PEPY’s Programs Quarterly Update: January 1 - March 31, 2011
Child-to-Child • Supplemental • Sahakhoom Apheewat Sala (SAS)
At PEPY, we want to live in a world where everyone has access to quality education, improved health, and environmental awareness. Through our programs, we try to make progress toward these goals by investing in a local team of dedicated leaders, providing students the resources to be confident and knowledgeable role models to their peers and community as well as connecting them with the tools to help deliver the changes they want to see in the world.
Child-to-Child Program Using an active learning approach, the Child-to-Child (CtC) initiative encourages children to identify the most pressing problems in their communities by working with other members of their ‘Child Club.’ Currently, there are 25 Child Clubs, and we have 8 educators to facilitate these clubs. Through topic-based problem solving around health, environmental, and human rights issues, the Child Clubs learn about important issues while aiming to build life skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and decision-making. By building these critical skills among children in Chanleas Dai, we hope to further one of PEPY’s goals of aiding rural communities in improving their own standards of living.
Commune
Village
# of Children per club
Club Educator
Chanleas Dai
1. Chanleas Dai
19 *
Mrs. Khean Sak
32
Miss Yong Mary
2.Kouk Pouch
13
Miss Yong Mary
3. Preah Lean
25
Mr. Riem Bon
21
Mr. Riem Bon
4.Rolom Svay
15
Mr. Riem Bon
5.Kombau
37
Mr. Ry Romdos
6. Dounkay
34
Mrs. Seurn Sinath
7. Domrey Slab
20
Mrs. Seurn Sinath
20
Mrs. Seurn Sinath
20
Mr. Ry Romdos
13
Miss Chok Srey Mao
9. Khnar Jo
41
Mrs. Khean Sak
10. Run
24
Mr. Hem Saly
23
Mr. Hem Saly
20 *
Mr. Hem Saly
18
Miss Chok Srey Mao
17
Miss Chok Srey Mao
12. Chhouk Rath
32
Mrs. Chork Srey Vuon
13. Tramkong
26
Mrs. Chork Srey Vuon
18 *
Miss Chok Srey Mao
24
Miss Chok Srey Mao
16
Mr. Ry Romdos
16
Mr. Ry Romdos
12 *
Mr. Ry Romdos
2. To motivate and inspire children and young adults to make positive changes in their lives and communities.
8 educators
3. To educate children about problems regarding health and environmental issues so they, in turn, can educate their peers and community.
8. Tameak
11. Kouk Thnout
Snoul
Total: 2 communes
14. Somrong
14 villages
556 children
* Group will be Youth Leadership Project in the near future.
program goals 1. To empower young students with the tools to be successful leaders among their peers.
Child-to-Child Clubs in 14 villages Most of our CtC clubs had similar concerns for the health of their community and the environment. Through CtC’s methodology, children were able to express their concerns regarding sanitation and personal hygiene. Students raised awareness for their concerns through activities and campaigns, and educated members of their community on the importance of environmental and health issues. Some CtC Clubs prioritized the need to live in a cleaner community. Students in these groups first designed logos and slogans to encourage their friends and neighbors to be better stewards of their environment. In some rural communities, CtC clubs placed trash bins in front of people’s houses (with their logos on the bin) and taught them to dispose of trash in the bins instead of throwing it on the ground. Other solutions involved tying trash bags to tree branches to be later collected and properly disposed. In addition to the campaigns focused on trash disposal, various CtC clubs also organized plays to teach the importance of hygiene and environmental consciousness. CtC clubs also visited a farm to learn how to grow their own cucumbers and other vegetables. This new activity will allow children to understand the basics of agriculture. Students can then help their family start their own garden or a small self-sustaining income-generation project in the future. Chanleas Dai Village was the first community to adopt the CtC program, and it was well received by the community. Members donated their time, materials, supplies and money to help CtC grow. The idea was so successful that CtC educators were encouraged to start more CtC clubs in other rural communities. Now, CtC is implemented in 14 villages. However, as no two communities are alike, it’s important to remember that CtC manifests itself differently in every community.
Supplemental Programs PEPY’s Supplemental Programs are designed to enhance the national curriculum administered in Cambodian government schools. Our Supplemental Programs include the Creative Learning Class, Engineering Club, and English Classes, which are available to Junior High School students in Chanleas Dai. Additionally, our Traveling Teacher Support program provides English training and curriculum development assistance to primary school teachers at 6 government-run schools. Our Creative Learning Classes (CLC) aim to enable students to think critically, problem-solve, and express themselves through a variety of mediums while engaging in a cross-curricular program including science, social studies, and math. These CLC classes have expanded to include an Engineering club, in which students learn how to fix laptops, build robots from legos, and create their own games. Our English classes not only actively engage students with the materials delivered by our Cambodian English teachers, but also have inspired them to take what they have learned back to their communities and lead their own English classes. Our Traveling Teacher Support program is based on the understanding that until English teachers can be supported with adequate materials and curricula, both teachers and students will not be able to reach their full potential.
Creative Learning Class (CLC) PEPY works with Chanleas Dai Junior High School to provide high quality enrichment classes that supplement the standard government curriculum. These classes serve over 200 students per week and use a unique science and social studies curriculum with a focus on critical thinking and creative problem solving skills. Classes are designed to allow students to express their ideas creatively and collaboratively as most of their other classes use rote memorization and lecture-style teaching methods. In addition to science, social studies, and math, CLC incorporates the use of XO laptops into the curriculum. The XO is a learning tool designed to be much more than a typical computer, with activities and tools specifically tailored to engage young learners, encourage creativity, and improve logical reasoning. Using the XO laptop, students are currently learning how to map their school and village as well as study various animals and ethnic cuisines from different parts of the world. Through these lessons, students are able to learn basic programming skills, sharpen critical thinking, improve mathematics and science skills, and even strengthen their Khmer literacy.
Creative Learning Space (CLS) CLS isn’t a class, but rather a place where students can read books, study lessons, do group activities, and utilize an XO laptop in their own free time. This work area has gotten so popular with the students that CLS had to combine their space with the school library. In the last 3 months, through a partnership with the government, CLS has added 4 extra bookshelves and 393 supplemental books in the library for the CLS students. Also in the works is a Book Writing Club, in which students will work in groups to create their own stories.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES 1. To provide outstanding quality education to children in rural communities. 2. To empower students and teachers with the tools to succeed in life. 3. To expose students to the different cultures around the world and foster a global perspective in young adults.
Engineering Club Before our Engineering Club started, we discussed the idea with students and over 30 students were excited to sign up. As we had more eager participants than we anticipated, the students were divided into two groups. This allowed more flexibility in terms of scheduling, as well as more spots for excited students to learn. Students in the Engineering Club have been thoroughly enjoying exploration of Lego Wedo Robotics kits. In addition, students have attended multiple sessions on computer repair to keep their XO laptops in good working order, and have built impressive structures out of paper and other materials. The club meets each week for about an hour, during which students work on a wide variety of projects in the field of engineering. In addition, students worked with Google Sketch to learn and understand the basic laws of architecture.
Traveling Teacher Support In addition to providing Creative Learning and English Classes to Junior High students, PEPY also offers training for English teachers at six primary schools. The focus of this initiative is to build the skills of 5th and 6th grade government teachers so they are better equipped to teach English in their schools. PEPY’s program provides bi-weekly training to teachers on English language lessons, and then supports instructors as they teach this curriculum, which is based on government standards, in their classrooms.The aim of our program is to empower government teachers to use what they learn to improve the effectiveness of their English classes. This goal may otherwise be out of reach, as the Ministry’s resource constraints limit the guidance and training it is able to provide.
Library The Library isn’t just a place where students can check out books. It’s also a place where they can have group meetings to discuss their ideas and chat about their favorite books. A few years ago we worked hard to get 1 hour of library time built into each class’ schedule. This year, the principal at Chanleas Dai Primary School added an extra hour for each class as he has seen that the library is increasing literacy and a love of learning. Teachers are also now using the library more often. In 2008 there were only about 50 books checked out per month and now we consistently have over 1,500 books checked out per month due a growing culture of reading.
Number of Students Checking Out Books Name of Grade
# of Books Borrowed
Grade 2
51
Grade 3 A
215
Grade 3 B
195
Grade 4 A
207
Grade 4 B
190
Grade 5 A
188
Grade 5 B
100
Grade 6 A
371
Grade 6 B
256
Total
1773
Sahakhoom Apheewat Sala (SAS) program Sahakoom Apeewaht Sala (SAS) – literally translated to “communities developing schools” - is a holistic approach to providing and improving access to a quality education through community engagement. Through SAS we aspire to: • Provide training and basic resources to teachers and school directors to strengthen the quality of teaching and leadership at the school. • Mobilize School Support Committees (SSCs) to increase communities’ ownership of and participation in their schools. • Coach SSCs to identify education-related problems, then design and implement community-driven solutions in annual school development plans. We provide training and tools to SSCs so they can independently continue these processes into the future. • Support SSCs to implement projects that will generate a source of income to sustain the development of their school. Recognizing a need to improve long-term sustainability in our education development programs, PEPY adopted and learned from a model created by partner organization Schools for Children of Cambodia. SAS was the result of these efforts. At the time of its inception in July 2009, SAS started supporting two primary schools: Chanleas Dai and Prasat Knar. A third school – Run – joined the program at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year.
The schools and communities are proud of what they have already achieved since partnering with SAS: • Prasat Knar has been tremendously successful in raising financial support for their school from the community. On the first day of the 2010-2011 school year, 237 parents, students, and other community members gathered for a school opening ceremony, contributing over $210 for planned school development activities. Organized by the SSC, the opening ceremony became an occasion to promote the value of education. • Chanleas Dai’s team leaders have led their school in making effective learning resources using minimal materials. The school fundraised over half of the budget for its resource-making workshop.
• Teachers and school directors from all three primary schools have been engaged in a series of “Effective Teaching & Learning” workshops, supported by PEPY and facilitated by trainers from Siem Reap’s Provincial Teacher Training College. These workshops are coupled with classroom observations and one-on-one feedback sessions, and have helped teachers to enhance their classroom management and lesson preparation. • Alongside these initiatives, PEPY has also arranged field trips for school directors, teachers, and SSC members to “model” schools in other parts of Cambodia. These visits expose SSCs to new ideas, inspiring them with new dreams for their own schools.
• Prasat Knar has had an overwhelming response to their kindergarten class, which now has over 50 participants. This year the SSC invested in toys, teaching materials, and student-sized tables and chairs to enhance the learning environment for their toddlers. • The Chanleas Dai community has been learning how to grow mushrooms! Last year, the SSC sold the fruits of their labor, and raised funds for their school development plan programs. This year, the school is investing that money in materials to grow mushroom spores, which is believed to be a more sustainable project. This initiative is the beginning of what the SSC hopes will be a life skills program for students that offers agricultural training and experience as well as a stream of income to fund the school’s ongoing development. • At Run, SSC members repaired their existing water well and are in the process of drilling a second one. These water sources ensure that there is ample drinking water available for students, and will enable the school to start a mushroomgrowing income-generating project later in the year. • Though not part of the formal “plan,” teachers and school administrators at Chanleas Dai have taken action and implemented two new programs at their school—one aimed to elicit more parental involvement in education and the other focused on helping children who are unable to afford basic necessities. Both of these programs transpired without any PEPY input or assistance. • At Chanleas Dai, community members constructed two shaded learning huts on the school grounds, giving students a place to read and study during breaks or outside of their school shift times. • The Prasat Knar’s SSC has invested most of their community funds into the construction of a “natural library” – a wooden hut that provides students a cool place to read and relax between their classes. The students like it so much, the SSC is planning to build a second one next year!
We are hopeful that through these programs and with the continued commitment of the school directors, teachers, and community members, these communities will provide a long-lasting and sustainable support for education for generations to come.