I had an excellent trip to Haiti last week. I made contacts with educators in multiple parts of the country: Carrefour, Leogane, Petit Goave in the west; Port au Prince; and, Cap-Haitien and Limbe in the north. Some highlights:
1. Meeting Dr. Manigat, the vice-rector (vice-president) of Universite Quisqueya, one of the best universities in Haiti. Dr. Manigat was also a former presidential candidate in Haiti and a constitutional law expert. We discussed how UQ and WLU might work together in the future.
2. Meeting with the rector (president) and dean of the the L'Universite Publique du Nord au Cap-Haitien as well as the director of the North Department for the Ministry of Education. We spent an evening dinner as well as a morning in discussions about supporting their programs.
3. Participating in the graduation of 48 students who completed their Master of Education through Laurel University - an amazing experience!
4. Bringing five new Haitian school leaders on board with the Digital Mentoring Project. Research in Motion (RIM) donated 5 Blackberries to these new participants and they were thrilled to receive them!
There were many other meetings as well as opportunity to see parts of Haiti that I have never been to. I am excited about how the capacity which has been built through the M.Ed. - one example is the director of the North for the Ministry of Education who has a new vision for education in Haiti. Leadership capacity is being built and I am glad to be part of the support of it.
About Me
- Steve Sider
- I have been an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Currently, I am a faculty member in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My M.Ed. and Ph.D. had a focus on the educational and linguistic experiences of children who moved from other countries to Canada.
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