Academic Bridge Program

The A.E.E. Academic Bridge Program provides vulnerable children with the support and attention they need to excel in primary and secondary education.  
The majority of children benefiting from this program have never attended a schooling program in the past.   These children suffer a complete lack of literacy, mathematics, and language skills, and are unable to cope in a traditional classroom environment. 

The overall aim is raise the child’s academic abilities to the point that they can attend school comfortably, and with confidence, along side peers of their own age. 

By lending financial assistance to an A.E.E. child, you are giving the encouragement, tools, and attention required to keep a life on the right path.  Working exclusively with impoverished children in high density brothel districts of Phnom Penh, inclusion in our program is often the only buffer between the child and a life of poverty, prostitution, and crime. 

In a two step sponsorship process, your child will be given an opportunity to break free from the cycle of poverty that has characterized their young lives. 

Target Demographics

Children are selected for the A.E.E. academic bridge program by our local outreach workers.  To be eligible , the child must meet the following criteria:

1)  Low socioeconomic status, precluding enrollment in primary school due to over burdensome school fees.

2)  Resident of a high density brothel districts (living either inside a brothel, or within 100 meters of a brothel).

Furthermore, A.E.E. has set a goal of a greater than 1:1 female:male enrollment ratio by the end of 2008, necessitating that vacancies be periodically maintained to allow adequate access to girls and young women.

The Sponsorship Process

Once selected, each child undergoes an extensive interview process allowing their specific needs to be delineated.  Their academic history, if any, is discussed, as well as financial and social stressors within the family unit. 

A meeting with the program manager and teacher is arranged, and an assessment test to demonstrate the child's current academic abilities is carried out.  Once completed, the child is assigned to a specific academic bridge class based on their age and abilities.  A minimum length of time in the bridge program is ascribed by the teacher, which may range from 4 weeks to more than one year.

Following completion of the predetermined period of time, the child's progress will be reviewed by the program manager and teacher.  A second assessment test will be carried out to judge their progress.  If they have progressed to the point of being proficient with age appropriate materials in both language and math skills, they will be deemed ready for placement in an external school program.

External school programs will be chosen by the program manager based on the specific needs of the individual child.  Only reputable area schools are included in the selection process.  Once enrolled in an external program, A.E.E. staff will meet on a monthly basis with the child to review their transition progress.  Successes and failures will be addressed, and extra tutoring, if necessary, will be arranged.     

Where Your Money Goes

Phase One: During the period while the child is attending A.E.E's Academic Bridge Program, his/her sponsorship money will go towards: 

• School books and course materials
• School uniform
• Teacher's salary
• Teacher's assistant's salary
• Lunch Program costs
• Transportation to school
• Academic Bridge Program capital expenditures

Phase Two: During the period while the child is placed in the regular school system, his/her sponsorship money will go towards: 

• Tuition fees
• School books and course materials
• School uniforms
• Lunch program costs
• Transportation to school