Bridge International Academies Drives Parent Involvement Via Co-Curricular Showcase
Bridge International Academies, a network of nursery and primary schools, has noted that evidence-based educational approaches as well as the involvement of parents in child learning contribute to the development of a child’s social, emotional and academic needs that are required to build solid foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
The Managing Director of Bridge International Academies in Nigeria, Foyinsola Akinjayeju said:
Bridge International Academies uses a teaching and learning approach that involves age-appropriate learning, by adapting to a child’s level of understanding, identifying the readiness of a child to learn, and then following the best-suited method of teaching. Children, especially during Early childhood care and education (ECCE), are highly influenced by the environment and the people that surround them, therefore, Bridge International Academies ensures that parents are actively involved in their child’s development and academic success.”
As part of the school’s plan to drive parent involvement in pupil learning, Bridge International Academies, Nigeria; recently organised co-curricular activities showcase events across all its 46 Academies in Lagos and Osun state to exhibit some of the amazing works that pupils at Bridge Nigeria do. It was also an opportunity to enlighten parents on the need to play an integral role in assisting their children’s learning. It was also a platform for parents to articulate the responsibilities they will uphold in their child’s education.
We believe it’s important for children to have a holistic education and that education is best when it combines the pursuit of academic excellence with the development of character. That’s why we’re proud of our co-curricular activities, and why our pupils are excelling inside–and outside–the classroom. By participating in a wide range of co-curricular activities, our pupils have the opportunity to pursue their passion, and develop skills such as leadership and teamwork,” Foyinsola noted.
Commending Bridge International Academies on its engagement with parents, Mahmud Abdul Fattah, the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman at Babatunde Abike Laja said:
Bridge integrates parents into the school, the organization has established a robust PTA forum, has open days, a co-curricular showcase where parents see their children exhibiting some of the great works they do. Bridge also has a customer care team to ensure that there is good communication between parents and management. These provisions, have made it easy for every parent to be abreast of all the happenings at Bridge.”
Mahmud also praised Bridge International Academies for its contribution to the local communities.
Taking cognisance of the vision behind the establishment of Bridge, the organisation has made quality education available at an affordable rate for all, irrespective of levels of income of the various parents. This is a significant contribution by Bridge to our community, Mahmud added.
The co-curricular showcase unlike the typical PTA meetings gave the new and returning parents an opportunity to learn about the teaching techniques, the cheers, a view of how engaging classrooms at Bridge International Academies can be and how to help extend teaching outside the classrooms. Bridge International Academies believes that parent involvement improves attendance and helps children feel more motivated in the classrooms. The more parents are involved in their children’s education, the better the children’s class motivation, behaviour, and grades become.
A report by a Nobel prize-winning economist, Michael Kremmer, showed that Bridge has produced the largest learning gains ever measured in international education and this is owing to so many factors including parent involvement. According to the report ‘Bridge International Academies has safer classrooms, engages parents more, and has extra-curricular programs that provide additional support to pupils. Development of pupils’ cognitive and non-cognitive abilities emerges through a wide methodological approach.’
Some of the activities at the co-curricular showcase included pupils presenting self-composed poems, articles, drama, debate, arts and crafts etc. It was fun for the pupils, parents and teachers.
