February 23, 2018
It’s another Friday Feature! We are thrilled with the outpouring of support and interest in our new Classroom Champions Program. This initiative is a perfect addition to the core of our mission: supporting students and supporting teachers. Melissa, our Country Director, discusses another Teacher Training/ripple effect success story through the eyes of Mrs. Violet Kimambo.
Championing success through creation of teaching aids in literacy/numeracy at Leganga Primary School
The Background:
Leganga Primary School is one of the public schools in the Meru District. Hadija Msangi, a class 5 and 6 teacher at Leganga Primary School participated in a 3-day Early Literacy training coordinated by The Foundation For Tomorrow [TFFT]. After the training, Mrs. Msangi paid it forward and provided a briefing of the training to the Head-Mistress of Leganga, Mrs. Violet Kimambo.
TFFT visited Leganga Primary and interviewed Mrs. Kimambo [The Head-Mistress] on any significant changes taking place in Leganga as a result of the Early Literacy Training.
The Ripple Effect:
Mrs. Kimambo remembers this training well. She said, “After the briefing of the training at my school by Mrs. Msangi, who participated in the TFFT training, I decided to create a space for her to teach all teachers in our school how to create teaching aids. I bought some materials to support the teachers and developed a policy where all teachers were required to report out on the teaching aids used weekly to the Academic Master.”
“Secondly, I decided to move Mrs. Msangi (the teacher who participated in the training) from teaching class 4 and 6 to teaching class 2, as the knowledge and skills she gained from the Early Literacy Training was aimed even more to equip and empower educators in classes 1,2, and 3.”
Mrs. Kimambo adds, “Before Mrs. Msangi attended the TFFT training, we had many students who struggled to read and write. After the sharing of information by Mrs. Msangi and the creation of teaching aids by teachers to use in literacy and numeracy, our students’ reading and writing skills have improved tremendously.”
Mrs. Kimambo’s Advice:
“I challenge other teachers to identify and support best practice exhibited by teachers within the school since all teachers are gifted in different ways. We can all learn from each other and create an even greater outcome for our students.”
Since the beginning of the Teacher Training program, TFFT has contributed to the extended training of more than 350 teachers through a mix of direct and cascaded trainings and benefited more than 8,750 students. In the upcoming year, we will train 103 teachers, who will influence and ultimately impact 2,776 students. To create more chances for success stories like this one, become a Classroom Champion today through April 30th.