KANNEMEYER PRIMARY SCHOOL’S
Symphony OF POSSIBILITIES
2014 REPORT
CASE STUDY
Five years ago, Kannemeyer Primary School (KPS) in Grassy Park, Cape Town, was just another
intractable problems can be solved through cross-sector disengaged from the school. Today, however, all of that has changed. The school has done a complete about-face. And the successes it boasts today are Partners for Possibility (PfPSA) programme and the willingness of the PfPSA between principals and business leaders to facilitate change at schools. It is simultaneously a leadership development and principal support process. PfPSA
change. Her approach to change is shaped by 20 years of
Kannemeyer Primary school to fully embrace the PfPSA approach, and has been built on the lessons learned there. This is the story of its
By the numbers There have been several outcomes from the partnership between KPS and PfPSA. The academic results are easiest to map, because marks are easy to track, and the tables below show steady progress both in the Grade 3 results (end of Junior Primary) and the Grade 6 results (end of Senior Primary). However, the successes of KPS cannot be judged on academic results alone – a plethora of other, vitally related outcomes have supported the academic progress pupils have made. Kannemeyer Primary School Systemic Results.
*Note:
Tel +27 (0)21 913 3507 | Fax +27 (0)21 913 3187 | Email pfp@symphonia.net | www.PfP4SA.org
CASE STUDY Non-academic outcomes The results above are the only measurable results we have to show that our programme is yielding results. However, those numbers rest on the back of all the work we do on areas like leadership, culture, an aligned and cohesive school management team, and
acknowledge all of these outcomes too. 1. Teacher engagement All the teachers now have their children at KPS, which was commitment teachers feel with regards the school. And we hear many stories from both teachers and parents who have chosen We measure success by what we refer to as “shining eyes”. When we started this process, our teachers did not have shining
children. They now proudly proclaim that “teaching at KPS is a work of heart” and in turn believe that they are the heart of Grassy Park.
3.
where they were free to raise any issues they felt needed to be changed. Those issues were then dealt with as far as possible.
new science lab, a wonderful library, a reading adventure room,
great. Many teachers now live the vision of making KPS the school of choice in Grassy Park. This is as a result of training sessions Flawless
and Time to Think.
Plans to build a new school hall are ongoing. We have had list for school halls thanks to the work done at KPS during the
Time to think and
the teachers and the larger KPS community. More trees at have also been planted at the school. 4. A high energy school
“In turn the pupils, the teachers themselves and the community
environment at KPS. We now live possibility.” their achievements in and out of the classroom, and very proud of their school.
2. Widening the children’s world contact with schools in other countries through the Afri Twin programme. They have been twinned with a UK school and have worked on parallel projects with pupils in the UK.
5.
of our community. He credits what he learnt from the PfPSA be gradually rolled out across the school.
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change in his demeanour.
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CASE STUDY 7.
parents to contribute in this way before – parents as partners is a key component of the contract. 8.
organised, and the teachers were treated to a lovely meal and
speaker and has ventured into territory he would never have
He has even hosted his own community building day event for
6. Instead of running an old-style PTA, KPS now boasts a the PTA to a Parents Support Group, but it failed dismally,� says
success story so far, because the key focus is how to involve more and more parents whilst fostering a sense of community. them as key partners, and as they have done this, parental involvement in the school has gone from strength to strength.
2. Fundraising (for the hall and ongoing needs of the school) classroom) and to help)
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CASE STUDY Kannemeyer Primary School – Background community surrounding the school is renowned for its high crime and unemployment rates. Before PfPSA began working disciplinary challenges were enormous.
It was against this backdrop that the School at the Centre of Community (S@CC) project – the forerunner of PfPSA – was born. PfPSA government and civil society to collaborate in dealing with South
group and established a food garden at the school as a result. 2. He established a recycling unit at KPS. The school was
is the driving force behind PfPSA pivotal leadership role in bringing together the community around
3. The school won other environmental awards, and is registered as an Eco-School with the Wildlife and Environment Society of
project. 4. accompanied KPS along the way. leaders to partner with school principals. The idea was to create a support system for principals by pairing them with top business leaders – their Partners for Possibility (PfP). The PfP is there to work with the principal to mobilise and engage the talents of the
Grasslow network – a network of schools in the Grassy Park,
school in a meaningful way. with this was the establishment of a variety of learning forums, training as well as group and individual coaching, the PfPs develop
learner development, teacher development, non-teacher 6.
This role provides an opportunity for leaders to develop their
Programme (EMEP). EMEP seeks to support the development
challenges facing our country. The school had a feeding scheme, where some 200 needy children were fed breakfast and lunch every day. the hub of its own community. Parent engagement was almost
many issues that confront us.”
Ridwan Samodien, Principal at Kannemeyer Primary School
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CASE STUDY A partnership is born
community building (see sidebar). her PfP stories people tell about the way things are. In order to change the culture, she believes, we need to change the stories we tell and the
So, if the teachers at the school believed that story, they would treat the parents as if they were not interested. But what if that What if both parents and teachers started to see each other as
Peter Block and Community Building lamented the low parent turn-out at school strategy sessions and in his book, The approach was to meet with the Grade 4 learners, to talk to them about their hopes and dreams for the future and then ask
present.
.
small group. People gather and connect in small groups of just three people, with their knees less than nine inches (23cm) apart. Then they are asked to answer ambiguous, personal,
This marked a turning point for everyone. To the surprise of all the
Parents acknowledged that they had felt disengaged from the teachers. Teachers discovered that the parents cared deeply about what was happening in the class and that they wanted to be more
brought about through consent and connectedness rather than mandate and force. He contends that cultural change is only possible when it members.
Grade 3 learners and parents.
involved and valued, and many people discovered that they had a
something. So really, that barrier was broken down within the two sessions of the day. That is what we aim to do: to break down the walls, to break down the barriers and to get people to become connected.� any other people involved with the school. The event was named birthday.
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CASE STUDY
would happen. Our job is to catch and acknowledge the small things, because the bigger results depend on them. We make a big
Parents and teachers met each other as partners and discovered that they all cared passionately about the children at their school. It suddenly became apparent that the children belonged to the Kannemeyer community and that it was no longer acceptable to abdicate responsibility to the educators at the school.
• The KPS team was so inspired by the community building event
All members of the KPS community saw that they needed to work together to ensure that the children from KPS reached their
This could provide the community with real insights to the • observed that it was usually the women who were involved at the school, and he thought that needed to change. He “On Monday morning, Mr Koopman delivered the promised paint, brush, rollers etc. Yesterday three ladies arrived and cleaned the windows of the
room. Good Hope FM will be doing a live broadcast tomorrow morning about our partnership with
hall). Both his commitment and the goal of a school hall are ongoing, and the school community is working hard towards their goal. • Pupils and teachers are now part of a global learning and teaching venture in partnership with Afri Twin. The school has in parallel projects with regard to global issues. So far four teachers have had the opportunity to observe learning and teaching in the UK.
able to assemble a few PCs from the discarded bits. •
consuming way than in the past. • These books were developed to give South African parents the tools to assist their children in literacy and numeracy in the early
• Two literacy NGOs work at the school: Wordworks and
at school. • Wordworks has trained two teachers to facilitate an adult literacy programme, conducted over seven Tuesday evenings. The aim is to help parents to assist their children with homework and general school work. Three parents were able other schools.
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CASE STUDY • website (
) at no cost, as well
connect with the community and the wider world. •
• .
the values the school espouses. • transformed into spaces conducive to learning. The energy and enthusiasm among our parents has given our teachers renewed hope.
The PfP process as we have it now has been fundamentally shaped
beginning to reap the rewards of what was put into place in year one.
take place in the following order: The school principal: Other important lessons are as follows: to other stakeholders in the school. 2.
They must support the principal and see the project as theirs. They need to own the process, and be an aligned and cohesive team.
• who helps the PfPs to make sense of their role and what is being asked for them. • provide a crucial opportunity for communal learning and sharing.
3. A community of teachers:
progress. 4. Parents and community: In order for the PfPSA programme to be successful, an engaged parent body and community are the
• school. • It is important to have access to other resource partners.
Louise van Rhyn
www.PfP4SA.org
CASE STUDY Conclusion There have been many successes at Kannemeyer, for the most part his visionary leadership of the needs of the school. As an individual,
“You have a business partner with a business mind and she may give you some ideas on how you can use less energy and have a bigger yield
possibility for the business partner to know businesses and to speak to them.”
Ridwan Samodien “We want to get the literacy and numeracy levels right but in its who can do with their hands and not become consumers. If we can
PfP was the most because they have teachers and a principal who are always willing
PfP has allowed me to reconnect with my
The broad philosophy of involving parents and enrolling them
building the sense of community and encouraging parental have taken complete ownership of the idea and have been working Five years on, they have managed to maintain the momentum
Scenarios
schools habitable, happy places for the children who study there. The PfPSA both the schools that enrol on the programme, and the business people who choose to partner with the many beleaguered
and say “yes” to possibility, and choose to walk together with a South Africa for all.
Walk Apart: 2. Walk Behind: 3.
independent life.
Tel Fax Email pfp@symphonia.net Postal
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