Maranyundo School

March 14, 2015
What Makes a Successful School?

There is a question we are asking as we talk with various constituencies. We want to know from those familiar with the day to day operation of the school, why is MGS so successful?  The girls score exceeding well on the National Exams. They are poised and confident when they speak in public events. They are motivated to learn. They help one another in study time.  They take responsibility for setting up and cleaning up at mealtimes. They take care of their learning spaces and the dorms. They enjoy competing in basketball and volleyball. To what can we attribute these positive elements?

On Friday, I visited a chemistry class of the Senior 4 girls. The Senior 4s is the first class of students to start the new high school for STEM disciplines. In the Chemistry class, there were several students, new to Maranyundo, who had not ever used the lab equipment with which the girls who had been students at the middle school are so familiar. The teacher had made certain that each lab group was a combination of veteran MGS students and students new to the school.

As I visited each group assembling their lab equipment, I asked the new students what they liked about the school. Inevitably there were three things that the girls appreciated. “The discipline is good.” Remarked one student. When I asked what she meant by “discipline,” she replied, “Well, the girls treat each other nicely here. We work hard together. Students are happy.” “The teachers here are good,” offered another. “They are patient to help you learn. There is no yelling.” Another student wanted me to know that “the food is very good and the dining room is nice.” These kinds of comments were very consistent throughout my inquiries.

On Saturday, we planned a luncheon to thank the teachers and the Benebikiras for the roles they played in effecting the successful National Exam results in January. I asked the question to four parents from the Parent Committee that meets monthly. Their answers were very consistent. “Discipline at this school is wonderful because of the leadership. The students feel safe and appreciated. They learn to control themselves; they develop a sense of how to live with one another and taking care of their spaces.” Another parent was appreciative of the “time” the students have. “The school is structured to give the students the gift of time. Teachers give students time to work, to study. They take time to help them. They take time to make sure students understand. Time is a special thing in this school.” There are many things that make this school successful,” said another parent. “But it is the leadership that thinks of those things. School leaders make a difference.”

There is interesting insight to take away from these informal conversations about what the Maranyundo School for Girls a school in which students are “happy,” teachers are “patient” and able to give their students “the gift of time.” Both students and their parents appreciate “discipline” as it is conceived by the administration as an element that is developed within the students and practiced as community. Both students and their parents appreciate the teachers, and the “gift of time.” It is also apparent that the school leadership, under the direction of Sr Juvenal, takes responsibility for all aspects of this school…the curriculum, the food, the schedules, the community…in ways that support the students whom everyone acknowledges are the future of this entire nation.