SURAAH

Recap: Teachers' Training Workshop at Suraah At Suraah, we're committed to fostering a learning environment that thrives on creativity, collaboration, and forward-thinking. Our teachers' training workshop was filled with immense enthusiasm and innovative exercises designed to map out the future of our school. 1. Reflecting on Strengths and Opportunities: Our dedicated teachers engaged in a comprehensive SWOT analysis, identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing our school. This reflective exercise allowed them to understand the current status and envision a pathway forward. As they charted out their journeys on paper, a collective sense of purpose and direction emerged. 2. Vision for the Future: One of the standout activities was crafting a newspaper headline from the year 2034, envisioning the future achievements of our school. This exercise wasn't just about creativity—it was about setting a vision, dreaming big, and committing to a shared goal that transcends the ordinary. 3. Learning from the Best: We also drew inspiration from other innovative schools, such as SECMOL in Ladakh, known for its groundbreaking educational approaches. Watching videos of these institutions sparked new ideas and reaffirmed our commitment to pushing the boundaries of traditional education. These activities are just the beginning of our journey towards transforming education at Suraah. We're excited about the future and the endless possibilities that lie ahead. At Suraah, we believe that every teacher is a leader, every student is a creator, and every day is an opportunity to learn and grow. If you're passionate about innovative education and want to be part of our journey, we invite you to connect with us. --- Stay tuned for more updates from our school! 🌟 #Suraah #InnovativeEducation #TeachersTraining #Dehradun #AlternativeSchool

For many children, classrooms mean four walls and a blackboard. But for our students, it’s the whole world full of colors and nature! 🌳🎨 In our art lesson, our students stepped out of the traditional classroom and into the lush greens of their grounds. Armed with sketchbooks and paintbrushes, they spent the day drawing inspiration from the beauty around them. 🖌️ → They experimented with colors and textures. → They collaborated on art projects. → They learned to see the world through an artist’s eyes. The results? Stunning artwork and an enriched learning experience! Here’s why we believe in the power of learning beyond walls: 1️⃣ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: The natural environment stimulates creativity and critical thinking in ways a conventional classroom can't. 🌼 2️⃣ 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬-𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: Practical experiences help reinforce theoretical knowledge, making learning more engaging and memorable. 🌿 3️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭: Working in groups fosters teamwork and enhances social skills, essential for holistic development. 🤝 Our mission is to create holistic learning experiences that shape well-rounded individuals in the doon valley. Join us on this journey! ✨ 💭 How does nature inspire you? Share your thoughts in the comments! ♻️ Repost if you believe learning transcends classrooms. #NatureClassroom #CreativeLearning #Suraah #EducationForAll

We welcome Kovid Bhaduri to the team!

We welcome Jyoti Rawat to the team!

Calling all Alternative Schooling Enthusiasts! 📚✨ From July 1st to 3rd, 2024, we invite you to Katapatthar, Dehradun, as an observer of a series of enriching workshops designed to delve into the Pedagogy of Progressive Schooling. 📅 Dates: 1st to 3rd July 2024 📍 Location: Katapatthar, Dehradun These workshops will provide a space to explore the pedagogy of Introspection, Inquiry, and Innovation. Teachers will learn how to integrate the Head, Heart, and Hands in their daily lessons, study the role of AI in education, and more! Expect engaging activities like book reading, film screenings, and creating life maps. If you would like to visit SURAAH on any of these dates, kindly RSVP at namaste.suraah@gmail.com 🌱📘🎥 #SURAAH #TeachersGrowthWorkshop #ProgressiveEducation

Exciting News! It's Time to Play... The United Nations has declared June 11th as the first-ever International Day of Play!  🧩🎨 Here's why it's double good news ⤵️ SURAAH's efforts to promote a "playful" and "nature-connected" education have been featured on LiveMint! 🙌 Grateful to Mala Kumar for acknowledging our work in this space. PS: Did you know "Play" is not optional anymore? → It's a fundamental right of every child as per The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child under Article 31.

Traditional schools often overlook it, but at SURAAH, we have roped in time for "Free Play" over the structured "Games Period". Here's why... 👇 1. Autonomy v/s Guidance Conventional games have set rules and are led by adults. In "Free Play," kids invent new games ➜ create stories ➜ build worlds. They learn to think on their own. 🎲📖🌍 2. Creativity v/s Skill Mastery While games teach teamwork and achieving goals, they can overly focus on winning and losing. "Free Play" gives kids a safe space ➜ express themselves ➜ manage emotions 🎨😌💪 3. Flexibility v/s Consistency Games build discipline and routine, but they can be predictable. "Free Play" allows kids to be spontaneous and driven by their interests. This helps children adapt ➜ develop a lifelong love for learning. 📚❤️ Want to bring "Free-Play" into your school? Have your children: 🏰 Build forts. ⛱️ Play in a sandbox. 🎶 Play musical instruments. ⛰️ Observe their surroundings. 🎭 Role-play different scenarios. 🕺 Dance to their favourite songs. 🔬 Do simple science experiments. 💬 Comment to share your favourite "Free Play" activity as a kid? Mine was playing "Office-Office" with gully friends. __________________________________________ Interested to know more about what we are doing at our alternative school, SURAAH in Dehradun? Feel free to DM me. I'd love to share! 🔁 If you found this useful, repost! #FreePlay #AlternativeSchool #Uttarakhand #Dehradun

Being a principal is not about leading from the front. 🦸❌ Here's why, as a leader, I choose to "eat last". 🥗🍴✅ In 2023: Before starting, I believed running exceptional schools was all about having exceptional staff. My mindset was to retain only the promising ones and let go of underperforming teachers. I made it about 'me' and my beliefs. ➡️👨💼⬅️ In 2024: I realized that in indigenous communities, like those in the Uttarakhand hills, people are interconnected, often as extended family. They are not just employees to be hired and fired as utility; they are individuals with inherent worth and humanity. I learned true leadership is about keeping the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 and the 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 we serve at the center. 🤝👥🌍 ➡️ How does this translate into the school I just took over at SURAAH: → 100% of the original teaching staff remains. → Listened to the staff's learning needs and designed a teacher-training program tailored to those needs. → Provided a dedicated daily time for teachers to focus on their well-being and development. Start on your journey of servant leadership with these 5 questions. ⬇️ 1. How well do I know my team's needs? 2. Am I accessible to my team? 3. What am I doing to empower my team? 4. How regularly do I seek feedback on my own work? 5. Am I truly serving first and putting my own agendas last? Does your manager "eat last"? Tag them below to appreciate! 🙇♂️ _____________________________________ Have you ever heard of an NGO with 25 Founders? Well, we're doing something unique at SURAAH. We're calling out for 25 early believers to join us as SURAAH Founders, helping us form a collective to build this alternative school in the Dehradun hills. In just a few months, 17 passionate SURAAH Founders have already joined us on this journey. If you believe you can make a difference and want to be part of something special, join our Founding Council and become one of the visionaries. Check the comments for more details. ♻️ Repost this if you found it insightful. #ServantLeadership #Uttarakhand #Dehradun #AlternativeSchool

Jump-start your fundraising with these 7Cs. (even if you dread asking for money, like I did) ⤵ It's my first year raising funds, and I felt completely lost when I started. I wished someone could take care of funds, while I could focus solely on the program side. → The ugly truth is that no one is going to come and save you. As a founder, if you're passionate about the mission, it's essential that you take the lead. → Fast forward to last week, and SURAAH secured its second financial grant, raising our committed funds to 75% in just 99 days. What changed? 🤔 →  One thing that made all the difference for me is my commitment to ongoing learning, through observing the work of other experienced ones. That's why I'm excited to share the 7𝐂𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 I stumbled upon. It is brilliantly designed by Krishnan S. through his lived experience. 1️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 - Make sure you are findable. This means having a website, active social media presence, well-crafted pitch decks, one-pagers, and proposals. 🔍 2️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥 - Develop a model to generate income through your direct beneficiaries. This will reduce the dependency on external funds. 💰 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘕𝘎𝘖𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 20% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥? 3️⃣ 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 - Invest in your fundraising skills. Consider signing up for courses like the ILSS - India Leaders for Social Sector fundraising program. 💪🏽 4️⃣ 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - Compile a list of potential funders based on your organization's location, financial needs, and objectives. 📋 5️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 - Leverage your network to arrange meetings with potential funders. Utilize both direct and secondary connections for this. 🤝 6️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 - Get certifications such as 80G, 12A, FCRA, and conduct annual audits to maintain compliance. Consider partnering up with Rahul Bhanot and his team at Backbone Solutions for this. 📜 7️⃣ 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 - Cultivate a culture where every team member is invested in the organization's financial well-being, and engaged in donor relationship-building. 🌱 _____________________________________ In my homestate, Uttarakhand, the lack of quality education is the second biggest reason why people are forced to migrate from the hills. Our initiative, SURAAH, is an alternative school in Dehradun Hills that inspires children to live with their Head 🧠, Heart ❤️ and Hands ✋ in harmony in their local hill region. 🏞️ The most interesting part? 💥 We are 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞! 13 SURAAH Founders, the early believers, have already joined this mission. If you also can hear the echoes of the mountains whispering to you, check out the details on how to join, in the pinned comment. ♻️Repost if you found this useful :) #Dehradun #Fundraising #AlterantiveSchool #Uttarakhand

Building something new is exhausting → You falter. You fail. You fall. (But here's a secret no one tells you about rising again) 🌱 ↳ 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. When I founded SURAAH, the only way I knew to build our alternative school was by starting from scratch: a new region, a new building, a new everything. For the initial three months, I hustled to: → Engage with local leaders to get a 2-acre plot of land as a donation → Work with an architect to draft a construction cost plan → Pitch to a prospective donor for multi-year funding Yet, despite pouring my heart and soul, it all led to: ↳ 💣 [ N O T H I N G ] 💥 The funder felt the costs were very high. The bureaucracy of securing donated land went on and on. 😭 I was at my lowest, and fell back to the 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 at The Circle India. I realised that the core of why SURAAH exists has nothing to do with a new fancy building or novel facilities. ↳ At the core of SURAAH is an enquiry, an experiment to envision what an indigenous education model for the hills could look like. Through this, a new way of thinking about radical partnerships emerged for me: 'school take-over approach towards a common mission. 👀 In the following quarter, I pivoted, and: → Initiated discussions with existing schools to gauge their readiness → Engaged with the teachers and students to understand their needs → Finalized agreements with two hill schools to run their site end-to-end ↳ Remember folks, for the long journey, don't go solo. Discover your support tribe and lean on.  📌I am tagging my support network below to thank them. I invite you to tag yours and show your gratitude! ❤️ 🔁 Repost if you believe in the power of rising up even after a big fall. #Dehradun #AlternativeSchool #Challenges #Uttarakhand