struggled with feelings of helplessness.  The greatest comfort has come from the belief in the work we do; we are deeply committed to investing in long-term impact and development through the power of a high quality, holistic education.

This is just the beginning of a long recovery process. We hope your support of Haiti will continue beyond the immediate aftermath of this terrible disaster.

In solidarity,
Team Summits 

Celebrating Summits

Last week, we threw a HUGE party in the Central Plateau. Over 1,000 Summits students, teachers, community and family members assembled to celebrate our teachers and kick off the school year in style. There were fire-breathing clowns, breakdance battles, 100-degree temperatures, and amazingly – no thunderstorms! 

The celebration took place in Marouge on what will be the future site of Summits Academy, a teacher training facility and administrative hub for Summits and our partners in the Central Plateau. Community leaders, Summits teammates – including co-founders Marie Flore Chipps and Mike Chambers- along with partners and administrators welcomed and spoke to the crowd, congratulating them on their unwavering commitment to education.

The celebration also marked the first time our entire team was able to convene as one. Our 350 Summits educators and staff from both Boston and Haiti were able to celebrate the many successes of our young but mighty organization, together. 

Marie Flore, Cassandre, Ludji and the rest of the team in Haiti pulled together an absolutely momentous event. Everyone from the teachers we celebrated to the partners and guests we invited, to the students and families that scaled mountains to attend, had a blast.

We have big plans for the school year ahead and after this epic celebration, we know that together, anything is possible.

Help us make this school year the best one yet.

Summits Update: Looking to the Year Ahead

A few weeks ago, Summits closed the books on our first full fiscal year. While this was an exciting milestone, it is the academic year that most defines us. Right now, across Haiti, nearly 10,000 students in our network are standing on their tiptoes, preparing for the year ahead. 

Do you remember that feeling? As summer winds down and the reality of getting to be a whole-grade-older settles in? Do you remember how many worlds apart eighth grade was from seventh?

Like children all over the world, Summits students are a mix of nervous and excited, wondering, ‘Do I have the right books? Will I know where to sit? Am I ready for this leap?’

Their teachers also feel the burden of possibility. This past month, over 350 Summits educators convened for an intensive training institute, many sharing the same trepidation as their students for the school year ahead, wondering: ‘Can I prepare this generation of students to surpass my own?’

At Summits, our work is to answer all of these hopeful questions with a resounding yes. Yes, you have what you need to succeed in school this year: as a student, as a teacher, as a community. 

What started as a vision to build a secondary school has grown into an organization leading the effort to develop a model for the Haitian education system. You made this possible through your advice, your partnership, and your investment in Summits Education. Thank you. 

Powered by your generosity, there are many bright spots from the past year: 

  • In September of 2015, Summits adopted a network of 41 primary schools serving nearly 10,000 students and employing over 350 educators. Elevating the quality of learning in these schools is our top priority. 
  • Summits received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, enabling us to develop a coalition to plan a Model School District in Haiti’s Central Plateau. 
  • Summits joined forces with the Haitian Ministry of Education. Their pledge to subsidize costs associated with our schools is a major step towards creating a sustainable model for the Haitian education system.
  • Summits secured 23 acres of land in Marouge, Haiti - the future site of Summits Academy.
  • Summits launched a partnership with InnovEd, a teacher training institute at Quisqueya University. Through InnovEd, each Summits teacher, school director, and supervisor will participate in 250 hours of professional development. The initial reviews are in, and our educators are raving about their experience.

In the spirit of spreading excitement for the coming school year, here is a preview of our upcoming plans:

  • In January 2017, Summits will launch our Whole Child Pilot Program in the 10 Summits schools nearest PIH’s University Hospital of Mirebalais. In these schools, we will implement a comprehensive set of programs to ensure students are healthy, safe, supported, engaged and challenged. This pilot will allow Summits to prove the efficacy of our highly collaborative and holistic approach to education.
  • In partnership with the University of Notre Dame and Catholic Relief Services, Summits educators will be trained to implement an intensive early grade reading intervention to drastically boost the reading and writing skills of our students. 
  • With Zanmi Lasante leading the effort, twelve of our schools will receive new handwashing stations, bathrooms, and sanitation and hygiene training for students. 
  • In early 2017, we will break ground on a teacher training facility which will serve as the center of teaching excellence for the Summits network. Over time, this space will serve as a cafeteria and auditorium for Summits Academy. We have raised just over half of the one million dollars needed to complete this facility. 
  • This fall, Summits will join Tracy Kidder on the A Truck Full of Money book tour to expand our community and audience. Stay tuned for more on events near you!

At Summits, we believe that education has the power to transform societies. Our programs and our partners are united by a collective goal: to raise the standards of academic rigor for both students and teachers, empowering a future generation of changemakers in Haiti and beyond. 

Together, we're laying a foundation of transformative opportunities for Haiti’s most vulnerable students.

Let’s move mountains.

Brightest, 

Mike Chambers
Co-founder and Executive Director, Summits Education 

Putting #TeachersFirst: An Incredible Summer with InnovEd

In March, we launched Summits with a campaign focused on the transformative power of teachers. We asked our community for help fund a teacher training institute for the 350 educators in our network and in less than three months, we raised over $130,000 for this critical program, together.

During the month of August, we saw this dream become a reality as we welcomed groups of educators from across the Central Plateau to three, week-long programs as part of InnovEd's intensive Summer Institute.

The enthusiasm was palpable from the start. Each morning, teachers started the day together, in one big circle under the morning sun. Lead by group leaders, our teachers sang songs and voiced affirmations in order to motivate each other and set a positive tone for the day of training ahead. The nervous energy of Monday quickly turned into an eruption of renewed energy and meaningful connection by Friday.

The central focus of the week was to introduce educators to the concept of the Lèkol Vivan or The Vibrant School. By blending pedagogical theory and participatory learning, the Vibrant School approach seeks to equip educators with the skills necessary to transform traditional schools into active, nurturing learning environments. Teachers attended workshops on increasing student engagement and participation and on using the natural environment as a tool for teaching.

InnovEd presents a learner-centered curriculum that challenges teachers and students to work together to achieve high impact growth; a holistic approach that builds an active school culture inside and outside the classroom.

This style is unlike traditional approaches to education in Haiti. Traditionally, classrooms depend on rote style instruction and memorization. As Summits first grade teacher Madeleine Jean put it,

“Before, the way I taught—without this training—was not the same. In the morning, we would just go into the classroom, pray, and start working. Now thanks to InnovEd and Summits it’s not going to be the same. We are going to keep the children’s attention. From now on we are going to apply the right activities that will inspire students to work together.”

We’ve been inspired by InnovEd’s dedication to improving teacher quality and student achievement across Haiti and this year's Summer Institute is just the beginning of our partnership. Over the next two years, the InnovEd team with continue to work with our teacher trainers, administrators, and teachers, offering ongoing professional development and training throughout the year.

Through your support of Teachers First, you made this incredible summer happen. Thanks to you, our educators are starting the school year stronger than ever!

Building Vibrant Schools with InnovEd

What is a lékol vivan - a vibrant school?

Last week in Port-au-Prince, eight Summits supervisors participated in the first intensive training sessions with InnovEd-UniQ, our teacher training partners. The week focused on developing the skills and techniques necessary to build lékol vivans - schools that inspire, challenge, and support students through high quality teaching and engagement.

These supervisors are integral to our network of 41 primary schools in the Central Plateau. Each supervisor is assigned four schools to work with throughout the school year, providing professional support to improve teacher capacity, measure success, and increase student outcomes. 

Our approach is inspired by the Partners in Health Community Health Workers program, a system created in the very same rural communities we work with in Haiti. The program is designed to accompany the country’s existing health care system by training health workers to visit patient at home in order to connect them with the care, hospitals, and clinics necessary to ensure healthier lives and communities.

In the education sphere, we imitate this successful approach through the work of our Summits supervisors. The approach is designed to buttress the work of the Ministry of Education and its strategic goals to improve teacher quality and increase student achievement.

The week focused on increasing student engagement through participatory games and practical, field-tested techniques. The supervisors were also coached in data driven strategies and action plans in order to develop strong school-community relations.

We’re incredibly lucky to be partnering with InnovEd-UniQ. With its core values of engagement, connection, challenge, and reflection, we’re building lékol vivants across the Central Plateau.

Supervisor Fritz Andre put it best: “Together with InnovEd and Summits, we can do a better job in every school with the principal and teachers...to help them train the students for a society we dream about.”

With the skills learned in Port au Prince, supervisors will return to the Central Plateau energized and focused on the school year ahead.

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