Assistant Superintendent Ann Forrest recently visited Ms. Sutton’s third grade classroom where she shared her summer experience in the southeast African nation of Malawi.
Forrest was part of a group of educators and aid volunteers with the group Good Soil Partners who worked in the village of Kangoma. She met with teachers and students and taught lessons at the pre-school and primary school levels.
Most Malawi students learn Chichewa as their native language but start to learn English in primary school. While primary education in Malawi is free, students are required to purchase their own school uniform, pens, and notebooks. The average student-teacher ratio is 69:1 and the completion rate of primary education is 74%.
Part of the presentation to students at Pierce School was also devoted to Forrest sharing her pictures from a safari that she took at the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, following her work in Malawi. There were photos of elephants, water buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, lions, and a leopard.
“The presentation was wonderful,” Ms. Sutton said afterward. “My students will be making her a book today about the animals she saw on her safari. This was a great integrated learning project!”
