Currently there are more than 59 million teachers at work somewhere in the world. These individuals represent the single largest group of trained professionals in the world.
Out of these 59 million,
Professional development is a hallmark of successful educational systems the world over and teachers know what they need to be successful in the classroom. They need training that will produce results for their students, results that will allow these children to lead productive lives and make positive contributions to their families, communities, regions, nations, and the world. We founded EduCorps to provide the kind of development teachers want from peer educators and the coaching they need to sustain the learning gained.
EduCorps was founded in 2012 by Sara Rich, Marcia Call, and Murutumanga Kabahita. Our mission is to provide high-quality peer-led teacher development programs and ongoing coaching support for teachers operating in conflict-ridden areas. Our work will begin by addressing the educational needs of the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa -- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire), Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi -- working with existing primary and secondary schools. Once our results are demonstrated, we will review opportunities to partner with other professional development organizations in other parts of the world.
Sara Rich, after earning a BA in History and Masters in Teaching at the University of Virginia, began her teaching career at The American School of Kinshasa in the DRC. While teaching middle school history and language arts and serving as the Middle School Coordinator, Ms. Rich also discovered a passion for connecting with teachers in local Congolese schools. After three years in Kinshasa, she moved to Goma in North Kivu, DRC, where she learned Swahili in order to explore the potential of collaboration between international and local teachers to improve the quality of instruction in their classrooms. Inspired by her work with literacy teachers in Goma, Ms. Rich went on to teach reading at Coney Island Prep, a rigorous public charter school in Brooklyn, New York. Currently, Ms. Rich teaches history and serves as the Middle School Curriculum Coordinator at St. John’s International School in Waterloo, Belgium and is the Founder of EduCorps.
Murutumanga Kabahita is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He completed his undergraduate studies with a major in French and a minor in linguistics in 1975 at the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique in Bukavu, Eastern Congo. He served as the Director of Language at the Peace Corps Training Center in Bukavu from 1978-1980. In 1981, he came to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. program in French and linguistics at Vanderbilt University. Concurrently, he served the US Peace Corps as Project Director for education programs in Africa (Congo, Central Africa Republic, and Tanzania) and taught French at Tennessee State University and Belmont University in Nashville. While writing his dissertation at Vanderbilt in 1984, he taught French at Ensworth School and discovered a passion for teaching 12 to 14-year-olds. Currently, Dr. Kabahita teaches middle schoolers French at the prestigious private school, the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia and serves as EduCorps’ Director of Education Programs.
Marcia Call served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Zaire, now the DRC, from 1980-82. Working as a public health volunteer, she lived in a village in the region of North Kivu where she taught basic hygiene and nutrition in Swahili to a rural population of about 10,000. She has a working knowledge of both French and Swahili. Since then, Ms. Call has developed over 30 years of expertise in nonprofit or for profit business management. She serves as the CEO of the corporate recruiting firm, TalentFront, and is a cum laude graduate of Bates College. Ms. Call serves as the EduCorp’s President/CEO.
