STEPPING STONE TO QUALITY EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
A new building for All ‘Bout Children Montessori School, affiliated to Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), was declared open on January 31 in the premises of Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana.
The ceremony commenced with a word of prayer by the Bishop of Colombo, Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, followed by several other religious observances and a tour of the school. Many distinguished guests were present at the opening ceremony including Archdeacon of Galle Rev. Sunil Fernando and several members of the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind including its chairman, executive committee, board members, principal and vice principals. Members of the joint board of the preschool include Ms. Manisha Pieris, Mr. Ray Abeywardena, Ms. Susila Hensman, Ms. Nirmalinee Gupta, Ms. Shubhani Jayawardena and Ms. Deepa Melvani – three of whom are board members of Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind.
The concept of opening a preschool for differently-abled children as a charity project has been initiated by Nirmalinee Gupta, a qualified AMI teacher from St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo who was also serving as a montessori director in the US. In 1973, she founded the montessori school ‘All ‘Bout Children’ as a non-profit organisation and in 1988 built a school for children from the ages two-and-a-half to 14 years starting with a hundred children. This school was in operation at Minnesota, USA for 45 years while providing education for some 4,000 students throughout.
Due to several requests, a montessori school was opened in Sri Lanka while offering montessori education free of charge for underprivileged children on the initiative of Nirmalinee Gupta. “We provide a wholesome knowledge-gaining experience to these children, starting with basic household activities to basic mathematics, basic geometry and basic geography based preschool activities, languages, arts and crafts and the list goes on,” she says.
Financial aid for the establishment of the preschool was solely provided by Nirmalinee and the building of the montessori situated within the premises of Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind is nearly 100 years old.
“The building was refurbished and the garden of the preschool landscaped by Tyron Fonseka – a construction company owner – and Raja in a way it is hospitable and favourable for children while making it truly a house of children,” said Nirmalinee. The new classrooms can accommodate 25 children in each class and the building consists of five classrooms with an apartment upstairs that houses accommodation of preschool teachers. The building is equipped with standardised sanitary facilities according to the requirements of different age categories, along with a kids play area and playground.
The globally-recognised AMI Montessori caters to children from ages two-and-a-half to five years (maximum six years) and children with or without hearing or visual impairments can be enrolled to the institute. The main reason behind the enrolling of children without any impairment is to facilitate the growth and development of differently-abled children through either hearing or witnessing the activities of rest of the students in class.
“We ensure that there is a 3:1 ratio of differently-abled children and children without any impairment within the classroom in order to expedite the learning process for the differently-abled while mixing them with each other,” highlighted Deepa Melvani, administrator of the preschool. The institute is currently in the process of recruiting qualified teachers and the board of management expects to recruit one teacher per twenty students along with experienced staff members and maids to assist this smooth-running institute while maintaining a childfriendly atmosphere.
“This montessori is free of charge especially for children with financial constraints. Any qualified person who is willing to volunteer and any sponsor who is interested in joining hands with this course are always welcome in order to deliver quality education to less privileged children. We do not expect an exact amount of payment but cash payments are more than welcome from parents who can afford to pay depending on their financial status,” she added. “We are planning to recruit teachers who are AMI qualified. We are planning to have sign language teachers for the hearing impaired and teachers skilled in braille for the visually impaired. We have necessary equipment and stationery that facilitate the learning process of these children with special needs which include reading, writing and listening eventually with progress and irrespective of age. Furthermore, the montessori staff has more than 12 years of trained experience in the field and the security of each child is ensured. They will be wellcared-for and the parents should not worry about their security. Our current idea is to initiate the process of enrollment through word of mouth,” she said.
Speaking to , Administrator Melvani affirmed, “These kids with hearing and visual impairments will be taken into Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind after their preschool education.” The education provided by All ‘Bout Children Montessori can be a stepping stone towards further education of the underprivileged or differently-abled children in Sri Lanka.
Any donation to the preschool and most importantly enrollment of students can be contacted through hotline numbers 0112632228 and 0763303652 or via email address: allboutchildren20@yahoo.com