Schools for Schools: Reviving lost glory

Last week, a team from Schools for Schools (S4S) presented the keys for a two unit teachers’ house to the staff at Sir Samuel Baker School (SSBS). Each unit has 2 bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchen and bathroom. Teachers with a heavy workload and many responsibilities will be given priority to live in the newly renovated house, where they will be more available to help students during the school year.

As a former student at Sir Samuel Baker School, I remember the sorrowful state of this now renovated block. The structure suffered massive looting during the war, and in 1985 a watchman trying to safeguard the house was killed by looters.  Located near to my former dormitory, I would hide inside one of the dilapidated bedrooms and read my books in my free time.

I never imagined that this house would regain its original look after wasting away for over 25 years. Thank you, S4S contributors, for reviving SSBS’s lost glory. Your sacrifice has renovated my imaginations too.

-Eric

Schools for Schools: Taking it to the Next Level

Students at Sacred Heart School are in for a surprise when they return from the holiday break in February. The second floor of a three-story block of classrooms has just been completed, creating six bright, spacious classrooms.

Last week, Schools for Schools engineers made a final inspection of the building for quality and safety. With a few minor touches, the six new classrooms will be ready to be furnished and filled for the first time with smiling faces.  One more floor of six classrooms remains to be completed later this year.

Invisible Children partners with 11 schools in Northern Uganda to improve the quality of education through building projects, teacher and administrator training, and curriculum development. While many classrooms in Northern Uganda are in disrepair or subject to overcrowding, projects like this one at Sacred Heart are ensuring that students will have access to a healthy learning environment.

Building projects for 2012 are in full swing! Stay tuned for more updates.

-Bethany

Invisible Children’s Chris Sarette wins Best Product Person of 2011 Award

We think that all of our staff members are impressive, but our VP of Business Operations Chris Sarette just showed us all up.  He was recently named The Best Product Person (TBPP) of 2011, which is the leading international award honoring excellence in Product Management.  Established in 2010, TBPP is awarded annually in association with The Product Guy and The Product Group, which gives our staff a year to step up our game until the next award is presented.

The purpose of the award (besides the awesomeness of digital praise) is a way for the Product community to get together to recognize excellence amongst the ranks, as well as to provide insights into that excellence in a manner we can all learn from and leverage.  There are countless things we could learn from Chris (how to mix cocktails, how to appreciate Russian-Georgian food, how to actually go to the dentist every 6 months) but the thing we’re most impressed with is his passion for the quantitative side of business.  He first signed on with Invisible Children to help with developmental strategy.  Chris then initiated and directed the Schools for Schools program before transitioning into his current position as VP of Business Operations.  He now manages IC’s core operations, including Technology, HR,  Shipping, Office Management, and Data Management.  In addition to those duties, he oversees Mend, IC’s social enterprise that produces high quality bags that are produced by Ugandan seamstresses that are former abductees, or wives to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commanders.  Chris directly supervises the designs, prototypes, and supply lines.  We’re talking everything from threads, to buckles, to fabric decisions (read: this guy has great taste).

He started out as a self-proclaimed “numbers guy,” appreciating the math that accompanies sourcing, production schedules, and sales strategies.  He soon discovered an interest and affection for working in a hybrid creative/logistical space, and bringing a product from design, through sourcing and sampling, and into final production.

We are lucky to have him as our inspiring co-worker, and can only hope that his award-winning abilities will rub off on the rest of us.

-Krista

Teacher Exchange Program: The Ugandan teachers have arrived in the U.S.

Our thanks to Catherine Hanna for putting together the following blog about the TEX orientation in New York City!

This year’s team of Ugandan partner teachers in the Teacher Exchange Program have arrived! Otim Walter, the Head Teacher of Pabo SS; Lacere Churchill, the Head Teacher of Sir Samuel Baker; Oola Elizabeth, an English teacher at Sir Samuel Baker; Ajio Rosemary, an English teacher at Sacred Heart; and Joseph Luke, a Geography teacher at Laybi, were escorted by Schools for Schools Program Officer Jennifer Lebuke. Their 2-day journey took them from the 90-degree weather of Gulu, Uganda to the frigid “concrete jungle” of New York City.

The Team stepped off the plane with weary smiles, and minutes later we threw them into taxi cabs and into “the nation’s thyroid gland” (as Christopher Morley would say). What other initiation into the United States could be more appropriate than hustling through the neon, holiday-sprinkled, bumper-to-bumper streets of NYC—where so many travelers have arrived throughout history in search of adventure and redefining themselves. Lacere Churchill, a History and Geography teacher said, “I am excited to see the real-life things that I have been teaching about for so long.”

The Ugandan team arrived at the hostel and were welcomed by the American hosts, their old friends from previous summers in Uganda. The next morning’s orientation session was opened with an old saying: “It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.” This was an invitation to connect with one another, despite the distance of space, culture and history. It has been our belief and practice in the Teacher Exchange Program that some conversations are better had on our feet, so we spent the next four days exploring the purpose of our program through conversation, storytelling, drama and play. And of course we took advantage of NYC. We visited the tree at Rockefeller Center, got lost in the sea of elbow-to-elbow New Year’s tourists in Times Square, caught a Broadway show and wished one another a happy New Year as we watched the ball drop. Elizabeth shared, “This has been my dream, to come to New York City. So I have accomplished that dream.”

And that was just the beginning….Now the teachers have left New York City and gone to their placements all over the country to partner-teach in schools for the next four weeks. During their partnerships they will share in professional and cultural exchanges to develop their practice as educators and broaden their view of the world. Then they will bring these insights back to their students and communities in Uganda.

(Photo credit: Mallorie Tull, Invisible Children)

Teacher Exchange: Ready for takeoff

Six teachers from Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools program are preparing for the trip of a lifetime. This December and January, in addition to braving weather unlike any in Uganda,  they will be visiting classrooms in the U.S. and Canada, learning new teaching methods and sharing about Ugandan education and culture.

Last week they underwent training to prepare for what to expect during the time abroad, from culture shock to weather shock. Teachers who were part of last year’s exchange came to talk about their experiences and offer advice for the current batch of teachers – like being prepared for boneless meat and where to buy winter gloves on sale.

The Teacher Exchange Program was launched in 2007 to facilitate mutual learning for teachers and cultural exposure for students. Twenty to thirty secondary school teachers from around the world come to teach and interact with Ugandan teachers for six weeks each summer, and a group of Ugandan teachers do the same in the U.S. or Canada each winter as part of the Reciprocal Teacher Exchange Program.

Applications for participating in the Teacher Exchange Summer of 2012 are now available for international teachers interested in spending a summer teaching in Uganda.

We’ll update you on the experiences of Walter, Churchill, Joseph, Elizabeth, Rosemary and Denis as they venture into life in the U.S. and Canada in the coming months. A special thanks to Better World Books for making this trip possible!

-Bethany

Legacy Scholarship Program: Students lead the way

Pamela, is in her 5^th year of secondary school and and acts as Head Girl at Gulu Senior Secondary. Recently, she attended the Legacy Scholarship Program (LSP) seminar on discipline for the student leaders at each of Invisible Children’s 11 partner schools. The program was designed to equip the students with skills and knowledge that will enable them to encourage exemplary behavior throughout the student body at their respective schools.

Currently, Pamela speaks with students at her school after behavioral issues arise to try to understand their problems and help find a solution. During a session on preventing disciplinary problems, Pamela became aware of the importance of maintaining strong peer relationships that will allow her to act as a role model. “Socializing with the students brings a bond between students, administrators, and student leaders,” Pamela told me.  She hopes that fostering these relationships will lead to an even better behavior at Gulu SS.

The LSP provides a gateway to scholastic success to students from northern Uganda though a full-paid, merit-based scholarship, extracurricular activities, and mentoring. Acceptance into the program is based on a combination of academic performance and level of vulnerability.

Check in for more updates on the LSP!

-Juliana

Schools for Schools essay winners are announced!

A few weeks ago, we blogged about the Schools for Schools (S4S) essay contest asking contestants: “A student who reads widely writes better English. Do you agree with this statement or not? Give reasons for your answer.” Students were tasked with answering the prompt in 750 – 1,000 words, with a proper bibliography, and use of at least one book source.

In total, 76 students entered the competition and 3 students won top prizes. Fred, a Layibi Secondary School student, emerged as the first place winner. While the contest only called for one book source, Fred incorporated the use of 8 sources in his essay, supporting his argument that, “… to be rich in vocabulary involves making reading a habit, not only to beat boredom, but to build an opulent vocabulary.”

Fred received a cash prize for his winning essay, followed by John, also from Layibi Secondary School, who received the second place. Third place honors went to Patricia from Sacred Heart School.

Schools 4 Schools, in addition to improving the “hardware”, or facilities, at it’s 11 partner schools, also aims to improve “software” by providing schools with things like teacher capacity workshops, curriculum development, and scholastic materials.  As a part of improving scholastic “software”, this contest was initiated in order to promote the growth of the reading culture in northern Uganda.

Due to the high participation in this competition, Schools for Schools is looking forward to holding another essay contest in the future!

Stay tuned for more S4S updates!

-Juliana

Schools for Schools: Gulu High’s two-story dormitory gets all the fixings!

Schools for Schools’ (S4S) is making progress on the first floor of Gulu High’s second two-story dormitory. Currently, it’s getting all of the finishings: the doors and windows are going up, the wardrobes and fixtures are being installed, the floors are being sealed, and the walls are being painted.

The Schools for Schools program partners with 11 secondary schools in northern Uganda. The funds raised for this program, are used to revitalize both the Hardware (Engineering), and Software (Education) of our partner schools. Since 2006, the S4S program has worked hand-in-hand with each of the partner schools’ Development Committees to construct and refurbish numerous dormitories, classrooms, and latrines, and has implemented teacher capacity building and training initiatives.

Last week, we observed as workers used a technique called “rough casting” to finish the outside of the building. Sand is mixed with cement and pigment, and then placed in a machine that spits the mixture onto the walls. Once the coating dries, it creates a textured and colorful finish. This technique is used as a more durable, but equally attractive alternative to traditional paint. Invisible Children engineers predict that the first floor of the dormitory will soon be finished and that students will begin using the facilities by the beginning of 2012.

Stay tuned for more updates on construction at Gulu High!

-Juliana

Teacher Exchange: Meet Elizabeth

Elizabeth has been teaching the English language to students in northern Uganda for 30 years. “I enjoy it so much, especially teaching grammar,” she told us recently. “It helps in composing stories. Once you understand grammar, composition is much more easy,” she explained.

Growing up in Gulu, Elizabeth decided that she wanted to be a teacher while in secondary school. Now, over 30 years later, one of the things that brings her the most joy is seeing her students become responsible adults in their communities. Currently, Elizabeth is teaching English at Sir Samuel Baker School.

Elizabeth has participated in the Teacher Exchange Program for three years in Uganda. The program, started in 2007, brings international educators to Uganda to team-teach in Invisible Children partner secondary schools for six-weeks, and takes a group of Ugandan educators to the U.S. every winter for three weeks. With the aim of enhancing present educational models and establishing long-term learning opportunities for all participants, the program lets educators engage in team teaching, information sharing, and skill-building conferences. In this round of the Teacher Exchange, Elizabeth and five other Ugandan teachers will travel to the U.S. at the end of the calendar year to team teach with U.S. educators.

Elizabeth can’t wait to interact with students and teacher in the United States. “I am looking forward to meeting the teachers in the U.S. and hearing about how they handle teaching the English language,” she said. “I also want to see how they encourage reading among the students because that can be so difficult and I see reading as one way to really improve knowledge of the English language.”

“I’m longing to meet them, I’m ready to meet them,” she smiled.

-Malorie

Teacher Exchange: Meet Joseph

Joseph was all smiles when we had a chance to talk about his upcoming trip to the United States.  As one of six Ugandan teachers who will be traveling to the United States at the end of the year, Joseph will team-teach with an international partner teacher for three weeks.  Joseph is traveling as a participant of the Teacher Exchange (TeX), an Invisible Children program designed to help both Ugandan and international teachers improve their teaching methods.  It aims to energize Ugandan teachers and their international counterparts by expanding their skill sets through bringing 20-30 secondary school teachers from abroad to teach and interact with Ugandan teachers for six weeks each summer, and sending a group of Ugandan teachers to do the same in the U.S. each winter.

Teaching geography at Layibi Secondary School for six years, Joseph decided to become a teacher because, “It gives you a wider knowledge, and the ability to be a role model in society.”  Now, with 22 years of experience under his belt, Joseph is more than excited to embark on his journey to the United States to continue widening his knowledge and experiences in life.

Joseph has been involved with the TeX in Uganda for two years, and tells of the students’ excitement when they see teachers from another culture in their classroom.  He cannot wait to travel to the U.S. to learn more teaching methods, and to share the students’ excitement.  He is also eager to learn about discipline management, and U.S. administration systems to help improve the operations at his school.

Joseph is ready to take on the challenge of teaching students of a different culture and background. We wish you the best of luck!

-Juliana