Impact Story: Rosamville School, Western Kenya
At Rosamville School, the power of “word of mouth” was essential to the success and development of the school. Located in Western Kenya, Rosamville School was first founded in 2012 by Ms. Rosemary Richard Munala. Its humble beginnings are appropriately reflected in its first day of school with just one student in Ms. Munalas home. Yet, almost 13 years later, hundreds of students have walked through those doors and into their prosperous academic journeys. This growth can be attributed to parents and their persuasive voices, who were impressed by the teaching methodologies and engagement between students and teachers. Following that first day of class, the second day welcomed two students. Then four students on the third day took their seats in class and seven students by the end of the week. The evolution of Rosamville has been nothing short of monumental. Today, there are nine teachers and 205 learners, ranging from pre-primary to Grade 6.
The first few weeks of class took place in Ms. Munala’s home, unbeknownst to her husband who was working in Nairobi. He was not angry; in fact, it inspired him to build classrooms upon returning from Nairobi. He took out a loan of 80,000 Kenyan shillings from Mzima Sacco to construct three temporary classrooms with iron sheets as the walls and the roof.
Rosamville continued along an upward trajectory, and in 2023, the school heard about EduQuality, a program of Opportunity EduFinance, from another school in the area. Firstly, they participated in the School Leadership Professional Development (SLPD) workshop, designed to support school leaders through instructional leadership and school management trainings. The focus centers around several key topics, such as business/financial management, school marketing, teacher retention and child protection. After participating in her first session, Ms. Munala’s eyes were opened. She was motivated to start planning and budgeting with the money from school fees, beginning with creating a separate school bank account from her personal account.
The work didn’t end there. Even though the school had done so well with referrals alone, it was time to implement marketing practices and introduce a Parent Teacher Association (PTA). With the help of new budgeting practices and input from the PTA, Ms. Munala was able to save some money and initiate the construction of a four-roomed permanent structure for school.
Promoting parental involvement, budget plans and branding efforts were not the only favorable outcomes from Rosamville’s work with EduQuality. Collaboration between other schools prospered as well. Instead of teachers and students among neighboring schools competing against each other, members of the EduQuality cluster in Western Kenya are finding ways to work together.
“There is a positive relationship between schools now. They see each other as a partner, not a competitor, and there is positive competition happening now,” shared Ms. Munala.
The improvement both within and outside of the school did not end there. Moving forward, Rosamville is undertaking some important projects, such as focusing on lesson planning and behavior management. Teachers have been sharpening their skills at clearly conveying learning objectives, allowing students to better prepare for assessments and understand the goals of each course. There has also been an emphasis on positive behavior reinforcement, which in turn has limited the number of distractions in class. Changing the learning attitudes of students has allowed classes to flow more smoothly while further motivating both teachers and students to perform well.
“Through positive behavior reinforcement in school, pupils have stopped disruptive behavior. There is stronger engagement and improved academic performance from the learners,” Ms. Munala notes.
The school has been praised for its variety of after-school activities, including choir, drama club, athletics (such as football) and other clubs. In fact, student have even received awards for their success, making Rosamville stand out as a model example of nurturing talent.
In addition, another important development is the concentration in uplifting girls in school. Through guiding and counselling, peer talk forums, participation in different games and chats with guest speakers, the school has taken bold strides to further empower female students. The aim is to provide young girls with female role models, inspiring them to dream big while supporting their aspirations.
These successes stem from dedicated staff members, students, parents and above all, teachers. Under the guidance of EduQuality, the Teacher Mentor Professional Development (TMPD) program has allowed teachers to have the opportunity to build new classroom skills and receive feedback on current approaches through workshops within their cluster. The teacher mentors at Rosamville have started to deliver their training from TMPD to other teachers within their school, overall cultivating into a staff of high-quality teachers. Through this program, teachers have noted an increase in engagement in classrooms via a “turn and talk” strategy, a practice where students turn to their peers and share ideas or responses to questions.
From one student to 205, the growth at Rosamville has not just been in student body size. Ms. Munala and her team of educators have achieved tremendous work in creating an academic learning environment that continues to blossom with its students. What started as a small classroom in a home has now transformed into an institution that parents are eager to send their children to. As the school continues to make positive alterations, the future for students at Rosamville is certainly bright.