Monrovia — As Liberia continues to confront a struggling education system marked by outdated curricula, low teacher morale and poor learning outcomes, a youth-centered initiative is quietly reshaping what secondary education could look like in the country.
At the center of this transformation is RE-Novate, an entrepreneurship academy launched by TRIBE, a Liberian learning organization focused on innovation in education. Through RE-Novate, TRIBE is working to equip high school students with practical, future-ready skills while reimagining the entire ecosystem that supports student success.
"RE-Novate is more than a program. It's a mindset shift," said Elvis M.D. Browne, TRIBE's Director of Learning Solutions, during a five-day training held in Paynesville.
"Our goal is to infuse entrepreneurship and real-world problem-solving into everyday classroom learning," he added.
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The training brought together 30 educators and school leaders from 13 secondary schools to explore RE-Novate's facilitation methods, strengthen leadership, and promote student-centered, data-driven, and entrepreneurship-focused learning.
According to TRIBE's recent survey, RE-Novate fellows reported that the program's participatory and practical learning methodology was significantly more engaging than traditional classroom experiences with about 80% expressing a preference for RE-Novate.
From Pilot to Ecosystem
RE-Novate's core academy is currently active in partner schools, enrolling 52 student fellows--many of them student government leaders. But TRIBE is expanding its reach.
Through its new School Transformation Ecosystem Pilot--an add-on to the RE-Novate model--TRIBE has extended its programming to over 10 high schools across the country.
The pilot aims to integrate RE-Novate's learning model into existing school systems by working directly with both school partners and new collaborators, including those identified through Teachers Farm, a Liberian initiative focused on improving teacher quality.
"This isn't about parachuting in a new curriculum," Browne noted. "It's about co-creating solutions with educators and school leaders to address the real challenges they face in the classroom."
Government Attention and Support
The initiative has caught the attention of Liberia's education authorities. Speaking at the opening of the training session, Deputy Minister for Planning, Research and Development at the Ministry of Education, Samuel Toe, acknowledged the urgent learning crisis facing the country.
"Our children are in school, but they are not learning at the level they ought to," Toe said.
He pointed to widespread literacy and numeracy deficits from grades three through twelve, a shortage of qualified teachers--especially in rural areas--and a significant decline in female participation in STEM subjects.
He emphasized that technology is no longer optional in education. "From AI to distance learning, these are no longer luxuries--they're necessities," Toe added, while also acknowledging the financial constraints facing the sector.
A Systemic Challenge
In a candid address, TRIBE CEO Wainright Acquoi described the deeper structural challenges facing Liberian education. "We are expected to perform miracles with nothing," Acquoi said, referencing crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and underpaid, overworked teachers.
"Teachers are Liberia's most underutilized change agents," he declared. "Yet many earn just $100 to $150 per month. If we don't invest in teachers, we lose the battle before it begins."
Acquoi explained that RE-Novate is evolving into a broader ecosystem model that considers the entire learning environment--including students, teachers, parents, and school leadership.
"We started to see real improvements when we stopped thinking about just students," he said. "Everyone around that student matters."
He also sounded the alarm on long-term consequences. "I've taught sophomore university students who couldn't comprehend basic texts," Acquoi said. "That failure began years earlier."
Educators and school leaders who attended the training described it as very relevant.
Abraham King-Sesay of I Belong to Jesus Preparatory School in West Point shared: "Many parents here can't afford to send their kids to school.
But this training gave me tools to be a better teacher, using students' interests to drive learning and making teaching more about facilitation than instruction." Sesay said he plans to conduct peer training with fellow teachers to pass along the knowledge.
Kimberline Annan, Vice Principal at Lott Carey Baptist Mission School, called the training "a refreshing shift from business as usual." "TRIBE has become like family to us at Lott Carey," she said. "This training gave us strategies we can apply right away to improve student learning. If TRIBE can get the support it needs--especially from government--it could revolutionize education in Liberia."
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Senora Pelham of Kingdom Building International School added: "It's not just about grades anymore. It's about transformation and empowerment. This program showed me how students can solve real-world problems using the skills we teach."
Scaling What Works
The RE-Novate training was funded by the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center through the Liberia Support Program, with support from the Mastercard Foundation. TRIBE is now seeking local and international partners to scale its approach to more schools and counties.
"But the government wants data, and rightly so," Browne said. "We must show them this works--not just that its innovative, but that it's impactful."
As TRIBE continues to test and refine its model through this pilot phase, its team remains focused on evidence, collaboration, and sustainability.
"This is our sandbox," Browne said. "Once we learn what works and what needs refinement, we want to scale this program to more schools and more counties."
