When one of Jessica's colleagues (who volunteers at the school) asked if we would like to visit, we quickly accepted. What's more, we arranged to bring Jessica's mom, who was a public school teacher for thirty years in Virginia. The school is in a fairly ritzy area of Hyderabad called Jubilee Hills. Don't forget, though, that in India the richest families live in close proximity to the poorest. The Rainbow School's neighborhood, for instance, probably had more goats than people, thanks to the rich variety of garbage in the alleys and vacant lots.
The current headmistress is a friendly and even-keeled young woman named Vijaya (or "Vijaya madam," as everyone calls her). She greeted us warmly in her office and immediately took us on a tour of the facility. The school occupies a narrow three-story building of I would guess three thousand square feet. The 280 students are spread across five grades, or "standards." First and second standards are taught exclusively in Telugu, the local language. English is introduced in third standard. Judging by our interactions with the older students, English is well-established by fifth standard, and most of the students are proficient if not fluent. After fifth standard, the students at Rainbow School go on to the local high school (Madhapur School), where they remain until finishing their schooling requirement in tenth standard. There are currently over sixty Rainbow School alumni at Madhapur School.
In the lower grades (first and second standards) the students sit cross-legged on the concrete floor. The first room we visited had nearly sixty children in it. Chairs and shared desks are provided for the upper grades. The teachers were impressed when Vijaya madam introduced Benjie (Jessica's mom) as an American teacher with thirty years experience. For her part, Benjie went right into teacher mode: "Good morning, students. What are you studying today?" The students in every classroom stood up, saluted, and said "good morning" in unison. It seems elementary school kids are the same no matter where you go.
After the tour, we sat down in the headmistress's office and she and Benjie compared notes. We were impressed to learn that the school holds conferences with parents every month. (In Virginia, Benjie reported, this happens twice a year at best.) We also talked about what needs the school was facing right now. Vijaya madam surprised us with the first item: "bulletin boards. We have only two right now, and we would like to have one in every room, to put up important notices."
Another urgent need is a place for the children to eat lunch. Food is brought in every day, but they have to eat in shifts in the courtyard, because there is so little room. Thankfully Jessica's company is funding the construction of a covered patio to help meet this need. On the day we visited, workers were busy leveling soil with picks and carting rubble back and forth in pans balanced on their heads.
At the end of our visit, the teachers posed for a picture with Jessica's parents. The headmistress, Vijaya madam, is on the far left.
