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Janet-A4T Vocational and Training School - KabulAfghans4Tomorrow has operated two schools for girls in Kabul for the past several years. While one of our schools (A4T #1) has flourished and grown, our second school, the Janet/A4T school, which opened in March 2005, has struggled this past yr. to keep a reasonable level of students enrolled. After 3 yrs. in the Takhta Pul district the school moved nearby to this new location, which changed over the past two years. The school was surrounded by businesses, and families were reluctant to send their daughters to a school housed in a commercial location. By the end of the 2009-2010 academic season, we were down to less than 60 students and faced possible dramatic increases in rent for the building.
A4T is committed to educating girls. However, we also need to be fiscally responsible. A very difficult decision was made to close the school. We communicated our decision to the student's parents and they agreed to send their daughters to other government schools in that area, but located in a more residential setting. We offered the A4T #2 teaching staff the first opportunity to join the A4T school #1. Two of the teachers accepted the offer, and the rest declined as they opted to work closer to home and found other positions.
While this was an extremely difficult and emotional decision, we believe that this was the right decision. We now have 2 shifts at A4T#1 with girls in the morning and boys in the afternoon shift. Many boys are siblings of the girls, whose parents want to send all their children to the same school, so we decided to make this change as well to keep the families together.
All the new students starting this school year will pay a small tuition to help us continue to expand on teacher training and more resources for all the students. With grants harder and harder to obtain, we are dedicated to assuring we can continue to offer a superior private education opportunity and dedicated to becoming as self sufficient as possible!
2008 Report
The Janet/A4T Vocational and Training center (A4T School #2) is located in the Takhta Pul area in Kabul serving 53 students. A4T school #2 consists of a Principal, Vice Principal, nine subject teachers, and two guards for morning and evening. Our program assists students to complete two school years in one calendar year.
In mid March, A4T 2 moved to a historic building in the same district, see photo (right). The new school has six classrooms, one administrative office, a library, and a laboratory.
At this school we are proud to announce that 44 of the 45 students taking the exams passed. Like A4T #1 we offer teacher-training and a full curriculum for our students, to prepare them to graduate on to high school and hopefully to a university.
Students at the Janet-A4T School in Kabul open their new gifts in December 2008.
2007 Report
The Janet/A4T Vocational and Training center (A4T School #2) has 160 students in grades one through eight divided into two shifts per day. Students this year accomplished two grade levels, as they did last
year. There are 10 teachers, a principal and two guards at this school. It also has two solar panels to help with electricity (shown at the top of the photo below). The courses and school schedule are the same as described above for A4T School # 1. Please read the information here. The Ministry of Education visited the school in September, as a part of the approval process for ninth grade.
For four days in March, Susan and Marsha were volunteer teachers in all the English Classes. Please see some descriptions of teaching at A4T #1 which were very similar at this school. In addition, see a quote by Marsha about some experiences at A4T #2 at Our Volunteers.
Soraya Omar, A4T Director of Education, also made staff and teacher-training improvements at A4T School # 2 as described in the A4T 1 Page.
When the seventh grade was added to this school in early April, the computer room became a seventh grade classroom. Eighth grade was added on September 23, the beginning of a new school year. There are ongoing monthly meetings between the principal and teachers. Soraya and the A4T office staff supervise the school regularly.
In early September, the students gave a performance to the whole school and invited guests in celebration of the upcoming International Peace Day. The program included drama, poetry and songs in Dari and English. They performed part of their program on International Peace day at A4T # 1 on September 21 and also enjoyed all the ceremonies there. The students at both schools showed their talent so well that they will be treated to a free field trip to the Nation Museum in Kabul.
The school also needs more electricity (solar panels), textbooks (for eight grade especially), notebooks as well as school supplies for the 2008 school year.
Your help would be greatly appreciated. Please click here to donate to Afghans4Tomorrow.
To see photos of our A4T School # 2 please go to our Photo Library.
2006 Report
Afghans4Tomorrow inaugurated its second school in March of 2005 and opened its doors to the poorest of Kabul in Takhta Pul district, which is located close to Shorbazar for those who are familiar with Kabul. The school is named the Janet/A4T Vocational and Training Center in honor and memory of Janet Wilcox. Wilcox`s son, Jim Wilcox and his wife Azin, made this project possible. Jim Wilcox is an economist at the Business School of University of California, Berkeley. We thank them on behalf of A4T and the children of Afghanistan.
The Director of Education from the Ministry of Education, our A4T president, several A4T volunteers, a representative from Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), teachers, parents and eager students attended the opening ceremonies of the school.
The school has five classrooms, an administration office, a computer lab, a kitchen and a bathroom. The school operates in two shifts and has 150 students. Most students are young girls and a few are handicapped boys. Most are poor and returning from refugee camps. The school has students in grades one through seven, and has eight teachers, two guards, and one director.
Both our schools have computer rooms with five computers each thanks to a donation from Teachers Without Borders and the World Bank. The schools do not close during the winter because of our intensive program and we are hoping that the girls will catch up academically by completing two grade levels per year. Many girls did not attend school during the two decades of wars and the Taliban regime. A4T signed an Afghan Ministry of Education protocol that officially recognizes our schools.
In addition to their academic program, the vocational program of the centers enables the students to learn skills such as embroidery, carpet weaving, and other crafts, which promotes the preservation of the beautiful handicraft work of Afghanistan. The craft products sold in the center`s gift shop both help continue the program and help students earn some needed income. Many of the students` fathers were killed during the wars and their mothers struggle to provide for their children on very meager wages.
Students say goodbye to visiting English teachers, 3-29-07, by Susan Hall
(see Our Volunteers.)
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