Education for Everyone was created by LIFE, the Ministry of Education and the Department of Education Services (DES) in March 2020 following school lockdowns, to offer a solution for children who did not have access to hardware to accommodate distance and home learning. This solution needed to encompass the provision of laptops, WiFi or internet access and imaging services. The Foster’s Group, R3 Foundation, KPMG, Cayman National Bank, PWC Cayman, Rotary Grand Cayman Sunrise, Digicel, Flow, Logic, Cayman Airways, and an anonymous donor worked alongside LIFE and DES to provide over 1,600 laptops to students in need, along with WiFi or cabled internet access. Through their support of the Education for Everyone Project (E4E), a large number of families now have access to resources to accommodate after-school and at-home learning.

Studies suggest a child’s relationship with literacy starts at home. LIFE commits to breaking the cycle of low literacy by encouraging parental involvement in youth education. Our Partners in Print (PIP) workshops connect parents, children and teachers in a neutral environment where they can work on key early literacy skills and strategies together. Encouraging family involvement in a child’s education is an important part of raising standards across the public education system. LIFE partners with each school Principal to run PIP programmes for students in the government primary schools on Grand Cayman, with parent outreach activity on Cayman Brac.

Now operating independently in schools, Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) is a small-group supplementary literacy intervention programme designed to help teachers provide intensive instruction for the lowest achieving students at their grade level using leveled reading books. LIFE partnered with the Ministry of Education to run LLI programmes for primary and high school students in the government schools across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.

DORA (Diagnostic Online Reading Assessments) is used before and after the intervention programme to gauge student progress. Past DORA testing results have shown reading level improvement across the board while 12% of students enrolled in the programme made over one whole school year’s growth in their reading levels.

This LIFE programme was made possible by the generous support of corporate sponsor, Walkers.

Thanks to funding from Rotary Sunrise, LIFE provided students and staff at East End Primary School with Read Write Inc Spelling, a robust, fast-paced spelling programme for children in Years 2-6. The donation included student practice books, spelling logbooks, online instructional resources, and professional development to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to successfully implement the programme with fidelity and deliver effective, exciting, and exceptional spelling instruction.

“East End Primary School is most grateful for the kind donation from LIFE and Rotary Sunrise. They have made a great investment in our students, our staff and our school…we look forward to the positive impact Read Write Inc. Spelling will have on student achievement.”

— Allison Greaves, Principal

Kindly sponsored by Deloitte, East End Primary School was delighted to receive a donation of Read Write Inc Literacy & Language, a complete literacy programme for fluent readers in Years 2 to 6. The beautifully written stories and non-fiction texts are written by well-known authors to engage children in studying whole texts. Included are detailed lesson plans for teaching comprehension, vocabulary and grammar, giving teachers time to prepare engaging lessons that teach students to discuss texts with increasing maturity.