Academy for Educational Development

AED/CEDEM AND BOEING CELEBRATE SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES

--Nearly 2,000 'Blue Packs' Distributed to Students in Participating Schools--

ACCRA, GHANA,  May 15, 2007 — Nearly 2,000 “blue packs” of school supplies are being distributed today and tomorrow to mark the success of a public-private partnership between AED/CEDEM and Boeing International Corporation during the first year of its implementation.

The blue packs—which are waterproof backpacks containing supplies such as a ruler, notebook, pencils, a pen, a folder, and a multiplication table —are being given to all of the students in five schools: Pantang Hospital School; Pantang Village Presby School; Abokobi Presby School; Agbogba Anglican I; Agbogba Anglican II.

“AED/CEDEM appreciates Boeing’s support of our efforts to enrich the quality of teaching and effectiveness of learning in these schools,” said Stephen Manu, the director of AED/CEDEM, a local NGO based in Accra. “The blue packs are a symbol of the success of this partnership and provide students with the basic tools they need to work in the classroom and at home.”

The blue packs are a part of a larger, three-year, comprehensive school-improvement program that is funded by Boeing International Corporation and operated by AED/CEDEM. A core feature of the program is intensive professional development focused on math and English instruction, curriculum improvement, classroom organization, and continuous assessment.

AED/CEDEM’s efforts have been so successful that enrollment has increased by close to 20 percent in the participating schools. The head teacher of the Pantang Hospital Primary School said that the increase was because “parents in the surrounding communities have heard about the instruction improvement and increased learning that is occurring since the introduction of Boeing-supported programs in these five schools.”

Peter B. Johnson, senior vice president of global resource development and cause marketing for AED said “Boeing’s leadership has prompted other local Ghanaian and multi-national organizations and corporations to support AED/CEDEM.”

AED (www.aed.org) is a nonprofit organization working in all the major areas of human development with a focus on improving education, health, and economic opportunities for the least advantaged in the United States and developing countries throughout the world.

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