On Friday, August 26, 2016, Gataivai Primary School officially opened their Creative Learning Center.  

The center aims to provide a much-needed dynamic and vibrant space that improves rural youths’ ability to compete academically.  

The idea is that this initiative will hopefully set the standard for other Samoan communities to establish creative learning centers within their primary schools.  

These centers will provide a wonderfully rich opportunity for students in underserved, rural communities to thrive, becoming future leaders not only in their local communities but nationally.  

The centers provide students with access to dynamic learning resources that foster critical thinking and leadership skills, spark creativity, and build English literacy capacity.  

In addition, the Gataivai Creative Learning Center aims to provide teachers with resources and necessary training to utilize the center to enhance teaching and create dynamic lesson plans.  

Gataivai Primary School’s Creative Learning Center is one of two centers, the second located in Gataivai, funded by the U.S. Embassy’s Regional English Language Office (RELO).  The total grant funding for both centers was approximately WST$50,000. 

The spark for the Creative Learning Centers came from two Peace Corps Volunteers, one located at each school, each of whom worked with their schools to bring the project to life. 

Gataivai Primary School allocated the center’s funds towards establishing a computer lab with educational software, building an English library, providing art supplies, and expanding available resources for teachers. 

The main goal of the Gataivai Creative Learning Center is to equip students and teachers with creative resources and a dynamic space to improve literacy.