Amman – Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA) launched the second phase of “Cultivating Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environment” program today, September 6, 2016 in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Jordan. The second phase, which will continue to be funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will run until July 2019 and train 6000 teachers in 300 schools.  The program aims to support MOE’s efforts to overcome consequences from the aftermath and continuous unrest in Syria which is affecting  Jordanian teachers in their classrooms by providing teachers with the necessary skills to handle large numbers of students who are going through post-conflict crisis, and ensure and accommodate their inclusion. The program will also continue to address students’ psychosocial needs and enhance the capacity of teachers in giving equal opportunities to Jordanian students to acquire a purposeful education in a safe and supportive learning environment across the schools of Jordan.

“Jordan has welcomed over 145,000 Syrian students into its schools since 2012 and the number continues to grow. That is an incredible and generous achievement on the part of the Jordanian government,” said USAID Deputy Mission Director Nancy Eslick at the event.

Mr. Faris Karsheh Head of the Projects Management Unit at QRTA presented the final, summative evaluation results for phase I. He noted that since 2013, QRTA has worked under this project on two different streams. The Teachers Professional Development stream has trained 4,986 educators from 427 schools across Jordan   The Model Community Schools stream has  indirectly benefited 110,908 students and 1,166 Community members.

QRTA’s CEO Mr. Haif Banayan confirmed the importance of the continued support of the MOE’s efforts to elevate and maintain the quality of education in Jordan.

QRTA is an independent organization working to further Her Majesty’s vision of improving education in Jordan, and stimulating educational advancement across the Middle East. It does this through empowering teachers with much needed skills, valuing their role in society, and providing them with the support they need in theirclassrooms.

QRTA officially launched in June 2009 to work on specialized professional development trainings that address teachers’ needs specifically in Jordan, and generally in the Arab world, in partnership with MOE.

The United States government has provided foreign assistance from the American people to Jordan for more than 60 years, through USAID.