WE-CARE Foundation, a local not-for-profit educational organization, has ended a 2-day stakeholders' workshop which brought together over 90 participants comprising principals, PTA chairs, community leaders, county and district educational officers from three counties: Bomi, Margibi, and Montserrado Counties and authorities from the Ministry of Education.

According to T Michael Weah, Executive Director of WE-CARE Foundation, the workshop was aimed at familiarizing school authorities and other educational stakeholders about its teacher training and school support program, Reading Liberia, and to build consensus on ownership as the program expands.

Reading Liberia, Mr. Weah pointed out, is a comprehensive readership program that trains teachers in best teaching practices that promote and encourage participatory learning and critical thinking that enable students to question, examine, debate and analyze materials as they learn. Reading Liberia also trains writers, illustrators and publishers who produce culturally-relevant readers that tell Liberian stories through which the Liberian children can identify themselves.

Since its inception in June 2008, the Reading Liberia program has trained over 1,241 teachers, renovated and setup over 27 school libraries/reading rooms.

Meanwhile at the end of the workshop, 27 principals signed a memorandum of understanding, committing their schools to the full implementation of Reading Liberia delivery plan. The first training for teachers of the 27 schools is scheduled for August 17-20, 2013.

The Reading Liberia program is implemented by the WE-CARE Foundation with support program from the Canadian Organization for Development through Education-CODE.