Creative Language-Based Learning (CLBL) Foundation is a non-profit, educational initiative designed to improve the learning ability of students across Jamaica by developing a community of trained educators, skilled in the delivery of differentiated, research validated, literacy and numeracy programmes.

The goal of the CLBL Foundation Programme is to have this learning methodology institutionalised and implemented nationally through the Ministry of Education, Youth, Skills and Information (MOEYSI), as part of the Pre-Service Teacher Training Curriculum and to provide additional training for qualified teachers.

The objective of the CLBL Programme is to create a community of educators who make data informed decisions about their students’ learning needs, set targeted goals to develop areas of weakness and implement an effective remediation programme that  allows students to learn to their full potential. These educators share their knowledge, skills, and best practices of the programmes with colleagues and communities, thus fostering the implementation of a sustainable, system-wide Response to Intervention (RtI) programme, applicable to all aspects of a given curriculum.

Since its initiation in 2017, the CLBL Foundation Literacy and Numeracy Teacher Training Programme, with the endorsement of the Ministry of Education and Youth, has facilitated the training of 343 teachers in sensory cognitive, process-based instruction, specifically that of Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes®. Currently the Programme is implemented in 123 schools within 13 parishes.

CLBL Foundation Literacy & Numeracy Teacher Training Programme consists of the following components:

The Seeing Stars®, Visualizing & Verbalizing® Workshops which  develop the imagery-language foundation that underlies reading, spelling, language comprehension, memory and critical thinking.

The On Cloud Nine® Visualizing and Verbalizing for Maths Workshop, that stimulates the ability to image and verbalise the concepts underlying maths processes. Concept and numerical imagery are integrated with language and applied to maths computation and problem solving.
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A one-day Test Administration Orientation Workshop by Lindamood-Bell® provides intensive instruction on the administration of formal and informal Needs Assessments.

The Summer Learning Sessions module further solidifies the teachers’ knowledge of the programme steps and language.
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The primary goal of the Summer Learning Sessions is to give participating teachers an opportunity for supervised immersive practice. Newly trained teachers who complete the Seeing Stars® (SI™), Visualizing and Verbalizing® (V/V®) and On Cloud Nine® (“OCN”)  workshops, learn and practise the Instructor Stage, while teachers from previous cohorts continue their professional development in the Diagnostic, Pacer and Mentor Stages. A secondary goal is to give participating students a jumpstart with instruction in reading, spelling, comprehension, critical thinking and maths in preparation for the new school year.

The CLBL Foundation provides Year-Round Instructional Mentorship Development through Job-Embedded Coaching, for teachers from all cohorts who have successfully completed all workshops. These teachers are immersed in the methodology through school-based instruction delivered by the trained CLBL Foundation Coaches.

Year-Round Job-Embedded Coaching takes participating teachers through the Four Stages of Development to become Local Instructional Mentors.

Local Instructional Mentors (LIMs) must demonstrate the following in each stage of the programme:

• Instructor Stage – Expertise with the Seeing Stars®, Visualizing & Verbalizing® and On Cloud Nine® programs plus competencies and skills associated with differentiated instruction.


• Diagnostician Stage – Effective use of formative, summative, and in-class data to build learning profiles for students, while measuring progress and responding accordingly.


• Pacer Stage – Construction of targeted, effective lesson plans for students based on real-time probing and observations.

CLBL Foundation Literacy and Numeracy Training Programme instructs teachers in the Lindamood-Bell® methodologies for developing the reading, spelling, comprehension, critical thinking, and numeracy skills of their students; supporting the transfer of learning into practice and substantially expanding the reach of the programme.

The CLBL Coaches, assist the Local Instructional Mentors, (LIMs), with the organisation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for teachers within their schools and regions. The establishment of these PLCs facilitate a local, collaborative, support network. The knowledge and skills shared are in line with the updated standards set by the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) and school leadership. These educators share the learned methodologies with colleagues fostering the implementation of a sustainable, system-wide Response to Intervention (RtI) programme, applicable to all aspects of a given curriculum.

The CLBL Coaches and Local Instructional Mentors (LIMs), introduce Comprehensive School Partnerships within schools, which are specifically focused on ensuring the sustainability of the CLBL Foundation Programme.

In an effort to further support participating teachers, ,Webinars are delivered monthly and invitations are extended to the entire populace of Jamaican teachers and various stakeholders.

At participating schools, the CLBL Foundation’s trained team conducts overviews and informative sessions on the programmes, providing parents and guardians with support and guidance to help their children.

CLBL Foundation Literacy & Numeracy Teacher Training Programme is considered 'a learning recovery strategy which would ensure that students who have fallen behind receive the support that they need to catch up to expected learning targets.

The intervention of CLBL Literacy & Numeracy Teacher Training Programme is sustainable and manifests at the community level with trained teachers being assets in their own communities, providing support to both adult learners and children. Honed literacy skills allow students to access higher levels of education, increasing their employability and possibly breaking the intergenerational cycle of violence and poverty. For impact to be felt across the island, this initiative must continue into the next decade.