Rainbow Primary School

I'm getting a lot of new emails from my teachers, thanks to a partnership with some Googlers in the Hyderabad office. The teachers are now going to computer classes every Sunday. THANK YOU GOOGLERS! Here are some of the emails: Ashok Teacher, 5th Standard, March 28, 2010 "Hello madam how ru how ist your family ,Roy sir, your daughtr how ist .she what are doing and how ist health so we are all fine and we learn english,and computer with Rangoo madam she is every week come and take class so we are happy.we continue computer class .ok by madam" [Rangoo Madam is our brilliant new volunteer, more on her on the next post (she finally got me to use Google WAVE). She is the mother of an outstanding young woman who works at Google in Hyderabad.] Sunitha, Preschool Teacher, March 20, 2010 "Hai madam. How are you. how is your family Iam pre-class teacher sunitha. My class is good . class total students 32 numbers .We are miss you I am pass 10th class. Degree also...

This kid was in a fifth standard class in a government school, but when called in court to write his name... HE COULDN'T DO IT! We need schools that DELIVER quality education. "Class-V student fails to write his name, Court summons school" Updated on Saturday, February 20, 2010, 15:42 IST ourt here as witness in the murder case of his father, little did he know that his educational backwardness would be exposed in public. Though he was a class V student of Khalibagicha government UP School here, Bikash could not write his name when asked to do so by the court on Wednesday last and had to put his LTI (left thumb impression) instead. The judge took cognisance of the situation seriously and summoned the school authorities seeking details on how the boy could be promoted to class-V though he failed to write his name. Bikash had appeared as prosecution witness before the additional sessions judge, Boudh, B Kar as an eyewitness to the murder of his father last year. After e...

Our 2009 annual report is available! See it on line, click on this link: http://www.box.net/shared/96el98hr2v or email leighanne@gmail.com You can see pictures from the report on the slideshow overhead, we have such LOVELY students, wonderful faculty, and so many energetic, go-to, rugged partners! Highlights for 2009 2007, 2008, 2009: Top Government Primary School in Hy-Tech Area 300 Students 10 Teachers, one with a university degree, four more enrolled in university classes 1 Headmistress, university degree, 10 years experience 3 Staff members, we have the cleanest government school buildings you will ever see 2 Buildings, 6 classrooms in the main building (which also has electricity), 2 in the other building. “B” average for nearly all the standards on Central Government Tests in 2009, “A” for fifth standard. A strong preschool program for 2 to 5 year olds. 70%+ funded by the Government of India! ***** Goals for The Rainbow School Create a child-centered school for 500 slum child...

There is a lot of political turmoil following the December 9 Central Government announcement to support the separation of Andhra Pradesh into two states, AP and Telangana. More is here, check it out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telangana

Report Card Grade: B! Using the Central Government exam for primary school students, the average grade for most Rainbow School classes are B for the permanent students (and 10% earning A grades), and C for transient students. Last year, on the old state exam, most of the classes earned A grades. But an A on the old exam would earn a C on the new exam. B grades on the new exam are actually an indication of improved student learning. Raising the standards with more challenging exams has helped the school. Transient students make up about one quarter new students: every few months some families migrate in and out for work. I expected lower grades from the transient students, I’m not sure what is going on here but will investigate. (i.e.: Are the other schools they migrate in an out of showing signs of effective teaching?) Last night, I talked to Vijaya Madam, the headmistress. She reports that the next quarter exams are in April and the teachers are working hard so that more student...

Our mid-day meal at the Rainbow School is made in a central kitchen and then delivered to the school by the extremely competent and experienced folks at the Naandi Foundation, our main NGO partner. This meal is engineered and fortified to provide an entire day of nutrition for a child. I noticed that new students look substantially different after one week of mid-day meals at the school. They have shining eyes and they are full of bouncy energy. And I noticed in past years that after school holidays - like during the last week - all the children look drawn and tired. They do not get enough food at home. It makes me happy to know the mid-day meal was there for them this week when school started again. A few days ago, one of the trucks from the Naandi Foundation's mid-day meal program was attacked as part of a larger outbreak of political violence. This is an example of the type of random events that threaten support structures for schools in the developing world. This artic...

Last month, the State office visited to assess the quality of the school. Our Rainbow School is now in the running for the best in the state. We set the goal to be best in the state in 2014. This is a little early, but the teachers say they are more than ready. We should hear back from the state office before the new years. Keep your fingers crossed for them! Congratulations Students, Teachers, and Headmistress Vijaya Laxmi! Thank you to Anita, our sponsor, and Kalpana, our co-founder, for all their support and love. You ladies are the angels of the Rainbow School.