Kasturba School in a Box Project Champion G

Kasturba “School in a Box” Project Champion: G. Jadwani Project Liasons: N. Chawla A. Chawla S. Sridharan ASHA-AZ Project Meeting March 12, 2005

Background n n Kasturba Vanvasi Ashram in Niwali was established in 1953. Ashram was created by Kantaben Tyagi for education of tribal children and women. Poor children in low-income tribal areas are lacking a good education. Goal: Bring educational standard for tribal children education on par with other schools of Madhya Pradesh. 750 girls in 6 -15 year old age group will be targeted.

Project Objectives n Project seeks to introduce “school in a box” kits prepared by Krishnamurthi Foundation of India (KFI). n n Kits contain several educational items for groups of children, grades 1 -5. Kits are being used in KFI schools in Rishi valley and Varanasi with great success. The goal of this project is to introduce these kits at the Kasturba Vanvasi Ashram in Niwali and other tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh. Introduction of KFI kits will contribute to enhancement of standard of education, hopefully on par with other schools in the state

School in the Box Concept n Kits used are 3 D learning aids Large collection of illustrated learning cards n Teachers’ Manual n n n Materials are used to introduce concepts in a lucid, comprehensive, and graded manner - Ladder of Learning Several place-holders are in place for activities to be filled in by teachers

School in a Box – how does it work? n Sequence to achieving milestones n n n Introductory Reinforcement Evaluation Remedial Enrichment activities Milestones in Class 1 Math Learning Activities (one unit) n n Student learns numbers from 1 to 5 Student learns simple operations with those numbers. Milestones ascend from the first lesson in Math 1 to the final lesson. Student begins a new Ladder for Math 2. n Each card has a symbol for the type of learning activity. n Rabbit - story cards that strengthen association of sounds with letters. n Elephant - reinforce reading and writing skills. n Dog - provide evaluation materials. n Each card also carries a number to represent the level of its learning material. n Yellow card marked Elephant 3 represents third step of writing for Class 4

Mechanism for Achieving Project Goals ASHA Funds Purchase kits Teachers sent to KFI Varanasi/Rishi valley for training Teachers return to schools and use kits in class

Background on Project Champion n Mr. G. Jadwani is a retired engineer, actively involved with the Krishnamurthi Foundation. He has worked on other projects for providing education to underprivileged children. Mr. Jadwani lives in Indore.

Site Visit – December 2004

Proposed Budget Travel to Varanasi / Rishi Valley Stay and training in KFI School Cost of each kit Rs. 1500 Total One-time funding request Rs. 4500 50 teachers x Rs. 4500 = Rs. 225, 000 (~$ 5, 100) (1 teacher/ 15 students, 5 teachers trained per month) 5 teachers/month x 15 students = 75 students/month or 750 students/year