Learning Partnerships
"Melissa McMullan, a sixth-grade teacher in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., is head of the Wings Over Haiti School. Her students in both countries work interactively as part of the school’s mission to build learning partnerships. "
Kathleen Parker
Washington Post

What is a Learning Partnership?
   At the heart of the Wings Over Haiti School are mutually beneficial relationships among students around the globe. This school exists as a result of the momentum it gained from students. More importantly, however, students are beneficiaries themselves.

    Wings Over Haiti supports learning in the U.S., Canada and Haiti.  We have facilitated a relationship of equality on all sides. We have termed, this learning partnerships. The academic needs of all participants are determined and curriculum is devised to meet those needs in meaningful ways.

For example, students in the U.S. need to learn fluency. Our children in Haiti need to learn to read in English. Through grants, we received two Flip video cameras and three laptops. In addition, donors contributed many picture books in English, about Haiti. U.S. students will work on fluency and ultimately read the Haitian picture books to the camera, as if they are reading to an audience. The children in Haiti will have the same book in front of them, and watch the video, and follow along as the American student reads to him/her via the video-taped reading.

Service learning makes learning real. Everything we know about learning tells us that we start with determining what our students need to know, and map out an authentic way to get there.


Assignment for those who are interested!

We are seeking videos of your best practice with reading and writing instruction in lower elementary school (K-1). What we are looking for are short videos that show you working with your students in a creative way. We prefer small group instruction, but if you have a really creative whole class lesson, send it on over. These videos will only be published with your consent. They will be used for training purposes with teachers in Haiti. Please email videos to me. Thanks!

Dear Fellow Educator,

The picture to the right shows my students the day they hired the teacher for the Wings Over Haiti School. This unit of study asked them to consider "what makes a good teacher?" They wrote interview questions which each of our teacher candidates was asked in Haiti. Students watched recorded interviews, took notes, and analyzed their notes to render a decision. Was I nervous? Of course! Colleagues, friends and family asked me, "What if they choose the wrong one?" I knew, in my heart, that with the right information and the right thinking, students would make the right decision. And they did.

I am honored to be working with educators from all over the U.S. and Canada, who share my vision for providing rigorous, authentic instruction benefitting not only students here, but students living in Haiti -- the poorest nation in our hemisphere. What never ceases to amaze me is the fact that our students in Haiti come from homes that offer little in the way of food, clothing and shelter. Meanwhile, their education will support learning here as well  - at no cost to tax payers.

Please contact me anytime! You can check in with classroom happenings on my blog or our class webpage.



Warm wishes,
Melissa
Director-Wings Over Haiti School, Haiti
6th Grade English Language Arts
Port Jefferson Station, NY

Please check out our Meet Learning Partners  page to see what is going on right now!