The Ministry of Education signed a contract with the Instituto Cultural Dominico-Americano and the Centro Cultural Dominico-Americano (Santiago) for the training of 1,000 public school teachers in English language education. The RD$3.6 million program was promoted by the United States Embassy, with the cooperation of businessman Ramon Baez Figueroa. Fund raising efforts have also been carried out by Dominican Major League baseball players. The private sector is contributing 50% of the total investment, and the government the remainder. Upon making the announcement of the start of the program, Minister of Education Milagros Ortiz highlighted the importance of training Dominicans in English "if we really want to enter the age of globalization."
