Every Child Counts - NGO Outreach at Nashik

Door Step School in its endeavor to reach all out-of-school children through its "Every Child Counts" Citizens' Campaign held an outreach program for NGOs in Nashik, Maharashtra on 8th December 2014.

7 NGOs participated in the Outreach and were introduced to the Every Child Counts Program model. The representatives of the NGOs explained the situation of migrants and their educational inclusion in Nasik. All NGOs expressed willingness to support the Door Step School vision of "Every 6-7 yr old in school" within the scope of the work they carry out and also look at ways to partner.

With a population of more than 17 lakh, Nashik is reflecting all infrastructure and social problems like Pune: Construction of fly-overs, bridges, roads, residential and commercial buildings is seen all-over the city. Apart from out-of-state migrants, people from rural area around Nashik are also migrating to the city, in search of employment.

We look forward to garnering support and funding for reaching children in Nasik and other cities in India through the "Every Child Counts" program.

One Page Stories - by Children for Children

Under Project Grow with Books an innovative initiative was undertaken to provide a different variety of reading material for children.

This initiative was ‘One Page Story’, stories written by children for the children. These stories were to be just one page long. All the schools where Project Grow with Books is run were made a part of this initiative.

Children were presented with the idea that they should write a story on any topic based on their imagination. We received many stories, but we felt that the children needed some direction while writing the stories. Hence we gave them simple proverbs in Marathi which are very common.

We collected more than 150 stories. 45 of these were selected for printing. It was also decided that children who could draw good pictures would be encouraged to draw pictures for these stories. 

Accordingly on 15^th November 17 children were brought together for the workshop. These children were helped by 8 teachers and 2 volunteers.

The children were told about the stories and also given a general composition for the pictures. The result was mind blowing. Children were reluctant to leave a picture unfinished. They were neither interested in eating nor speaking.

As a result Door Step School has already printed 19 of these stories and the rest are in process.

Movie time @ Door Step School

150 children and 14 teachers from Door Step School had a gala time watching the movie 'Hawaa Hawaai' at PVR Phoenix, Market City, Vimannagar, Pune on 11th December 2014. PVR Nest organized this special screening for children from not for profit and community backgrounds. The children thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience of going to the mall, watching the movie and having popcorn.

Parivartan team extends training to 103 Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) school teachers

Over the years, Door Step School has been interacting with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) schools for various programs. All the 6+ year old children (from various construction sites, slums and other areas) are enrolled in the PMC schools throughout the year and a follow-up is done for all of them.

The Need:

ASER reports tell us that overall reading skills of primary school students are very poor. Our experience shows that less than 10% students can read from their text-book when promoted from Std.1 to Std.2. This weak foundation compounds the problem in subsequent years. To contain this problem at its root, Door Step School’s field staff conducts a specially designed intervention program called ‘First Steps Forward’ for Std.1 students. Play-way methods and activities are used effectively in school with an eye on required outcomes. In the current academic year, this program is being conducted in 212 municipal schools, covering 17,452 students with a field staff of 300. Just 45 minutes a day, five days a week has shown remarkable results.  In 2012-13, 53% and in 2013-14, 62% students could read all the letters, ‘matras’, and ‘jodakshar’ (the set of composite letters) given in their Std.1 text-book without any difficulty at the end of the year!

 These results have so impressed the school staff, that the Shikshan Mandal (Education Board) asked Door Step School to conduct special training sessions for their school teachers in making and using teaching aids for developing language skills so that more children could experience joyful learning.

The Trainers:

‘Parivartan’, the in-house training department of Door Step School, has developed over the years various strategies and techniques to deal with the challenging situations while working with children. Each field worker/teacher has access to two bags of specially designed teaching aids- one for teaching language skills and another for teaching numeracy skills! All these teaching aids work their magic when used in tandem with regular monitoring as they are child centric with a focus on guiding every child from one competency level to another. The trainers are well acquainted with various possible scenarios in the field. 

Training sessions were conducted for four batches of PMC school teachers. Each batch had two trainers for each session. 

The Teacher Trainees:

103 Pune Municipal Corporation teachers of Std. 1 and Std.2 benefited from this program. They represented 32 schools from Kothrud and Malwadi; 13 schools from Shivajinagar and Gokhale nagar; and 14 schools from Aundh, Balewadi, Pashan, Bopodi and Sutaarwadi areas of Pune.

The Training: 

The training was conducted on 5^th and 7^th November 2014, from 8 am to 1 pm in four PMC schools:

1.       Chhatrapati Sambhaji Vidyalaya, School no. 70, Kothrud.

2.       Deen Dayal Vidyalaya, School no. 72, Paud road, Kothrud.

3.       Narveer Tanaji Vidyalaya, School no. 47, Near Sakhar Sankul, Shivaji nagar.

4.       Indira Gandhi Prathamik Shala, School no. 47, Aundh.

First, the importance of using play-way methods was discussed. Learning through play is simply the best way of learning. A ‘hands-on’ approach for the children results in a ‘minds-on’ experience that encourages them to learn with enthusiasm, observe, ask questions and be creative. It's crucial to their social, emotional, cognitive and even physical development.

The teachers then made five teaching aids to help teach Marathi alphabet, ‘matras’ and composite words. They learnt to make ‘Sangeet Khurchi’, ‘Ambyacha Khel’, ‘Start and Stop’, ‘Jodaksharache Fassey’ and "Word Puzzle" using material supplied by Door Step School. Although the training was given for teaching Marathi, some of the teachers adapted the aids to teach Kannada and English. 

They also learnt how to use the games effectively in class. For example:

Game 1: ‘Sangeet khurchi’, an adaptation of musical chairs; encourages the children to read.

 Letters are written on cards and arranged alternately facing opposite directions on chairs or on the floor. If the number of letters is ten, then eleven children run around them while the teacher claps. When the clapping stops they stop in front of a letter. Each child reads the letter in front of him/her and tells two words beginning with that letter or recites the ‘barakhadi’ of that letter, or a composite word with that letter depending on the competency level of that child. The eleventh child, who does not get to stand in front of a letter, gets to read all the letters and then leaves the game. One letter is removed and the game continues in the same manner until one child is left.

Game 2: ‘Ambyacha Khel’ involves reading, comparing and matching skills to find which letter/word is missing.

A mango tree is drawn on one chart paper. It has about ten ‘mangoes’ with one word/letter written on each. At the base of the tree mango shaped chart-paper pieces are kept with the same words/letters. The children are first asked to read the words on the tree. Then they are asked to close their eyes. One of the mangoes on the tree is removed. The children open their eyes and use the mangoes kept at the base to compare and find which mango has fallen off the tree!  

All the teaching aids were displayed at all locations. The PMC teachers noted them with great interest.

Participant feedback: 

The PMC teachers’ response can be summed up as follows:

·         It was an enjoyable experience. They themselves had ‘enjoyed learning’ after a long time and they recognized the importance of activities to be used in the teaching-learning process.

·         More time was required for this training as they could have learnt to make and use more teaching aids.

·         Similar training should be given for all the teaching aids displayed for teaching language skills, and Maths, making puppets etc.

·         Std. 3 and 4 teachers should also be trained by Door Step School.

·         Training sessions to be conducted every two months.

Door Step School wishes good luck to all the PMC teachers. Hope all of them spread the joy of learning in all their classrooms.!

Every Child Counts - the Campaign Continues

The seeds sown by Door Step School and a passionate group of Volunteers in 2011 have slowly taken root and the branches have now spread across Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and New Pune areas in the year 2014 in the form of the Every Child Counts-Citizens' Campaign , a Campaign for Universal Elementary Education, a Campaign for educational inclusion of Migrants, a Campaign for reaching and enrolling children into schools at the "right age" of 6-7 years !

Thanks to the involvement and support of Volunteers from Colleges, Companies, Individual volunteers and NGOs across Pune, The Campaign has reached 1584 construction sites, brick kilns, migrant dwellings and 1400 children have been enrolled into mainstream schools since June 2014.  Many generous donors have since made sure these children can travel safely to schools by sponsoring their school transport and lending their school buses.

These children would never have had the opportunity to attend a school, but for the efforts of all those involved !

With seasonal inward migration expected in November, the team launched an Enrollment Drive across all areas with a Volunteer meet on 1st November . Our thanks to all the Volunteers who participated in this meet. Mrs. Rajani Paranjpe, our Founder and President made a moving appeal to all volunteers to help each and every child exercise their "Right to Education" and reach schools across Pune.

Mr. Ajay Dasgupta of The Kahani Project was a special invitee and as usual, he came up with an appropriate story "Darr" to inspire and motivate our Volunteers .

We thank Sangam Girl Guides for making available the venue for this meet.

Over the next few weeks, Volunteer groups stepped in and planned various activities for the School Enrollment drive.

Volunteers from Deepasthambh Counselling Parents at a site

Volunteers from Geometric -Udaan have planned to visit sites in Bhumkar Vasti and Nigdi on 30th November..  With this spirit and so many torch bearers, we are sure that many more children will reach schools this year. !

Geometric-Udaan continues the Campaign!

The Campaign Continues. Join hands by writing to volunteer@doorstepschool.org

The Breakfast Revolution @ Door Step School

Door Step School and Decimal Foundation partner to start the 'Breakfast Revolution' in Pune.

Door Step School, Pune in partnership with the Decimal Foundation launched "The Breakfast revolution" experimentally in Pune on 8th November. 333 children aged 4-12 years at 2 locations in Mohammedwadi and Balewadi where Door Step School runs its Education programs for migrant children were assessed for nutrition levels. The health check-up was done by a team of fifty medical and paramedical professionals who traveled from Mumbai . Over a 3 month period, the children will be provided fortified breakfast and their nutrition levels monitored.

Children in India are more malnourished than children in sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF). 1 of 3 malnourished kids in the world is from India. This is despite India having the world's largest Midday meal program, serving 120 million kids every day. Midday meals are operated via thousands of vendors, are not standard, lack taste and nutritive value. The solution - supplementing midday meals with a great early morning breakfast!

The Breakfast Revolution aims to provide tasty, healthy, standardized and safe power breakfast for kids. Children in low income schools receive a glass of Soya milk sweetened, flavored (chocolate, vanilla, mango, strawberry) and fortified (Vitamin A, D, Calcium) along with a packet of double fortified biscuits (fortified with iron and folic acid). Each breakfast has GUARANTEED 300 calories, 6-8 grams of protein, 50% of daily requirement of Vitamin A,D, Calcium, iron and folic acid.

Door Step School thanks the Decimal Foundation and our donors for making this initiative possible. !

Door Step School, Pune partners with The Kahani Project

‘Kahani’ time for Parents and Children from PPCE (Parents’ Participation in Children’s Education) project areas 

Just the idea of listening to a story brings a sparkle to the eyes of the old and young! Two interesting and enjoyable story telling sessions were conducted in October in partnership with ‘Kahani’ to reinforce the message of regular school attendance and gender equality. The audience was mainly the parents and children of construction sites in Mohammadwadi and Suraksh nagar areas. The venues? A big shady tree and an open space near a labor camp!

There were about 40-45 children and 25-30 parents at both the ‘venues’ who not just listened but actively participated in the story telling session. Ajay Dasgupta and Sneha of ‘Kahani’ had them enthralled with their story telling skills. The constant interaction between the story teller and audience made everybody feel they belonged in the story!

In the first story, children identified with the character of Aslan and his friends and happily joined in the refrain when prompted. They learnt how they can play, learn, have fun and also make a lot of friends in school and how they can help each other in times of difficulty. ‘So, make sure you go to school every day and take all the children from your neighborhood along with you!’

The second story was based on Mahashwetadevi’s ‘Moena:the why-why girl’. Children by nature are curious and love to ask questions. This is how they learn and very often show adults how something can be done differently. Unfortunately, adults do not encourage their curiosity and so this story advised the adults to keep an open mind and not be averse to change. ‘Send your daughters to school along with your sons!’ Just after this story, Ganga, a DSS student for the last eight years who is now a student of Std XI was interviewed. This reinforced the importance of sending girls to school.

The third story was about two friends ‘Budhu’ and Chaalaak’! The two friends come to each other’s rescue many times and walk hand-in-hand. No matter what your name, you are capable of thinking and doing a good job of any given task.

At the end, Ajay also showed photos of Mary Kom and Malala and talked about these two girls and how they had overcome difficulties to become world famous personalities.

Contributed by Harishchandra Phadke, Translated by Archana Vyavaharkar

Door Step School named 'Pioneer' in the Lego foundation ‘Re-imagine Learning’ challenge

We are pleased to share that Door Step School Pune has been named one of the 30 pioneers in the ‘Re-imagine Learning’ challenge who "offer novel, playful approaches that challenge the conventions of learning. In its effort to shift dialogue around learning and play, Door Step School is one of the best ambassadors". 

The challenge, organized by Lego Foundation in partnership with Ashoka Changemakers had more than 630 ‘Challenge’ entries from 68 countries around the world showcasing their creative approaches in using play to learn.

"The society for Door Step Schools.(DSS) Project Foundation, achieved the highest ratings in terms of innovation, social impact, sustainability, and Challenge relevance. It demonstrated not only an ability to create high quality learning outcomes, but it did so in a novel, fun, and playful way that overturned the conventions of education." said Mirjam Schoning, Global Head of Programmes & Partnerships , LEGO Foundation in her citation to Door Step School.

For detailed information, please visit  

Lego foundation - Re-imagining Learning Challenge and

The Society for Door Step Schools @Ashoka Changemakers

We invite you to view our Learning through Play video on YouTube.

Every Child Counts - Diwali Celebrations

Volunteers and field staff of the Every Child Counts - Citizens' Campaign ushered in the festival season of Diwali with parents and children at many locations across Pune,Pimpri Chinchwad and surrounding areas (Wagholi, Hingewadi, Ambegaon).

Children  participated in activities like making "Aakash kandils" and greeting cards. Drawing competitions were held at some sites ."Workbooks" for practicing alphabets and story books were distributed to the children along with coloring books. Their joyful and enthusiastic participation was a treat to watch.

Family Literacy: Begins with children at Door Step School's centres

Family literacy is about parents and children and parents learning together. Often it means the parents teaching the children or reading with them. However, at Door Step School, the opposite often happens. The story of Bharat and Manju ( names changed to protect identity) is one of the many at Door Step School's "Educational Activity Centres" at construction sites in Pune.

Soon after eight year old Bharat was enrolled in Door Step School’s class at a construction site in Bavdhan, a DSS representative accompanied his mother, Manju, and Bharat to the nearby PMC school to enroll him in the school. As they filled the admission form, Manju gave the relevant information: child’s name, surname, date of birth, and name of mother were duly filled. But she strongly objected and refused to give the name of Bharat’s father and insisted that her son should be known as Bharat Manju.

Manju has a valid reason for this: Bharat’s father had abandoned them when Bharat was a few months old and refused to support them. Manju then decided to leave her village and come to Pune with the baby and fend for herself. She has been working hard as a laborer and is determined to look after Bharat in the best way possible. She wants to educate him and make him a respectable person. Why should she even mention the father’s name when he has disowned them?

Bharat is also his mother’s son! He was upset to see his mother put her thumb-print in place of signature when she visited school. He asked the teacher in the DSS class to teach him how to write his mother’s name because he wanted to teach her how to sign! He was encouraged by the DSS teacher not only to teach her to sign but also to read and write. So now Manju has learnt to sign her name and is learning from Bharat what he learns in school! Their enthusiasm for learning is mutually infectious and we hope they both excel in this venture. !

Contributed by Gauri Katkar , Translated by Archana Vyavaharkar

The story of "Nakhushi" a.k.a Pallavi

11 year old Arati, 8 year old Bharti and 6 yr old Priti were living at MST Construction site in Dhanori with their parents and a younger sister who was strangely named "Nakhushi" which means "unhappiness" in Marathi when the Door Step School- Every Child Counts team met them during a survey of construction sites in June 2014.  Their mother Nandabai Suresh Hirwale, works at the site , supporting her husband Suresh Hirwale who is ill and cannot work and her 4 children.

When asked why the youngest one was name "Nakhushi", the parents explained that born after 3 girls, they were expecting the fourth child to be a boy and therefore named her Nakhushi, reflecting their mental state when she was born .

Arati , the eldest, had attended school till 5th standard in their native village of Yavatmal. With the parents moving to Pune for employment, she had to take up the responsibility of looking after the youngest.. Her younger sisters Priti and Bharti had never been to school.

Though initially reluctant to send their children to school in the city, Nandabai showed up on the day of School admissions and asked that 2 of her children be admitted to school. She was to visit the hospital for her husband's treatment, but she chose to postpone that  to accompany her children to school. She was determined that her daughters should have a better life than she did and was convinced that education was a means.

Arati was left behind to take care of the youngest "Nakhushi". She was not happy about it and wanted to join the others. Her mother was reluctant to leave the infant alone even though her husband home most of the time.

Bharti and Priti have started attending the PMC School in Dhanori regularly and use the School Van arranged by Door Step School to reach school.

Realizing that their child would carry the burden of her name, "Nakhushi " was given a new name "Pallavi" by her parents. This  is not just a change of name. It is change in attitude towards girls... change for progress ... It is the change that we all want to see.. a change in the right direction.!!!

Arati wants to join her siblings at school.. how can we help?. Daycare facilities at Construction sites are virtually non-existent.  That is another problem for another day !. But the fact is that 2 young girls are attending school today and one more who will possibly attend when she is old enough, gives us a lot of hope and encouragement to continue the work we are doing through the Every Child Counts - Campaign for universal elementary Education !.

Chotu goes out to play!

Parents' Participation in Children's Education (Supported under CSR initiatives of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Ltd.)

Chotu’s friends refuse to play with him as his hair is not combed, clothes are dirty and he has not bathed. Chotu then has a bath, wears clean clothes, combs his hair and goes out to play. His friends join him for play which makes him very happy.

Cleanliness is one of the must have habits in all individuals and what better way than to use puppets like Chotu to influence children to get into this habit at an early age.

Parents and children residing in the slum areas and on the construction sites in Kondhwa.  were invited to puppet shows organized with the theme of “cleanliness”. Through these puppet shows, Door Step School aims to inculcate the habit of cleanliness and teach children the importance of hygiene in their day to day life.

The first show was at `Tilekar Vasti’ which emphasized on “dental hygiene”. The reasons for tooth decay, importance of keeping teeth, gums and mouth clean was explained. The need for brushing teeth twice a day was stressed upon. Almost 25 children and 20 parents enthusiastically attended the puppet show.

Another puppet show at construction sites `Shantivan’ and `Corona’ in Kondhwa had. 20 children and 50 parents. The topic here was `Personal Hygiene”.

(Translated from Marathi by: Deepali Kulkarni, volunteer DSS)

Marathon with a Cause

12th September , 2014, 7:00 am  saw over 100 employees from Geometric, Pune taking over the streets of Hingewadi !.
They were participating in a Marathon with a Cause organized by UDAAN, the CSR forum of Geometric, for creating awareness and raising funds for education of migrant children supported by Door Step School, Pune.

Door Step School thanks all geometric employees who participated and UDAAN volunteers who organised this event. !

UDAAN volunteers have been dedicating their time over weekends towards locating and enrolling migrant children living at construction sites in Wakad and Hingewadi areas through Door Step School's Every Child Counts-Citizens' Campaign!.

Contributing to a better India

Indians dream of a India, which is at par with the most developed nations of the world.

Many organisations are working towards a better India. There are numerous issues we need to work on and one of them is educating our people. As it’s only education, that can change the  outlook of an individual.

Door step school (DSS) is one such organisation working towards imparting education to underprivileged children.

As the name suggests, it’s a school just a few steps away from home. DSS has set up various such schools all over Pune for children  coming from underprivileged families.

Right from scouting of location, convincing parents and making them understand the importance of education, encouraging  students to attend school, by  enrolling children in a near by government school and guiding them with academics and soft skills is what DSS does.

With a dedicated staff of over 600 teachers, teaching nearly 5000 students, today DSS has moved a few steps forward in contributing to a better India.

Unfortunately, people for whom the RTE (Right To Education) act was passed are themselves not aware of this act.

DSS through it’s work is not only making them aware of RTE but also making them aware of their rights as children.

Apart from academics, children are taught the importance of sanitation, hygiene and verbal communication skills. Knowledge is imparted in a way that is child friendly with group discussions, plays, music and outdoor visits.

There are many people out there who want to come forward and help these children.

DSS wants such volunteers by providing  them a platform, which welcomes each one of them to be a part of the transformation, for educating every child and empowering them.

Preeti Mallapurkar

(volunteer DSS)

Every Child Counts : Independence day celebrations 2014

Independence Day and Janmashtami were celebrated with joy and enthusiasm at many locations across Pune on 15th of August. 

Parents, children and entire communities participated with great eagerness in these events which were conducted by our Volunteers and our field team.

Our sincere thanks to all the volunteers who helped organize the events and spent their time with the children!

The  "Every Child Counts " team also used this opportunity to create awareness among  parents  on the need for education and continuous schooling of the children.

If you would like to help organize or participate in our future events, please write to volunteer@doorstepschool.org

Tablet based E-learning

Under the RTE act Door Step School has enrolled over 1200 children this academic year. Nearly 600 of these children are enrolled in age appropriate classes. In the absence of support classes (bridge classes), they find it difficult to cope with school curriculum. To strengthen their basics, Door Step School in collaboration with Rotary club has provided the children a self e-learning tablet. The tablets were distributed by Mr. Kulbir Dodd from Rotary Club.

Children can learn the Marathi Alphabet at their own pace. Their learning levels will be monitored by DSS field staff.

Parent Counselling through Street Play and Role Plays

Parents' Participation in Children's Education (Supported under CSR initiatives of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Ltd.)

Creating awareness on Right To Education among the construction site workers, counselling them to enrol their children in School and increasing their participation in their child’s education forms the crux of the PPCE project.

Four Street plays were organized on various sites near Siddharthnagar, Kondhwa, Pune in July 2014.

The message on Value of education was effectively conveyed through the  play

Door Step School opens a field office in East Pune

Door Step School opened a new field office in Sasane nagar, Hadapsar, Pune. This is Door Step School’s fourth office and the first one in East Pune. The Parent Participation (http://www.doorstepschool.org/pune/parents-participation/project) is working extensively with migrant community from construction sites and urban slums in and around Kondhwa and Mohammadwadi since Feb 2013. Field staff working in Kondhwa and Mohammadwadi wards use this office for field team meetings, volunteer orientation, parent events and for data entry.

Every Child Counts - You can help a child reach school !

Suhani , Radhika and 50 other children of school going age live with their parents at Chakrapani vasti in Bhosari.

Their parents are engaged in selling herbs and medicines, some others sell trinkets and small jewellery items and some of them are rag pickers.

Door Step School through its "Every Child Counts-Citizens' Campaign" located this community and children in April.Their parents have never been to school and were  not aware or interested in sending these children to school. After several meetings with parents, they were convinced to send them to school.

All the children were admitted to the nearest Municipal school in Bhosari. To introduce them to schooling and the idea of going to school regularly, it was decided to deploy a "School on Wheels" at the community in June . Children were curious about the bus and started walking in.. Soon all the children were clamoring for a space on the bus.  

Teachers have inculcated a sense of discipline among the children and given them a hint of what they can expect in school. These children are now ready and eager to attend mainstream school.

 

  

Having crossed the major hurdle of making parents aware and ready to send children to school,we have hit a wall !. 

How do these children go to school which is 3 kms away from where they live and across a major Highway? We need to arrange for a school bus/ van to take them to school. Though school education is free in India under the Right to Education Act, school transport is not.

It will cost Rs. 400 each month or Rs.4000 for a school year for each child to reach and attend school regularly.

Please write to us at  pune@doorstepschool.org  if you would like to sponsor school transport for Suhani, Radhika and many more children who are looking forward  to being in school and attending school daily .

Every Child Counts - Many miles to go.. many smiles to see

Door Step School's efforts to reach and enroll all children at the right age into schools continues into its third year. 

Launched as a Citizens' Campaign, this program has Volunteers 

a) surveying their neighborhood or chosen localities 
b)locating children of school-going age ( 4-8 yrs) at construction sites or other dwellings
c) counselling the parents and 
d) helping the parents enroll their wards in the nearest Government School.

Having reached over 3000 children in 2 years since 2012, this year, with the support and encouragement of many Organizations and Volunteer groups, we have decided to spread the reach to Pimpri Chichwad as well as fringe areas of Pune such as Talegaon, Chakan, Hingewadi, Pirangut and Wagholi.

Volunteers, sometimes working with our field staff and sometimes working independently, have helped survey many areas .

More than 900 sites have been surveyed and over 3000 children reported.  

This only reiterates the findings of a recent Unesco report that 1.4 Million children in India are out-of-school . 

This also strengthens our resolve to do our bit to reach as many of these children as we can ... 300 children have been enrolled so far...we need all the hands that we can get to fulfill the challenging goal of reaching such a large number of children.

Please connect with Volunteer@doorstepschool.org to be part of this effort.

_

Parent's Participation in Children's Education continues into its second year

Under the CSR initiative of Rural Electrification Corporation(REC), Ltd., Shri. P.J.Thakkar, Director

(Technical), and Shri R P Vaishnaw, General Manager (F&A), launched the Project “Parent's Participation in Children’s Education for the year2014-15” in Kondhwa and Mohammadwadi areas in the city of Pune, Maharashtra.

This year the project aims to implement an end-to-end process for parents participation in the enrollment, support and academic progress of the children of migrant and unsettled communities.

The project was started in Dec 2012 as a CSR initiative of REC and 693 children were enrolled in 17 government schools in the area with "Parent Awareness and Participation" as the focus. This year the project is integrated with "First Steps Forward" an initiative of Door Step School’s "Project Grow with Books".

The School-on-Wheels bus donated by REC under the CSR initiative helped reach 355 children who were supported through Preparatory Camp and after-school Study Classes on the bus. The School on Wheels Bus will continue to provide literacy to educationally deprived children at temporary road sidedwellings and construction sites in Kondhwa and Mohammadwadi areas of Pune, Maharashtra.
   

DSS Annual Presentation 2014

DSS Annual Presentation is scheduled on Saturday, June 7th, from 10 AM till 11: 30 AM at Nivara OldAge Home, Navi Peth Pune.

We will be presenting the annual report on all our projects in Pune, along with an exhibition. We hope you can make it to this event.

Please confirm your attendance to pune@doorstepschool.org, bhavana@doorstepschool.org

Helping children reach schools...

In the month of June last year, after enrolling children from construction sites to PMC and PCMC schools, Door Step School was exploring various options to ensure that children are able to reach school safe and well. Several corporates and private schools with school bus facility, were approached for support. Among private schools, Vidya Valley was first to generously support by offering their school buses. 158 children have utilized the Buses so far at 3 Municipal schools in Bavdhan, Pashan, and Balewadi areas. Starting with 25 children in June, Vidya Valley buses currently help transport 125 children to 2 Municipal schools, one in Pashan and one in Balewadi, running in 2 shifts.

The children, their parents, teachers, bus escorts, and DSS staff thank Vidya Valley management and the bus drivers and kakas for their excellent co-operation!! The bus drivers and kakas have been extremely supportive, many times stepping down from the bus, helping children cross roads and keeping the children's safety prime at all times. Special thanks to Chaudhury Kaka who has been just a phone call away and available to address the changing needs towards efforts to utilize the buses to their capacity and support more children.

Door Step School would like to take this occasion to express heartfelt thanks to Vidya Valley for supporting school transport for the children over last 8 months.

Happy to share a few pictures of children on the bus...

Hoping that this can be highlighted as a nice example and more schools can come forward to support in a similar manner in other areas of the city, in the coming year.

Need Volunteers for Colouring Activity

Do you love painting? When was the last time you drew or coloured a picture, not on MS-Paint or CorelDraw, but with real brush and colours? Can't remember? Here's an opportunity for you then...

Door Step School requires volunteers to colour 4 different picture stories for children. Each story has around 5 flash cards and there are 80 sets of each story. This activity is scheduled on Saturday, 15th of March, 2014. Please write to volunteer@doorstepschool.org if you are interested and available.

Bringing Parents to School for Parent-Teacher meetings

Parents' Participation in Children's Education (Supported under CSR initiatives of Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd.) project's  theme for the last quarter is “Bringing Parents to School” for Parent-Teacher meetings. 

The aim of these meetings is to 

• Bring the parents and school staff together on a common platform to help their interaction. 
• Help parents overcome the fear of school and make them feel comfortable to come to school whenever they need to (for transfer certificates, leave applications etc.) 
• Show the parents the environment where their children spend 6 hours a day; also their child’s progress, projects etc. 
• Advise the parents about various aspects of sending their children to school (importance of regular attendance, punctuality, neat and tidiness of children, behavior and discipline etc.) 

Seven schools organized Parent Teacher meetings. Overall 60-70 parents from project sites participated in these meetings. Participation was low as the meeting time clashed with their work hours. Parents who could not attend the meeting are taken to school (by Project staff) for a one-on-one meeting with the class teacher.

Parent Meeting @ ZP School Pisoli

Parent Meeting  @ Somji School

Parent Meeting @ Siddharth nagar School

Parent Meeting @ Mohammadwadi School