IMPROVING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE EDUCATION AT EMERALD ACHIEVERS SCHOOL IN GHANA

Emmanuel’s motivation to build Emerald Achievers School came from years in education, which gradually showed him how much of a difference strong literacy and numeracy skills could make in a child's life. His wife, who also had a background in education, shared that same conviction and supported the vision from the start.

After Covid19, Emmanuel and his wife started Emerald Achievers School in their home to provide quality education for children in their community. “Why don’t we offer our house, together with our interest in education, to support the children in our community?” Emmanuel recalls. The school opened with six learners and grew to about 50 in its first year. Today, it serves roughly 235 learners and employs 20 staff members.

That growth, however, brought its own challenges. As the school expanded into junior high school, Emmanuel realized the existing infrastructure would not be enough to keep up. The school had already acquired land for a new campus, but developing it required financing it did not have. Collecting fees added further strain, since many families in the community had limited incomes. Keeping fees affordable mattered to Emmanuel, but it also made it harder for the school to fund its own expansion.

Emmanuel first learned about Opportunity International through the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS), a discovery that would contribute to the school’s growth. Through Opportunity EduFinance’s School Leadership Professional Development (SLPD) training under the EduQuality program, Emmanuel applied the financial record-keeping skills he gained to prepare the school’s income and expenditure statement, helping him secure a loan of about GHS 75,000 ($6,491) from a financial institution. The loan financed the school’s new campus, which is already partly in use.

For Emmanuel, Opportunity EduFinance’s impact extends beyond financing. Through the School Development Plan training, he also learned to assess the school’s performance, identify gaps, and plan targeted improvements. For example, a SWOT analysis revealed that learners needed more support in handwriting and reading, prompting the school to develop focused writing and phonics activities.

Emerald Achievers also improved education quality through the Teacher Mentorship Professional Development Training. Teachers who participated in the training sessions are applying what they learned through the school's professional learning community. Rahmatu, a teacher and administrator, uses strategies such as name tags, cold call, and targeted questioning with her learners. She also mentors three colleagues by observing their lessons and guiding them on how to support learners in the same way. “I learned how to teach without a cane,” she says, describing how the training reshaped her approach to discipline. Doreen, another teacher, says, “The training has helped me manage my classroom more positively, engage learners more effectively, prepare better lesson plans, and involve more learners in class.”

Emerald Achievers is now working to complete its new campus and strengthen teaching and learning. Emerald Achievers' journey shows how strong leadership, practical training, and access to finance can improve education quality and help more children get into better schools. The school is still growing, but with its foundations now in place, Emmanuel is focused on what comes next.