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Why English lab and tablets in a rural school?
Lack of English communication and comprehension skills is major employment barrier for most of the rural youth. Rural teachers by themselves are not capable of conversing or comprehending English. Also, a child from a poor rural household will be perpetually poor unless Quality education is available at affordable cost.
Of the 30-40 English teachers I interviewed last year for our rural school not one person could converse confidently in English (Qualification being B.A./M.A. English with B.Ed or D.TEd) or comprehend simple stories. Hiring a highly skilled English teacher adds to the cost, reduces affordability and no one is willing to work in a remote village. How else can rural children improve when they can’t afford to join elite schools? Technology intervention and teacher training.
How are we doing it?
RISE School (RISE School fb Page) is a not-for-profit school being run in Tamil Nadu to provide all round Quality education at affordable cost. To offset the teacher’s skill gap in our rural school in Thimmanguthu village which is 13 km from Pollachi (nearest town) and 53 km from Coimbatore (district HQ), we plan to introduce tablet based English learning and teacher training program in partnership with English Learning Foundation (ELF) (English Learning Foundation Fb Page).
Our children will use tablets and audio-visual medium to learn English and our teachers will be trained to facilitate learning in our school. RISE School has purchased tablets through support from well-wishers and now plans to set up English lab. Help solve the problem of poor English skills of rural children at Primary school level in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu through technology intervention and teacher training.
Our 6th grade children using Khan academy and Hello English apps.
About English Learning Foundation
English Learning Foundation (ELF) is a social enterprise for the promotion of English language learning in India. ELF follows a research based methodology to develop learning materials like apps, workbook, books and kits to help children read and speak English.
As a part of this partnership with RISE School, English Learning Foundation (ELF) will provide
- ELF learning apps for all skill levels in English reading and comprehension
- Audio-visual inputs for learning phonetic sounds and blendings
- Set of Phonics workbook for each child to reinforce their tablet training,
- Teaching Learning Materials (TLM),
- Phonic based story books.
- Teacher training workshops
- Periodic visit by the ELF trainers to check students’ progress and handhold the teachers
- Evaluation tools and skill charts for tracking the progress of children
Our English teachers will be trained by English Learning Foundation (ELF) trainers on Phonetics, usage of tablets and app, games and activities to teach English with regular hand-holding. In school, our children will use the tablets to learn at their own pace and progress from phonetic sound blending to reading a story on their own.
English lab is being set up for 200 students from LKG onwards. Cost per child is Rs 750. No additional fee is charged to children.
Help us help our children experience the joy of reading and get ready to a world of opportunities.
Last year intervention and student’s Math skill improvement:
Last year we partnered with AID India and Pratham to improve Math and Tamil skills. The baseline, end line results and improvements were verified by AID India and the parents of our children. All this was achieved due to the training and efforts of teachers.
Monitoring mechanism:
Our students will be graded at different skill levels and tracked throughout the year. The following baseline results and levels will be used to measure progress. Each quarter the progress made by the children will be shared.
Levels | Outcome (student can perform the skills) | Number of students in each level as per Baseline evaluation of students |
Level 0: Beginner | 50 | |
Level 1: First Step Reader |
| 100 |
Level 2:Early Reader |
| 40 |
Level 3: Star Reader |
| 5 |
Level 4: Super Reader |
| 5 |
At the end of one year engagement, based on the improvement of skill levels of children, we will continue the program for the children who have not reached the Super Reader level.
What are our Student’s family backgrounds?
Students are mostly first generation learner from economically poor background from the nearby villages which have limited bus connectivity. Parent’s occupation is mostly daily wage agricultural laborers, weavers, drivers, mill workers, electrician, kirana store owners, etc.
About RISE School and RISE India Trust:
- RISE India Trust and RISE School was established to promote quality education in and around Samiyandipudur village, Coimabtore, Tamil Nadu in 2003 with 4 children. At present 220 children study in the School from Pre-KG to 6th standard. School is located 13 km from Pollachi (taluk) town, 53 km from Coimbatore district HQ.
- The school provides both traditional and Montessori based education to rural children at affordable cost. Students are also trained in Yoga, Karate, Bharatanatyam (classical dance), athletics, life skills, gender equality and agriculture.
- Students are provided activity based and application oriented training and no emphasis on rote learning or marks.
- Students from 25 nearby villages are attending the school and get quality education at subsidized fee. More than 175 families get direct benefit through their students studying in RISE School.
- We have partner with organizations like Pratham, AID India, Teach for India (Firki), Schools of Equality, and English Learning Foundation to train our teachers and provide affordable Quality education to children through limited resources.
Private schools improve their infrastructure and Quality by getting Donations from parents or by getting exorbitant fee. To make education affordable, RISE School gathers support from philanthropists and donors to provide facilities to children without passing on the financial burden to the parents.
RISE India Trust is registered under 80G of the Income Tax Rules and any donations made will be 100% exempt from Income Tax. Please mail to admin@riseschool.net.in for any additional information. I invite you to visit our school and spend time with our children. We thank you in advance for your time and effort.
Kindly follow our facebook page (RISE School Facebook Page) for more updates.
Pictures of various activities from 2015-16 academic year:
Students showcasing their reading skills in front of parents
Students undergoing Gender equality training, in partnership with Schools for Equality
Teachers getting trained as part of Eureka Spark program by AID India
Teachers getting trained in using tablets
Campaign Manager - Premkumar, COO, RISE India Trust, 09994772120
Premkumar's Linkedin Profile
