About
About the Teacher
Hi! My name is Katelyn Omans and I'm an English teacher, born in New York, USA. I've been living in Rio de Janeiro since 2014. Some info about me:
● Graduated Summa Cum Laude in English Education as a Second Language from SUNY
(the State University of New York College at Cortland, New York)
● Worked as a Fulbright scholar in Brazil, providing support as an assistant professor for aspiring English teachers in different areas of the Amazon in the state of Pará: Santarém, Juruti, Alenquer, Itaituba
● English teacher for executive managers and directors from some of the largest international companies in Brazil
● Entrepreneur with a broad, self-taught knowledge in business and project management, online education, self-development, time management, organizational skills, etc.
● Extensive experience working with clients from all areas: higher education (university professors from UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), UFRRJ (Rural Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro), and UFF (Federal Fluminense University), providing personalized, premium educational experiences
● Currently act as a community leader to support business and project management, with a startup educational project that stemmed from volunteer work at the Youth Reference Center in Morro do Cantagalo.
Our Mission
Here at Top International Project, we’re transforming lives by providing access to high-quality educational opportunities for children, teens, and adults, promoting lifelong connections in a safe, supportive, and culturally inclusive environment.
What We Do
We offer English classes (in person and/or online) for learners of all ages and ability levels, including children, high school students, university students, and professionals in the fields of business, technology, communications, humanities, tourism, and many other areas. Our services are also ideally-suited to those who are preparing for proficiency exams such as TOEFL and IELTS, as well as for all those who want to acquire fluency and confidence in the English language through highly personalized classes covering topics of students’ personal interests. The materials and methods used are selected based on the students’ professional goals and current and aimed mastery of the language.
Our Values
The Dream Behind the Business
Katelyn Omans founded the Top International Project to provide opportunities to people who otherwise wouldn’t have them, just as she was given in her own life (having been adopted as a child). While growing up, she received endless support and care for her well-being and development, including access to high quality educational opportunities and, thus, a chance in life. (Learn more about her story here.) Part of the earnings from paid classes and courses support the development of our educational project, which is
located at the top of Morro do Cantagalo, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located between the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.
More about the project:
Our project seeks to empower disadvantaged, underprivileged young people by equipping them with the English language and entrepreneurial skills they need as a means to increase their self-confidence and employability. In doing so, we help empower them to escape the poverty cycle, avoid risky behaviors, and improve their overall work and life perspectives.
Unemployment among youth is considered to be one of the main challenges facing not only favela communities but Brazil as a whole. In Brazil, as many as 32% of young people between the ages of 15-24 are unemployed.
Brazil is one of the countries with the largest social and income inequalities in the world. According to BBC News Brazil, the richest 10% of people in the country holds almost 59% of the total wealth; moreover, in 2021, the poorest 50% holds only 0.4% of Brazilian wealth.
These discrepancies are highly evident in “favelas,” where the majority of the population is low-income, the opportunities are scarce, and the unemployment rate is extremely high.
According to CNN Brazil, 54% of residents from favelas in Rio de Janeiro lost their jobs during the pandemic, highlighting that of the people who kept their jobs, around 34% are liberal professionals or informal workers, with only 12% of residents keeping their formal jobs.
It is a well-known fact that employment opportunities, along with other improvements in life, are directly related to education. Unfortunately, in Brazil, young people are four times more likely to be out of school as children and twice as likely as teenagers. Along with the lack of employment opportunities, it’s also possible to perceive the lack of educational opportunities in the favelas.
With the pandemic, the educational situation in the favelas worsened further when distance learning was adopted. Due to the crisis, many public school students did not receive online classes. The majority of students that live in favelas spent several months without the opportunity to continue their studies, and the detrimental effects can be seen widely in school-aged children, especially those in the initial stages of literacy development. Between 2019-2021, there was a 66.3% increase in illiteracy in children aged 6 and 7 years old.
Why we're focused on teaching English:
According to studies, only 5.1% of Brazilians aged 16 and over can speak fluent English. The low level of language knowledge is due to the lacking educational opportunities they have access to. In addition, research shows that time and money are the most significant contributors to the lack of participation in private courses, which most people seek out because of the low level of language teaching in public schools. Most students in the favelas cannot afford high-quality English language courses, which leaves them disadvantaged when it comes to future work opportunities and employability.
Mastering English is a skill that’s often expected by Brazilian companies. According to a survey, “Demands for Learning English in Brazil” Instituto de Pesquisa Data Popular - British Council,” 91% of company executives surveyed from 77 countries say that English is the primary language used in business. Furthermore, 97% of people who took an English course said they had a salary increase or got a better job. It is estimated, on average, that with a year of education, salary income increases by 10%.
Schools and businesses need to prepare their people for a future where new skills and evolving ways of working are required and where continuous learning is key to success in the workplace with enhanced career prospects. Unfortunately, very few Brazilian schools offer these educational opportunities that young people desperately need at present, which means they are failing to prepare students to meet the challenges that await them in this post-pandemic future.
The world has changed dramatically, but most education systems have not. It is evident that more needs to be done to change this reality.
With these issues in mind, our educational project emerged at the Youth Reference Center (Centro de Referência da Juventude) in Morro do Cantagalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the aim of providing high-quality educational opportunities to community members of all ages. To start with, the project offers free in-person and online English classes and materials to community members, which is not only appropriate for this era but also necessary. This helps provide students with opportunities they might not have otherwise had the time or resources to pursue.