Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdallah Tuesday launched the Early Grade Reading and Math Project (RAMP) at Dahiet Al Ameer Hassan Basic Mixed School in Amman.

RAMP, a $48 million (JOD 34.1 million) five-year project funded by the United States and the United Kingdom, is designed to improve the reading and math skills of children in Jordan in grades KG1- grade 3. The project is led by RTI International in partnership with the Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA), along with other local teaching orgnisations.

During the launch, the Minister of Education, Mohammad Thnaibat, said, "Improving the quality of reading and math skills among early grade students in Jordan is a major priority for the Ministry of Education (MoE)." Focusing on the steps taken by MoE, Thnaibat informed Her Majesty that new curricula have been adopted for grades 1 – 3 and teachers have been trained on it.

Also speaking at the event, the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan, Alice Wells, said that, "the United States, through USAID and with the support of QRTA, is proud to support the RAMP initiative. We are pleased to partner with the Ministry of Education and the Government of the United Kingdom to launch this new program." Elaborating on the program, she added, "RAMP will work in all schools in Jordan on a country-wide effort to strengthen teachers’ capacities to teach reading and math more effectively, engage parents and communities in their children’s learning, and reform curriculum and materials to best meet the needs of young children in Jordan." "The program will a culture of reading in Jordan that is based on a strong academic foundation, and will continue to ensure that Jordanian education remains competitive, relevant and of top quality," she added.

Praising the work of MoE, U.K. Deputy Head of Mission, Simon Mustard said, "I commend the leadership of the Jordanian Ministry of Education in establishing a Kingdom wide campaign to improve the learning levels of every child." During Her Majesty’s tour at the school she listened to several teachers and students share their experiences with RAMP during the experimental phase and testify to its importance in improving teachers’ skills and students’ performance in math and other subjects as a result of better reading skills.

Her Majesty also toured the school premises and stopped by the KG2 classroom where she attended part of an interactive lesson that utilizes music and technology to deliver information. Queen Rania also made a stop at the school’s computer lab and spoke to several mothers participating in a workshop that develops their skills in teaching their children how to read.

The Queen further watched several students, including three physically challenged students, perform a small play to highlight the level of inclusion within the classroom. She then joined a group of older children demonstrating oral hygiene to younger students.

Located in east Amman, the school was constructed in 2010 by USAID in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. The school consists of 28 classrooms, first aid care, a knowledge centre, administration offices, labs, a kindergarten and multipurpose rooms.

The school has a total of 2,000 students attending both morning and evening shifts and 80 teachers and administrative staff. The student body includes 20 special needs students and around 400 Syrian refugees.