The extraordinary success of ISF’s catch-up education program in the short period since its inception can be easy to overlook. A recent email report to Trustees from our equally extraordinary Country Manager Kate Griffin highlights the success of our school as well the enthusiasm and dedication of our wonderful staff. Well done Kate, Vicheka and all our school staff!
“So here we are 3 years since we sent our first round of children to the State School and it’s like déjà vu only better than all the previous years! I laugh now when I think of the first email I sent to the Trustees about our students being offered the opportunity to go to State School. We had asked the director of the State School what was needed to enrol the students the following year (i.e. 12 months later) and after testing them, his reply was all 26 would start the following Monday (3 days later!). My email to the Trustees said we’d either just landed on our feet or we were about to fall on our faces! That leap of faith has proven to be life changing for all concerned!
In September 45 children (25 girls and 20 boys) graduated from the ISF catch up system and were yesterday integrated into the local State Schools. In addition 63 students who had been fed into the State School over the last 3 years progressed on, bring the total number of State School sponsored children to 108.
Of these children, 95 are now attending either the Stung Meanchey Primary School or the Boeng Salang Primary School. We have 13 students sponsored between two high schools, Cheasim Samaky and Obek Khorm High Schools. In the majority of the cases of the high school students they are the first members of their family to receive formal high school education. This year we’re sponsoring children all the way up to Grade 10 which will means we’ll have our first high school graduate (all going well!) in 2 years! As you can imagine the students and their families alike are very proud of this accomplishment!
As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day … while we were preparing to send off the students studying in the state school, the 65 new children and their parents were arriving at the ISF school!
As the new students watched the proceedings they were unsure what to make of the whole circus unfolding before them! Both groups of students (i.e. those graduating and the new students taking their places at ISF) were riddled with nervous excitement! No doubt both groups had heard what to expect from friends who’d been in the same situation! The students who had been to State School previously warned the new students to behave and work hard as they wanted to be number one at State School again!
The additional 65 students brings our total number in the catch up system to 117 and the overall number of students sponsored by ISF to 225.
Once the new students were placed in their respective classes, the rules were explained and names were learned, classes commenced!
The parents of the new students participated in a meeting with our 
social workers so that we could explain some of the other services we provide (like the vaccinations and dental care) and get permission from the parents for their children to participate. The parents had the opportunity to see how much fun ISF is when Phanna introduced Leo (one of our Trustees) to the parents as a ’special student’ who ISF would be sending to the local State School! Leo’s navy shorts and white shirt (like the state school attire!) made him look ALMOST like one of the students!!! The parents were highly entertained by this idea but weren’t quite sure if it was a joke or not when Leo got into the truck with all the students 10 minutes later!!
As we waved Leo goodbye and he said ‘bye mom’ and I said ‘behave son! and no fighting in school or you’ll be in trouble with me!’ the truck carrying all the students pulled off to a roar of laughter from the students, staff and parents! Leo will fill you all in later on how he got on in the State School. When he didn’t return for 2 hours we were convinced he got the pass to study there!!
Each year we improve as I’m less and less involved in the process and get to stand back and watch the events unfold, I’m awed by how far we’ve come and how much the capacity of our staff has grown over the previous year. It’s a great measure of our success to not only graduate so many children but to do it more efficiently and effectively than the previous year!
We finished the day of in celebration of World Teacher Day (which is today, 5 October) by heading out for dinner with our Education staff team. Without all our wonderful teachers, what we do would certainly not be achieved.
Two days into the new round of students and other than not knowing their names, it feels like they’ve always been part of ISF!!
So far it’s two thumbs up from all students integrated into the state school and all have settled in well!”
