Passionate principal secures school with online learning platform
At the helm of the school's leadership is principal, Zelda Dempers, who believes that online teaching is not just for private schools but for people with a passion for education.
KENMONT School, based on the Bluff, is a special needs school with a dedicated team of educators who went the extra mile to ensure that teaching and learning continue remotely during the lockdown.
At the helm of the school’s leadership is principal, Zelda Dempers, who believes that online teaching is not just for private schools but for people with a passion for education. She said they had to turn the negatives into positives by setting up an online platform during this time.
“We started teaching the learners using Microsoft Office 365. We collected and donated data to some learners from homes struggling financially.”
“The online platform has opened a new world to the learners and will be used for continued remedial education and is a wonderful assistive device for special needs learners,” she said.
She said the misconception with her school is that it is often thought of as a private school that is privately funded. This, however, is not the case as South African schools are from diverse communities in which many families struggle with poverty but if the Department of Education assists, digital tools and resources can vastly improve the learning outcomes of those poverty-stricken learners.
“But we did it,” she exclaimed. “We worked around the clock during lockdown to set up an online platform so that the educators could collaborate and educate learners no matter where they are.”
“The reality of providing devices for teachers and non-fee-paying learners is a lot more achievable than providing new classrooms, water, sanitation and infrastructure for successful social distancing. It also makes teaching learners with special educational needs and learners-in-absentia possible,” the principal said.
She added that their approach helped them through the lockdown and will be implemented far beyond.
“All our classes are on the Free Microsoft Office 365 portal for education and our learners and educators communicate daily,” she added.
For more information visit www.kenmont.co.za or call the school on 031-466-4477.
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