Literacy for Dominican-Haitian Youth in the Batey

Oriana is Yspaniola’s Preschool Teaching Assistant. Today she is 19, but she has been a part of Yspaniola’s programming since 2011, when visiting volunteers began informal reading sessions that the kids loved, paving the way for Yspaniola to officially launch our literacy programs in Batey Libertad in 2013.

Oriana learned to read through our very first reading hours and tutoring sessions. She has participated in our mentorship program, summer camps, and summer classes. 

Her journey has now come full circle as she teaches the very classes she was once a student in. Every day, Oriana brings her positive energy and wealth of experience to our classroom and inspires future generations to continue to learn and be excited about their education. 

Oriana reflects on how much her life has been impacted by Yspaniola: “Without them, I wouldn’t have learned to read or write as well as I do, and I learned a lot about patience. When I was working in the mentorship program our supervisor Marisela would talk to us about having patience working with the children if they didn’t understand something, and to just breathe and move forward. I still use this advice today, working in the preschool.” 

In her role as a teaching assistant, supporting Teachers Johnny and Yohanna, Oriana emphasizes the impact not only on students’ academic progress, but their behavior as well. “Johnny and Yohanna have continued to teach me and our students the meaning of patience, they bring energy and excitement to their teaching everyday even if they’re having a difficult day, and ensure that our students are learning how to behave appropriately in a classroom setting.”

Oriana says that her favorite thing is when the children come to her with questions and they want to learn new things. In addition, she says: “It’s really nice how the adults and children in the community acknowledge and respect me because I work for Yspaniola, hearing the kids in the street call out my name because they’re happy to see me outside of class, or being approached by parents who want to stop and talk to me. It makes me feel like I’m doing a good thing.”

“I want to be a role model for these kids, and set the example that it’s a good thing to get your education and to work with Yspaniola. I want them to know that they can do anything they want. I always make sure I tell my students you can be anything you want to be no matter what.”  

Having Oriana on our team is so important to our Yspaniola family and the Batey Libertad community. The fact that she has chosen to be a part of Yspaniola’s work for so many years, and to join our teaching team and inspire new generations with a love for education, is a testament to the impact of Yspaniola’s programs in students' lives.

“Thanks to Yspaniola, I learned how to read fluently. So, I love Yspaniola. Thanks to Yspaniola there are so many people here who can read and write.” says Ruth

Ruth started working with Yspaniola as an assistant in Reading Hour in April where she helped students improve their reading fluency, by reading with them and helping them when they don't know a word, its meaning, or pronunciation. 

The goal of our Reading Hour is not only to help children with their reading skills, but also to help them develop their Spanish language skills, as for most of the children, Spanish is their second language. Several studies, including longitudinal and interventional research, show that poor reading comprehension is strongly linked to deficiencies in vocabulary (Colenbrander, et al., 2016). Thus, by reinforcing reading skills, we help children develop a broader vocabulary, which over time will facilitate the development of better reading and comprehension skills. 

When we asked Ruth about her experience and the importance of a program like this in the community where she lives, she responded:

“In 2020, I mentored 4 students through Yspaniola, in a class called Group 6. Today, I am so proud because the students I mentored are some of the strongest in our Reading Hour program. I think this job is important because I am helping students learn how to read. It is important because there are children in our community who do not have stable attendance at school. Some students cannot attend school because they do not have legal documents, like a Birth Certificate. Through Reading Hour, students can learn to read and write outside of school.”

As a supporter of Yspaniola, your essential donations are greatly appreciated, as they will help Yspaniola expand this program and others to achieve our goal of breaking the cycle of poverty for families through education. We thank you for all your contributions! 

Bibliography

Colenbrander, Danielle, et al. «Individual Differences in the Vocabulary Skills of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension». Learning and Individual Differences, vol. 50, August 2016, pp. 210-20. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.07.021.