Our Programs

Many children are not leaving school with the skills and competencies they need to thrive and succeed

70% of learners in low and middle income countries cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10. The same is true of learners in Sub-Saharan Africa ~ World Bank
70%
Only 5 in 10 Grade 4 learners meet expectations in solving Grade 3 appropriate numeracy problems ~ Usawa Agenda 2021
50%
Only 4 in 10 Grade 4 learners meet expectations in reading a Grade 3 appropriate English text ~ Usawa Agenda 2021
40%

Dignitas supports partner schools to form school leadership teams who are focused on children’s learning and well-being, Dignitas aligns with recommendations of the World Development Report 2018 (World Bank) which suggests that effective school leadership, improved pedagogy, and teacher development and support are key to beating the global learning crisis.

By offering innovative, award-winning, training and coaching to school leadership teams, Dignitas ensures gains for learners.  An indicative study showed that learners in Dignitas supported classrooms learn three times as much in the course of a lesson as their peers in non-Dignitas supported classrooms.  Dignitas’ training and coaching focuses on three pillars, highlighted by an external evaluation as the support most likely to improve learner outcomes: instructional leadership, learner engagement and classroom culture.

Over the period of a school partnership, Dignitas tracks important shifts in leadership and classroom practice that are proven to improve learning outcomes.  We often work alongside government education officers to ensure longer term support and sustainability of impact.

Dignitas’ training follows a series of learning cycles, designed with an emphasis on the modelling and practice of new leadership and classroom strategies that can transform teaching and learning.

Dignitas has uniquely and innovatively embedded coaching and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) within its solution to ensure a long-term pursuit of whole school improvement at the community level.  It does so by building the capacity of the school teams to set and pursue goals for improvement, and the mechanism (PLCs, Peer Coaching) to track and implement new practices aligned to these goals.

Dignitas’ coaching is individualized, school and classroom based support, designed to help transform schools in impactful ways.  Dignitas’ use of teacher and school leader competency rubrics to track growth, and help educators set goals that will improve learning, ensures that coaching and training are in support of a clear framework for improvement.  This is complemented by the regular and consistent use of data to track competency gains and target training and coaching to personalized gaps.

Dignitas has also designed LeadNow!, a set of digital training and coaching tools that seeks to replicate this excellence in remote training and coaching programs.

Dignitas works with a variety of stakeholders to apply our expertise and experience to a range of educational challenges through the lens of school leadership – whether in response to a global pandemic, or to particular challenges faced in Early Years learning, national curriculum reform, or improving outcomes for girls.  Dignitas partners with school leadership teams to build their competency to address the pressing challenges of education.

Our flagship Stawisha Instructional Leadership Institute equips school leaders and teachers to deliver learner centred teaching.  Our Ustadi School Leadership Institute, designed in partnership with Global School Leaders, works with Head Teachers and their Deputies to nurture learner centred leadership.

Our Model

Dignitas uses an innovative, award-winning training and coaching approach to empower schools and educators in marginalized communities to transform students’ opportunities.  Our vision is a world where every school is a vibrant place for children to gain the skills and strength of character to thrive and succeed. Our approach involves a  between Dignitas and carefully selected schools, designed to equip educators to transform education in their community.  School Partnerships include various programs in combination to catalyze transformation and sustain development. Visit our profile on to see our partnership and model in action. Dignitas leverages four key mechanisms to deliver on school partnerships:

Leadership Academy

This series of intensive classroom-based training summits introduces ideas and concepts that empower educators to be inspiring leaders and excellent teachers. The aim is to shift beliefs, attitudes, and values so that educators see the potential in their schools and students. The Leadership Academy lays the foundation for educators to take charge of improving their schools and catalyzes school improvement efforts.

Professional Development Workshops

Our workshops provide targeted professional development for both school leaders and teachers and build more complex knowledge and skills on top of the foundation created in the Leadership Academies. Professional Development Workshops equip educators with the mindsets, tools and techniques they need to ensure all children thrive.

Coaching

Our workshops provide targeted professional development for both school leaders and teachers and build more complex knowledge and skills on top of the foundation created in the Leadership Academies. Professional Development Workshops equip educators with the mindsets, tools and techniques they need to ensure all children thrive.

Professional Learning Communities

Professional Learning Communities help educators to routinize sustainable reflective practice towards whole school improvement. School Leadership teams foster a community of best practices and ensure sustainable professional growth and development continues after the program concludes.

Dignitas Alumni Association

Alumni Association enables ongoing learning and growth, and offers graduates the opportunity to support the professional development of other educators, whilst driving systemic change.

Our Impact

We are thrilled that Dignitas has already benefited over 200K children by improving the quality of their education.

Our approach targets teachers and school leaders, but ultimately, we seek a world where schools are a vibrant place for all children to develop the skills and strength of character to thrive and succeed. When we coach and train an educator, we are not just equipping an individual. We are empowering a leader to transform entire schools and shape the future of their community.
X