ALE Looks to the Future

A Letter from the Liberia Reads! Executive Director and Liberia Reads! Country Director

Dear ALE Friends and Colleagues:

It is the nature of life that things change. Humans are born helpless-- completely dependent on others for their needs to be addressed. In time they grow, become more competent, make mistakes, learn from their mistakes, and eventually, with luck and hard work, develop the capacity to take charge of their own lives. Organizations follow the same pattern and the Liberia Reads Association of Literacy Educators (ALE) is no exception.

In 2009, Liberia Reads! began with 2 schools and 2 grades in 1 county. It was entirely dependent on assistance from the United States and all training was done by non-Liberians. As of 2023, the ALE has expanded to 7 grades in 47 schools in 5 counties. All new LR schools now pay the cost of training, meals, and materials, and 98% of all training is done by certified Liberian trainers. ALE is a legal Liberian NGO, has its own board of directors, by-laws, professional standards and bank account, and it is the only recognized affiliate of the International Literacy Association in Liberia. In short, ALE has grown up in these last 15 years and what an impressive entity it has become!

We believe it is now time for ALE to look to the future. Our by-laws state that the Mission of the ALE is to "promote national literacy by strengthening the pedagogical, methodological, and content knowledge of ECE and primary grade teachers and administrators". And one of the stated Beliefs of the ALE, also in its by-laws, is "that in order for the ALE mission to be sustained, organizational leadership and the sharing of literacy pedagogy must be in the hands of Liberians". To this end, on August 30, 2022, we met with the Liberian leadership of ALE to discuss future steps. After a productive meeting, among other things, the following timeline was agreed upon:

1) August of 2023: ALE would advertise the job position of a new Liberian Liberia Reads! Country Director;
2) December of 2023: a new LR Country Director would be selected from the eligible applicants;

3) August, 2024: the new LR Country Director would assume office and the outgoing Director (Lyn Gray) and Executive Director (Geri Melosh) would spend one year mentoring this person;

4) August, 2025: the new LR Country Director would assume full responsibility for the position.

This is a bittersweet decision for us. Working with the principals and teachers has brought so many joyful moments along with many challenges through which we have learned a lot. Most importantly, it has brought the thrill of success that most people don't have the good luck to experience in a lifetime. It will be hard to make this change, but we see the skills and dedication of those who will carry the various Liberia Reads! programs forward and we are completely confident that they will be successful.

Be assured that Lyn and I will remain very involved in the future of ALE and Liberia Reads. The new Director will report monthly to us and we will both continue to fund raise in the U. S., provide consulting sessions with the new leadership on an as-needed basis, and assist with recruitment of new schools. Above all, you will have our prayers for your continued success in promoting and strengthening literacy for the children of Liberia.

Warm regards,

Dr. Geri Melosh & Mrs. Lyn Gray

The following download is the job position announcement for the Liberia Reads! Country Director (deadline for submission: December 15, 2023)

DOWNLOAD job ...ft-8.docx