Policies

Bridge Kenya

Context

Bridge Kenya was established to address the need for quality education in underserved communities. Since its first school in 2009, Bridge Kenya has expanded to 30 of 47 counties, offering transformative education to thousands of children.

Solution

Bridge Kenya employs a holistic educational approach to improve learning outcomes in underserved communities. By leveraging technology, it enhances the national curriculum with innovative teaching methods. Classrooms have digital tools to facilitate interactive learning, and teachers receive extensive training to ensure effective delivery. Personalized learning plans cater to individual student needs, while various extracurricular activities foster holistic development. Additionally, Bridge Kenya emphasizes strong community involvement, encouraging active participation from parents to create a supportive educational environment.

Impact

The impact of Bridge Kenya’s approach is evident in the substantial improvements in student performance and overall educational quality. Students at Bridge Kenya schools consistently achieve higher scores on national exams, gaining access to scholarships and placements in top secondary schools and prestigious international institutions. Beyond academic success, students develop critical life skills, confidence, and leadership abilities, preparing them for future challenges. Bridge Kenya's efforts align with national education goals and Sustainable Development Goal 4, significantly enhancing educational standards in Kenya.

A study by Kremer et al. (2022) discovered that primary students in Bridge International Academies advance almost a full academic year more (0.89) than their peers, mastering in two years what typically takes nearly three. For pre-primary students, the benefits are even more pronounced, with these young learners gaining almost an extra year and a half (1.48) of learning, achieving in two years what their counterparts in other schools take three and a half years to accomplish

Analysis

Bridge International Academies’ successful outcomes in Kenya suggest that, with proper adaptation and support, this model can be effectively scaled to other countries; however, it is crucial to understand how to develop a cost-effective and sustainable financing model for the intervention to operate in the long run.