REWARD TRUST (RURAL EDUCATION WELFARE AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT TRUST)

PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Organization: REWARD trust Location: Vengapakkam, Nerumbur, Koovathur (Tamil Nadu) Area (urban/rural): Rural  Primary Focus: Goal is to help upgrade government schools by recruiting qualified teachers Purpose of Funding: Pay salaries of teachers # of Beneficiaries: At least 7500 students

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Description - Recruit qualified teachers, conduct monthly teacher training sessions, merit based pay on student performance, peer reviews of teaching techniques, evaluate of subject matter & delivery, upgrade government schools etc. Community Involvement - Donations Challenges - Teacher retainment, Funding Successes/Impact Thus Far – Kids succeeding in higher studies and contributing back

Beneficiaries Almost 100% of students are drawn from OBCs, SC & STs. The breakup between these castes can vary from village to village & school to school. Example: Vengapakkam (3+1 Teachers) is numerically dominated by OBCs while it is other way in Nerumbur (3 + 4 Teachers) & Paramasivam Nagar ADW (3 Teachers). Koovathur ADW PS (3 Teachers) & Koovathur PS mostly cater to the SC More than 70% of the population in these villages are from the bottom end of economic levels (< Rs 3000/- pm per family). Bulk of these are farm coolies. There might be occasional contract laborers, petty landowners and lower level govt servants.

EVALUATION METHODS: a) Direct assessment whenever we visit the schools ( Sitting as a student in our teachers' classes, interacting with students during and after the class) b) Assessment during the monthly Teacher Training Programmes c) Assessment by fellow teachers during the Training Programme d) Their work in projects & preparing teaching aids e) HM's evaluation and in future f) Students' evaluation of our teachers

MEASURES OF SUCCESS a)Public exam results. Overall pass % and also pass % in the subjects our teacher has handled. b) How many take to higher studies & in which institutes ( Last year two students made it Govt Professional Colleges ) c) How sustained it is over the years d) Degree of Cooperation & Competition between our teachers & govt teachers. (In fact wherever this exists, the schools performance tends to become higher e) Performance in the SMART Exams that we conduct to test the students learning outcomes. The exam was introduced only last year. The attached excel sheet might give you an idea.

PROJECT GOALS & ACHIEVEMENTS REWARD added 50 Teachers to 19 schools with 7500 students in 30 villages REWARD’s Vision - Excellence in rural government schools by: Adding full time teachers to Govt. schools which have teacher shortage Conducting continuous teacher training Situation on ground before REWARD Overcrowded class rooms Poor infrastructure Not enough teachers Low graduation rate Not enough hope for students, parents, school, principals

PROJECT GOALS & ACHIEVEMENTS Impact of REWARD Before In 2003, 70% students failed to graduate High School In 2005, 5 students scoring > 80% overall After In 2014, 85% students passed High School Quality of Teaching greatly improved Avg. graduation rate increased to 85% from 30% Class sizes are now smaller One teacher for every subject(in most schools)

ACHIEVEMENTS (2014 SUMMARY) # students crossing 400 / 500 has increased to 116 from 91 ( it was zero in ) The average overall pass % of the schools has increased to 85 from 77(15 to 25 pass % in 2005/6) The average pass % produced by REWARD Teachers in their subjects has increased to 92 from 88 is consistently higher than the school pass % for the first time Sogandi High School has produced 100% pass the top mark in this school is 488 ( highest ever in our surroundings) as against the STATE top mark of 499

2015 – 2016 BUDGET FOR SILICON VALLEY 17 teachers = 17,70,000 approved budget  2 teachers in Higher Secondary pay scales of Rs  5 teachers in High pay scales of Rs 9500  4 teachers in Middle pay scales of Rs 8500  6 teachers in Primary Rs 7500 respectively

QUESTIONS ?