Literacy for Dominican-Haitian Youth in the Batey

“Ciérrense los ojos.”  “Close your eyes.”

And so begins the morning’s lesson in Leidy’s classroom. The children are seated along the perimeter of the rug, with their teacher in the center. Under a piece of cloth, she has hidden a bunch of animal toys. Some domestic, some wild, some found in the Dominican Republic, and others that the children have only seen in photos. One by one, she calls the students up and asks them to select an animal, keeping their eyes closed. She asks them to use their imagination, make a mental picture, and connect what they are feeling with what they know about animals. Does it feel like it has wings? A tail? Big or small ears? They feel the edges, and try to create a picture in their mind of what the animal looks like- can they guess which it is?

The kids are silent, enraptured and eager for their turns. Eager to see if their classmates can correctly identify the animal, through touch and imagination alone. After each animal is identified, Leidy and the children discuss where it lives, what it’s environment is like, what it eats, whether it’s the kind of animal that lives with a family or out in the wild. The lesson is a hit—the kids have fun, and are exposed to new vocabulary and the world beyond Batey Libertad. It’s also the kind of teaching and learning you see in Leidy’s classroom every day: kids are engaging their senses, exploring and discovering new things every step of the way.

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Next month, Yspaniola will celebrate two full school years in our Preschool Program. What once began as an accompanying pilot to our main Learning Center program, the Preschool Program has grown immensely and now serves 56 children— and at the center of its evolution is Leidy’s passion for education and vision for change. She is decidedly young at only 21 years old, but confidently manages her own classroom, with a poise beyond her years. She is small in stature, but has a commanding voice and a bold, confident vision for what education can look like for the children of Batey Libertad. 

At the start of the year, Leidy transformed the design of the classroom, making it more of an inviting and colorful space, an environment that encourages learning, openness, and collaboration. Now, walking into the preschool classroom in Batey Libertad is like walking into a rainbow. Bright colors abound: sheer curtains in pink and lime green hang from the windows, playful animal rugs dot the carpet, and the floor is painted light blue. The walls are a soft cream color, making the instructional posters pop out and catch the eyes of the classroom’s young students.  

Leidy explained, “I want [my classroom] to be a cozy environment, where the kids feel at home even though here they are enjoying things that don’t really exist in their own homes. I want them to have faith in their teacher, to feel united and like they can work together and share things. I want them to be able to explore, given that they have so little, and feel like the resources we have here are within their reach.”

This focus on community and belonging is not limited merely to the classroom decor and learning activities—it extends to language as well. That’s where her bilingual teaching assistants, Johnny and Yohana, provide critical support, providing Creole translation when necessary and being extra attentive to students who are in the earlier stages of Spanish language acquisition. Although Spanish is the official language of instruction in the classroom, as Leidy explained, “We don’t have a language rule. We don’t prohibit the use of Creole in the classroom.” By validating their language and background, Leidy creates an inclusive environment where all children feel embraced.

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Last year, Yspaniola supported the construction of a backyard park for the preschool classroom. It now serves many important functions for the program: a space to socialize and play, a place to enjoy their morning meal, and a place to exercise and dance, two things the kids do to facilitate gross motor development.

It’s also the perfect place to share stories and build a sense of community in the process. Read alouds are a favorite among the children. In particular, they love listening to Leidy read aloud from the Adventures of Frog and Toad, a different chapter every week. Reading aloud in this way builds critical early literacy skills. For Leidy, the books serve a variety of important educational purposes--exposing students to the Spanish language and building up vocabulary, familiarizing them with elements of narrative, modeling fluent reading and critical engagement with the text, and also an entry point to discuss social emotional learning skills like friendship, problem solving etc.

Preschool is a formative period in a child's development. Particularly for young students that only speak Haitian Creole at home, or have arrived in the Dominican Republic more recently, early exposure to the Spanish language is of paramount importance. Their minds are more malleable, and they are more likely to reach fluency in a second language at this early age.  With teachers like Leidy at the helm, Yspaniola’s students will be better prepared when they enter the formal public school system—in both literacy and language.

Thank you, Leidy, for inspiring Yspaniola’s students and staff alike!   

Yspaniola was founded on our belief in the transformative power of education: to ignite a child’s curiosity, encourage civic participation, and create concrete avenues for economic opportunity. Now heading into our ninth year of operations, Yspaniola is beginning to see the fruits of such educational investments and their reciprocal impacts within the community.

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In early 2017, Yspaniola made a significant change in the Batey Libertad Learning Center’s structure, transitioning our prior volunteer-run model to a local leadership model. For the past six months, the Learning Center has been staffed entirely by teachers and assistants from within the community—individuals who have grown up in the Dominican education system, who share the culture and languages of the local residents, and who are best equipped to meet the needs of Spanish-Creole bilingual students, as well as students learning Spanish for the first time. This movement towards local ownership and leadership of the center is already proving fruitful, and has opened up new avenues for employment and the opportunity for young adults in the community to explore the merits of a teaching career.

With this structural change, an exciting pattern is starting to emerge in Batey Libertad.  

Daniel is one example. A beloved member of the community, Daniel is probably best known for his perpetually beaming smile. He has a gentle and tender nature, but can also be counted on for a good laugh. At only 17 years old, Daniel has quickly emerged as a budding leader in Batey Libertad and is creating a strong career pathway for himself.

Daniel spent the past four and a half years working as a teaching assistant. He provided behavioral support and interventions, contributed to lesson planning discussions, and oversaw playtime outside. With his calming demeanor and playful spirit, the classroom proved to be the perfect place for Daniel.

At the end of this past school semester, Daniel was promoted to Junior Teacher and will be working with the students in Classes 2, 3, and 4 for the remainder of the school year. Daniel has risen to the occasion and we are excited to see the new energy he brings to the class, as well as witness his ongoing growth as an educator. Congrats Daniel!

Daniel’s trajectory reflects the Learning Center’s growth as well. It continues to evolve into a thriving, sustainable fixture in the community, one that unites people around the power of education and provides a pipeline of meaningful opportunities for youth and adults alike. These are the ripples of education Yspaniola strives to create through our programming and strategic decision making. Daniel is just the beginning. Who might be next in this powerful cycle of students becoming teachers?