P.E.E.R.

Partnerships for Educational Excellence and Research (P.E.E.R.)
P.E.E.R. is a collaborative project with Active Schools of Port Elizabeth South Africa. Our three pilot school partners are Sapphire Road Primary, Cebelihle Primary, and Funimfundo Primary, South Africa.

• A letter from Vuvu Dubula, Principal of Funimfundo Primary School (.pdf)
• A letter from Bruce Damon, Principal Of Sapphire Road Primary (.pdf)
• P.E.E.R. Advisory Board

The project, currently funded by The Q Foundation, is briefly described on their site.

The Way Forward: Efficient and Effective Teaching and Learning Across the Globe
Chair: Janet Twyman (Headsprout)
Discussant: Janet S. Twyman (Headsprout)

Morningside and Active Schools, South Africa: P.E.E.R. Planning. JOANNE K. ROBBINS (Morningside Academy), Bruce Damons (Sapphire Road Primary School), Nomvuyo Dubula (Funimfundo Primary School), Sipho Matyolo (Cebelihle Primary School), and Lulama Hopa (Loyiso High School)

Abstract: P.E.E.R., Partnerships for Educational Excellence and Research, was established to improve the teaching and learning community in several township schools in South Africa. The learners in Port Elizabeth live in communities where there is a 90% unemployment rate. The South African National Department of Health estimates about 5 million, or 1 in 10 South Africans, are now HIV positive. According to the Health Systems Trust, a study completed by the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund has found that AIDS "orphans showed a very strong inclination to want to continue their schooling..." and the orphans themselves identified their priority needs as the most immediate basics: food, clothing and education." Educators from Port Elizabeth, SA first met in Seattle with educators from the U.S. who are experienced in the Morningside Model of Generative Instruction. We next met in Port Elizabeth. School officials participated in Goldiamond's (1974) Constructional Interview. Professional development workshops were held in Port Elizabeth based upon consensus gleaned from the Constructional Interviews. Inspired by the Port Elizabeth educators' immediate sharing of this model with their colleagues, we accelerated the implementation. We will discuss our outcomes to date, our plans for the future, and the role a Constructional Approach to Social Problems (Goldiamond, 1974) can play in South Africa and elsewhere.

Download the PowerPoint presentation

Morningside and Active Schools, South Africa: P.E.E.R. Implementation . SEAN ABRAHAMS (Sapphire Road Primary School), Tuleka January (Funimfundo Primary School), and Joanne K. Robbins (Morningside Academy)

Abstract: The vision of the PEER project is best summarized by Sapphire Road Deputy Principal, Sean Abrahams during a speech he gave on South Africa's Social Development Day in November of 2004: "We strive to free the minds of our educators to embrace new methodologies, concepts and ideas. Through Active schools we are in the process of piloting a teacher-training programme with Morningside Academy in the USA that will equip educators from the RSA and the USA to deal with the challenges of education in a changing globe." Allow me to end with this saying from Teilhard de Chardin: 'We are one, after all, you and I. Together we suffer, together exist, and forever will recreate each other.' " This paper will present the performance data gathered in three primary schools in several townships in Port Elizabeth, South Africa during the 2005 school year. Challenges and successes of our partnerships will be detailed. Partnerships include peer-tutoring partners, teachers within single schools, teachers within the Active Schools coalition, partnerships between educators in RSA and the US. The special design of reading and maths instruction designed for Xhosa and Afrikaans speaking learners will also be presented.