In April 2013, Graceland was evaluated by an international team of students from IMA International, lead by Mick Howes from the UK. IMA International is an international development organisation specialising in capacity building worldwide. The team consisted of business men and women from Rwanda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, England, Congo, South Africa, and they conducted themselves in a very professional manner.
The team based their evaluation on data about Graceland found online (newsletter, blog, facebook page), data collected by the school (weekly, monthly, yearly), financials, reports written regularly by Graceland, face to face interviews with local farmers, past and present parents, students and staff.
They presented their findings to the Thembalitsha Director of Education and Graceland Staff on the 25th of April 2013. Their findings concluded that Graceland is a well run school, the parents are very happy and grateful that Graceland exists and that past parents saw significant changes in their children’s behaviour at home and development at school.
Graceland pre-school exists to make an impact in the greater society by ensuring that the Devon Valley children are cared for and well prepared for primary school. We hope to instil a love for education and a hope for the future within every child. We may be teaching little ones but they won’t be little forever.
It would have been a major expense for Graceland to have evaluators come in and assess our progress, so we are truly thankful to IMA International for choosing Graceland Pre-school as their project. This opportunity has given us a chance to look at the wider impact Graceland is making and it is encouraging to see that the hard work of every staff member at Graceland, and the support we receive from donors, is not in vain.
Someone once said, “The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement”. At Graceland we strive for excellence so we are constantly improving to ensure that our children receive the best education. Thank you IMA Intentional for making good recommendations that will help add value to the excellent service provided by Graceland.
