Literacy for Dominican-Haitian Youth in the Batey

This school year, our team at Yspaniola is doing meaningful work to help children learn, grow, and build confidence. Across our preschool and Learning Center, we are paying close attention to each student’s needs and adapting our teaching to give them the support they need to move forward.

One of our priorities is strengthening handwriting skills. We have noticed that many students need additional support to form letters correctly. This has given us a clear opportunity to reinforce the foundations of writing through engaging, age-appropriate practice.

Our educators have been incorporating more tracing and handwriting activities to develop fine motor skills. These exercises help children practice the coordination and control they need to write, while giving them opportunities to work patiently and at their own pace.

To build on these efforts, we are working to obtain handwriting practice workbooks, or caligrafías, for our students. These materials will provide structured opportunities to practice strokes, shapes, and letters, complementing the guidance children receive from their teachers. Our goal is to help students become more comfortable with writing so they can increasingly use it to express their ideas and participate in classroom learning.

For us, progress begins with understanding where a child needs support and responding with care, practical tools, and consistent encouragement. This school year, we are bringing that approach to the everyday work of helping our students become stronger writers.

Thank you to our GlobalGiving community for standing alongside Yspaniola and the children of Batey Libertad. We look forward to sharing more as we secure these materials and continue supporting our students’ learning.