After a multi-faceted, arduous, and inspiring planning process, we have finally opened the doors of our Academy for our first class of students! Our team’s meticulous research, analysis, collaboration, brainstorming, tracking, and implementation engendered a creative, innovative, and effective plan for our learning environment. Last June, we finally brought our model to life, and today, as we observe our students trials, successes, and resilience in the classroom, we see the realisation of our plans and dreams for the Academy.

The following illustrates the model with which we have approached the building process and beginning of our Academy.

1. Observe and Connect:

Through quantitative assessments, interviews, and focus groups, we looked closely at interested students’ current attitudes, interests, knowledge, abilities, and mental state to identify strengths on which we can build and challenging areas that need attention. We also engaged participants in the process by asking about their priorities and hopes for the future–both for themselves and for iSanctuary as a whole.

This information will also help us going forwards to identify appropriate learning resources, track individual participant progress, and contribute to program monitoring and evaluation. As the Academy is a resource for students, all of our planning has been heavily informed by the information we gathered in focus groups of potential iSaahasi students.

2. Analyse and Design:

We examined the information gathered from our potential students and incorporated them with best practices in the field and consultations with educational experts to get a clear picture of specific programmatic and organisational needs. From this, we developed a curriculum, policies, and benchmarks for the Academy.

3. Plan and Pilot:

We then got to work to identify and adopt all of the resources required: technology, evidence-based learning material, and people to deliver it. We also began to gradually introduce class time in a variety of areas to our inaugural class, starting with subjects such as self-defense, Geography, English, goal-setting, health, and yoga (to name a few), to ease participants into the schedule of attending school and getting excited about learning. This also gave us an opportunity to observe our participants’ learning styles and make any adjustments to plans accordingly. Structural adaptations in our centre to facilitate the most effective learning environment are ongoing and nearing completion.

4. Engage and Roll Out:

We hired incredibly talented and qualified staff to implement our plans. They are already busy helping to develop and document lesson plans, progress trackers, and new procedures. We prepared students for Academy enrollment by counseling them on how school will fit into their work schedules and help them achieve their long-term goals. Our class is in the midst of their second semester and already we have seen incredible growth!

5. On-going Assessments and Adjustments:

As semesters pass by, we’re tracking and analyzing data from the Academy to gauge our own best practices and adjust accordingly. We’re trying to mold our programming to best fit the evolving needs of our students and data collection on successes and challenges precipitates comprehensive understanding of student needs and the best ways to address them.