DOMINICAN REPUBLIC EDUCATION AND MENTORING PROJECT INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Dominican students have the lowest educational outcomes in LAC. In the UNESCO Comparative and Explanatory Regional Studies, a curricular analysis of 19 LAC countries, the Dominican Republic has repeatedly scored at the bottom in reading and mathematics. The studies also indicated that the Dominican Republic has the lowest average reading scores for both third and sixth grades and the highest percentage of readers scoring below Level I. According to the results of the PISA international exam, between 2015 and 2018, the average scores of Dominican students in reading and mathematics decreased. Furthermore, in 2015, only 34.87% of Dominicans over the age of 25 had completed upper secondary education and 12.38% had completed post-secondary education, according to the World Bank.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
LITERACY: Reading & Library Programs, My Very Own Library, Teacher Training, DREAM Publications
DREAM implements a unique approach to literacy that is rooted in research-based best practices and includes direct instruction of phonics, decoding, reading comprehension and critical-thinking skills. Through small-group instruction focusing on early literacy intervention, DREAM educators teach young learners to read and emphasize comprehension and critical-thinking skills for older students. Staff participate in professional development opportunities where they are trained on innovative instructional methodologies and classroom management skills.
MONTESSORI ACADEMY: Montessori Preschools, Escuelita de Padres, Integrated Elementary Education
The Montessori Method focuses on alternative educational op¬portunities based on childhood development theories for children ages three to eight. Children are free to explore their intelligence while socially developing. Our program allows children to grow and develop at their own pace while encouraging play and explo¬ration in a safe learning environment. Teachers act as guides who promote and enable students to be independent, taking owner¬ship of their development. The Montessori curriculum focuses on nine key areas: practical life skills, sensory development, math, language, science and culture, art, gross motor skills, character development and family integration.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP: Deportes para la Vida, Unica, Luchadores por el Cambio, A Ganar, Scholarships
DREAM believes that holistic youth development is key to ensuring that youth have the opportunity to live safe, healthy and produc¬tive lives, which ultimately strengthens the communities in which they live. Youth development programs protect the basic rights of vulnerable youth, encourage personal growth, promote positive behavior change and develop future leaders. Our programs foster healthy decision-making at critical moments so that youth do not just survive – they thrive.
BACHATA ACADEMY
The Bachata Academy is the only music program in the world that focuses on teaching bachata, merengue and kompa. A music education focused on local traditions motivates children, empowers commu¬nities and preserves diversity. The Academy adjuncts the DREAM Project’s flagship campus in Cabarete’s Callejón de la Loma and offers free intensive music classes to children of surrounding com¬munities. The Academy’s highly qualified professors endeavor to transmit their knowledge of bachata to future generations, while encouraging children to develop their own musical expression.
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS: Luceros, Department of Psychology, ESL, Sports, Summer Camp, Eco-DREAM
DREAM believes in holistic community development that begins with access to high-quality education, from early childhood to primary school and beyond. We realize that education is just one piece of the puzzle to end extreme poverty in the Dominican Re-public. Through our community programs, we provide additional services, including birth registrations and documentation, psychological intervention and training, summer enrichment and crisis response.
Where we work
Awards
Premios Brugal Cree en su Gente Education Category 2014
Brugal Foundation
Premios ALAS-BID Best Center 2015
Inter-American Development Bank & ALAS Foundation
Winner of Ibero-American Award for Human Rights Education Óscar Arnulfo Romero 2022
SM Foundation and the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI)
Literacy Awards Best Practices Honoree 2022
Library of Congress
International Literacy Prize Recipient 2023
UNESCO
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The DREAM Project aims to provide inclusive, innovative, community-based education for all children and youth in the Dominican Republic. At DREAM, learning never stops, and opportunity is our great equalizer. DREAM is a non-profit organization that provides Dominican children and youth living in poverty with access to high-quality education and development opportunities, enabling them to enjoy productive, healthy, and educated lives. At DREAM, we believe that learning changes lives. DREAM's programs extend from early childhood through young adulthood, empowering at-risk children and youth to create a better future for themselves and their families through literacy, high-quality Montessori preschool education, youth leadership, music instruction and community enrichment programs. To continue to support our families while keeping their health and safety at the forefront during this pandemic, DREAM is providing educational materials and online resources to thousands of children, youth and community members while they remain safely at home through #DREAMenCASA (#DREAMatHOME).
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We ensure successful results through careful analysis, a commitment to learning, and continuous improvement. Our innovative approach effectively addresses local needs and can be replicated throughout high-poverty global communities. We operate all our programs under the following values:
INCLUSION
We respect diversity and fight to overcome prejudices, promoting the integration and coexistence of different.
INTEGRITY
We act with respect, responsibility, honesty and authenticity, supporting our words with our actions.
OPPORTUNITY
We believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to learn and develop, and we create the right conditions for them to thrive.
QUALITY
We strive to continuously improve our programs, providing excellent service and steadfast commitment to always producing the best results.
SUSTAINABILITY
We develop programs that can be successfully implemented and replicated in other communities across the country, leaving behind the necessary tools for future generations to continue their development.
TRANSPARENCY
We aim to track every achievement and dollar spent on our programs and report every issue.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
For over 20 years, the DREAM Project has operated quality educational programming based on the needs and challenges of our communities. DREAM has a demonstrated track record of long-term, sustainable impact in the communities that we serve. DREAM is an organization for the community by the community, which we put into practice with a staff drawn largely from the local community, and community leaders contribute to the creation, implementation and evaluation of our programs. DREAM also maintains a relationship with public schools and NGOs in the region with which we collaborate to address the community’s challenges.
DREAM Project is a results-based organization. We believe that every dollar spent on programs should have the greatest impact possible, and our staff members and volunteers carefully define program goals and measure program progress and achievements to deliver services that are effective in meeting the toughest challenges in our communities. DREAM's team of more than 110 employees works diligently to bring the organization’s diverse programs to life. The majority of DREAM staff come from and continue to live in the same communities where the program participants come from, helping staff to not only address their needs, but also to provide empathetic support with a comprehensive understanding of the situation. Additionally, several staff members and staff members’ children participate in DREAM programs, which puts them in the unique position to provide informed perspectives on the participant experience and make meaningful suggestions for improving operations.
The Executive Board of Directors commits to covering all operational and administrative expenses of the organization. As such, general (unrestricted) donations received go directly to the programs. In addition, DREAM’s endowment has been established to ensure the sustainability of our organization. One of the Executive Board's commitments to our communities is to leave no one behind. With the endowment, DREAM is able to react and sustain itself when there is financial uncertainty that could cause interruptions to our programs. This critical resource enables our organization to continue operating regardless of national or international issues or crises.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
DREAM’s transformative education programs respond to gaps in the national education system and empower at-risk children and youth to create a better future for themselves and their families. Through innovative approaches to literacy, early childhood education, youth leadership, music instruction and community support, DREAM promotes critical thinking, creativity and independence to enrich lives and strengthen sustainable communities. Throughout the two decades that DREAM has been working in the Dominican Republic, it has grown as a sustainable and reliable organization that provides high-quality programs based on community needs and challenges. In recent years, DREAM has accomplished the following innovations to ensure sustainability of its work:
I. Technological advances: Conducting science experiments, creating art projects, and integrating innovative technology into learning activities are not common for a Dominican student in traditional Dominican public schools. Furthermore, access to technology is quite low, with only 20.2% of households across the country having a computer at home, according to the National Statistical Office of the Dominican Republic. DREAM actively works to combat barriers to education and fill gaps in students’ learning, and we continue to innovate in order to foster our students’ development. The Wings Foundation (Phoenix Tower International) and Altice Foundation graciously donated funds for a technology classroom, including fiber optic internet and a renovated high-tech space, at the DREAM Center. Two technology grants from the US Embassy and the Breteau Foundation have provided DREAM with tablets across various programs to be used exclusively by our students for their technology and language development.
II. Facility expansion: In March 2022, Charlie’s Foundation, another organization that served the Cabarete community through English as a Second Language, physical literacy, career preparation and summer camp programs, and DREAM merged to better serve the communities in and around Cabarete. The updated space is called DREAM en Charlie (DREAM at Charlie). At this new space, DREAM advances Charlie's Foundation's mission of providing language and life skills training to local youth to promote lifelong success in the community workforce by continuing Charlie’s Foundation’s programs and adding DREAM’s own Literacy, Montessori Academy, Youth Leadership and Bachata Academy programs on site.
III. Tutor en Casa: DREAM created Tutor en Casa, a six-week program that trains parents to become at-home educators to reinforce their children's learning, in response to the pandemic. Tutor en Casa caters to a wide spectrum of parent learning styles and literacy levels to empower them to be confident in their new skills. Parents have access to educational material and information, implement learning activities, receive professional support and are evaluated on their progress.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC EDUCATION AND MENTORING PROJECT INC
Board of directorsas of 02/01/2024
Michel Zaleski
Michel Zaleski
Marie Josee Barshi
William S. Friedman
Mirtha Cabral McQuilling
Lucy N. Friedman
Catherine DeLaura
Benjamin de Menil
Adriano Espaillat
Karla Farach de Athanasopoulos
Katharine Zaleski
Spencer W. Kimball
Kevin P. Manning
Ana Galán
Letty Gutierrez
Ana Karen Peralta-Morales
Cledenin Veras
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/02/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.