AIR Issues $500,000 Grant to Impact Network to Help it Strengthen High-Quality Education in Zambia
Washington, D.C. – The American Institutes for Research (AIR) awarded a $500,000 grant to Impact Network, a nonprofit seeking to make high-quality education in Zambia sustainable. Impact Network will use the funds to develop new intervention programs and strengthen existing work before expanding its eSchool 360 model in the southern African nation.
“AIR is excited to collaborate with the Impact Network – an innovative organization dedicated to improving the quality of education for disadvantaged children in rural Zambia – whose mission closely aligns with AIR's,” said AIR Senior Vice President Mark Kutner. “Together we believe evidence for sustainable, low-cost solutions to the country’s education quality problem can be generated and produce more opportunities for rural Zambian students.”
With 91 percent of Zambian students failing to meet educational standards, Impact Network developed eSchool 360, which provides rural teachers with classroom technologies and professional development. Each participating classroom receives a projector and tablet filled with activity-based lesson plans. Teachers are observed weekly and receive feedback and training.
The New York-based nonprofit operates in 10 schools and serves more than 2,000 students, in partnership with Zambia’s Ministry of Education and the company, iSchool, at a cost of $3 a month per student.
“We are excited to partner with AIR to help fulfill our mission to bring quality education to underserved students across rural Zambia,” Impact Network Executive Director Reshma Patel said. “This collaboration will allow us to document and disseminate our model to policymakers and change-makers across the country. It will also enable us to develop and implement new, innovative programs that help our students and communities.”
The grant will be dispersed in installments over three years. To learn more about Impact Network and the eSchool 360 project, visit www.impactnetwork.org.
About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.
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