January 27, 2013
Erik Badger

Last Tuesday a group comprised of Haiti Partners’ and Children’s Academy staff, as well as three colleagues from our close partner organization, AMURT, had the opportunity to visit L’Ecole de Choix (The School of Choice) in Haiti’s Central Plateau. In order to arrive for their 8am morning assembly, we left John’s at 4am. One thing’s for sure: there’s no traffic in Port-au-Prince at 4am. We made such good time that we actually arrived 2 hours early!

The School of Choice aims to be a model for education in Haiti. And, like the Children’s Academy, leadership development is a central goal of their education program. With this in mind, the goal of our trip was to learn more about this model to help us as we move forward with the development of the Children’s Academy.

The school was very impressive. It serves 185 children from the poorest families in the area. The facility is composed of several buildings, including a computer lab, a library, a kitchen, a solar-powered water purification system, and a large playground with modern equipment. The entire campus has wireless internet available, making it possible for teachers to integrate internet content into their lessons. In order to prepare them for the workforce after they graduate, students study three languages: Haitian Creole, French and English.

Many thanks to the principal Dr. Mary Clisbee and the staff at the school for receiving our large group!