Rainbow Primary School

The number one lesson learned: Get partners - rugged, go-to, and knowledgeable partners – then leverage the partnerships to meet needs. None of us can go it alone. We always have a list of the partner organizations is posted (right hand side), and pictures of our partners and the government in our photo albums (right hand side). We have many kinds of partners: financial partners, silent partners, volunteer partners, even a handful of Zen-like district government babus. This post is dedicated to the: "TOP TEN PLUS ONE MOST AMAZING MOMENTS IN RAINBOW SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS!" 1) Number one is Ravi-Srinu. Ravi and Srinu are our silent partners. They're connected. In a good way. They know the honest people in government and how to work levers of power to make things happen. I met Ravi through friends. He is casual for a huge, big land baron. He introduced me to Srinu. My favorite moment from this partnership was the first time meeting Srinu in his office. He guided me ...

I am sad to report my days here in India are fast running out. The school and the staff are in good hands with our many, many partner NGOs. To take the worry wrinkles away, I'd like to introduce the Rainbow School supporters to our bureaucrats. They do the best they can, promise! http://picasaweb.google.com/leighanne/RangaReddySSAPersonnelApril2008

We're moving into "Monitoring!" Any visitor can help by answering these questions when they visit the school Monitoring Masthan Nagar Government Primary School If any answers are NO: contact Leigh Anne Gilbert, leighanne(at)gmail.com and describe the problem. 1. Are the teachers present during working hours? 2. Are the teachers engaged in active teaching? 3. Are the teachers using activities, playtoys, games, charts, etc. – the child-centered methods? 4. Is the Headmistress present during working hours? 5. If no, is she off on school business or on leave? 6. Are the facilities clean? (including the bathroom) 7. Do you see drinking water for the children? 8. Is the school full? 9. If not, why are there fewer children? (holiday, case of fevers, or no answer?) 10. Was this monitoring fun? Thank you!

Here is a link to a fantastic, fantastic article on our district collectors here in India. Must read!

Plot #2 for the school was the result of Plot #1's small size. We've got 90% of the approvals, the last one is incoming!