Here's Makoko Dream School Project; an initiative that's breaking barriers to education among children in Lagos waterfront

Dolly Stars School is a tuition-free school run by the Dolly Children Foundation, which helps students who have been out of the education system get back on track with their studies. The foundation has programs in 30 communities that have reached more than 23,000 out-of-school children.

Through community events, direct outreach, and resource sharing, Philadelphia’s reading captains help local kids build early literacy skills while supporting families to make reading part of their daily home life.

How can rural African children learn to read when there are no books in their languages? Save the Children helps kids to create their own books, creating a homemade library for their village.

The Boys' Club of New York addresses the mental health crisis among at-risk boys by providing structured programming, peer mentorship from alumni staff, and a culture of belonging across three clubhouses and roughly 2,500 members.

Since implementing a “science of reading” curriculum, Sharswood school has seen its reading scores jump, with 43 percent of all students scoring proficient or advanced and and more than half of third grade students meeting the mark. Teachers says a big factor in the successful implementation has been the flexibility to tailor resources to each classroom and the support of an onsite literacy coach.

The Tent to School Education Initiative mounts makeshift classrooms in communities where students would normally have to travel long distances to attend classes, leaving them vulnerable to potential safety concerns. In one nomadic settlement, volunteer teachers with the program have helped 70 percent of students improve their numeracy skills, while 65 percent have been able to build reading competencies.

The Teaching at the Right Level program, or TaRL, provides tailored lessons in reading and math to primary students in Borno, grouping them by their level rather than their grade or age for engaging activities designed to build their literacy and numeracy skills. When it was first piloted, the number of students able to read a simple paragraph grew from 14 percent to 45 percent, while the number of students able to complete subtraction problems grew from 11 percent to 59 percent.

The Graficka Street school uses flexible classroom design, dedicated assistants for children with special needs, participatory school culture, and proactive family outreach to create a more inclusive learning environment. Since inclusive education legislation was passed in 2016, the share of students with disabilities educated in mainstream schools has grown from 65% to 77%, with schools like the Graficka Street elementary school helping increase access.

Founded to address the root causes of cattle rustling in Nigeria, such as lack of access to education, as well as raise awareness of Fulani culture, the Fulani Care and Support Foundation set up makeshift classrooms to provide formal education for children aged 7 to 12. By relying on volunteer teachers, one of the foundation’s schools offers lessons for about 50 students three times a week.

To better serve Black students, Joe Shoemaker Elementary School uses “equity cohorts.” Teachers select four to seven students of color who are reading below grade level and then focus on building relationships with them, helping to nurture their social and academic skills. Over the past two years, they’ve seen improved test scores and reading levels among students who participated.