USAID’s Afghan Children Read project helped start Teacher Learning Circles (TLCs) in Herat to provide a forum for teachers to discuss the challenges they faced in adopting the Ministry of Education’s new early grade reading model. TLCs are being piloted in several schools, convening teachers for monthly sessions focused on sharing experiences on encouraging students, assessing performance, and utilizing new and interactive teaching methods.

Khaja Jeer School is in the eastern part of the Robat Sangi District and is one of the TLC’s program clusters in Herat. Early grade reading student enrollment in the past few years has been near zero in many of the schools in this area due to their remote location. Before the launch of the TLC program at the school, teachers did not have any regular meetings or opportunities to sit together, discuss common problems, and share lessons learned around implementing new teaching methodologies.

After witnessing the impact of the TLC program on the quality of early grade reading instruction delivered to students, more and more principals of schools are expressing interest in starting similar circles of their own.

“Gathering people together to talk about the problems and challenges they are facing and finding solutions for these problems to avoid clashes and misunderstandings has always been a dream for me and many other school principals,” said circle facilitator Mr. Abdul Fatah Qarizada “Through the TLCs, now I am witnessing that teachers are seeking perfection in and encouraging one another to make their teaching methodologies perfect.” He added.