THE CHALLENGE
To succeed in school, children need not only good teachers, but a safe and organized school environment, encouragement of their health and nourishment, and support from their families and communities.
Our Solution
For 19 years, STS has been developing the Whole Child Model—a holistic approach to education based on the understanding that for students to thrive, their basic needs must be fulfilled. Rooted in years of research and professional experience, the Model focuses on three areas of need—education, health, and community engagement—so that all children can learn more effectively.
Since 2002, STS has partnered with 36 schools in Guinea to support more than 8,000 students through active learning, local language instruction, teacher training, and girls’ empowerment. We have developed school health policies, provided medical supplies, and constructed wells and latrines. We have also trained school managers, deepened parental involvement, and hosted cross-cultural learning opportunities to increase community engagement in education. Now we’ve expanded to Tanzania, where we have begun doing similar work. So far, we’ve hosted menstrual education training sessions, teacher trainings, and parent-teacher conversations on community support and engagement.
Our Impact
Our research in Guinea shows that when girls participate in our Whole Child Model girls’ scholarship program, they score significantly higher in reading and math than other students. Our efforts led to increased hand washing and use of toilets. Teachers and students showed improved knowledge of hygienic practices. Parents increasingly monitored the sanitation status of schools and established more equitable divisions of chores between their sons and daughters. Parents and teachers have created stronger relationships and begun an understanding of what they both need to do to encourage their students to do their best, both in and out of the classroom.
Our commitment to effective and healthy school environments and supportive communities has made STS a valued partner in the international development community.
Education
Quality learning and teaching begins in early childhood and continues in the primary school classrooms where instruction is activity-based, children learn in a language they understand, and all children are encouraged to learn.
Health
Children learn best when they are healthy and free of hunger. Things like water and latrines at the school, trained teachers, first aid kits, and controls on the quality of food at school can help.
Community
Children learn best in well-organized school environments and supportive homes and communities, and benefit from contact with children from other places.
The Whole Child Model in Action
Engorika: WCM Focus School
The Arusha District Education Office identified Engorika Primary School for STS’s Whole Child Model Focus School due to the school’s strong leadership and the student body’s distinct needs. Engorika’s School Management Committee—consisting of the principal, teachers, and parents—has demonstrated ingenuity in addressing challenges children face in accessing school. Most notable is their organization of walking groups to help students travel safely to and from school. Such engagement suggests that school managers would be active partners to STS’s holistic approach. Additionally, and distinct among the other school in Arusha, most of the students at Engorika are Maasai and live greater distances from urban centers. Historically, this combination has resulted in lower teacher motivation and higher dropout rates throughout primary schools.
Menstrual Health Education
Period poverty is an issue young female students in Tanzania deal with on a regular basis. It can prevent them from pursuing the education they want and deserve. Through the WCM, STS partnered with Elle Peut Naidim, a Tanzanian organization that helps realistically manage periods and encourages young women to embrace their bodies. Elle Peut Naidim came to our focus school, Engorika Primary School, to discuss menstrual hygiene and distribute reusable pads.
Parent-Teacher Communication Workshop
The Whole Child Model recognizes the importance of support from a child’s community when it comes to education. Our focus school, Engorika Primary School, held a training for parents and teachers to come together to brainstorm and practice strategies for open communication. This will help identify and meet the needs of children whose learning is at risk in and outside of the classroom.
Meet the WCM Team
Esther Lali
Whole Child Model Partner
Amani Nicolas
Whole Child Model Partner
WCM Testimonials
STS’s program in Guinea is multifaceted and well received. It implements health and nutrition programs that help create and maintain healthy environments in schools. It educates communities and teachers on the importance of equity-focused approaches to classroom instruction. And, of course, it provides girls’ scholarship every year since 2013.
I found the STS modules much easier than the ones I used previously. The STS modules are complete and ready to use “off the shelf,” where all I have to do is follow the STS procedures and ask the questions. I find the students actively participating more.
Before the training, my wife would leave the boys alone but make the girls do housework. But now, the boys wash dishes, the girls wash dishes. The boys sweep the house, the girls sweep the house. There have been a lot of changes at home. Right now, we take studies seriously at home.
Everyone keeps an eye on attendance at school, especially for girls. I support my girls and…encourage them to study with the boys.
Measuring the Impact of the Whole Child Model
We've implemented the principals of the Whole Child Model in
2
countries since 2002.
In Tanzania
beginning with its expansion in 2018, the work of the Whole Child Model hopes to reach
0
Primary students0
Elementary SchoolsIn Guinea
by the time STS-Guinea launched as an independent organization, the WCM had impacted
0
Schools Supported0
Teachers Trained0
Students Reached0
Scholarships Granted