How is it that, in a few years, some of a community’s poorest children are able to converse in English with international donors and achieve grade level standards?

Food for Hungry Minds schools adapt educational best practices to continually support and challenge children to learn.

Parent Involvement
FHM parents make a commitment to be involved in school. Parents, supported by the local community development organization, attend trainings, assist on a rotating basis in things like serving meals or covering books and ensure that their child is ready for school each day. Where the child has no available parent, community volunteers contribute time for the child.

Teaching Team Committed to Learning Together
Our committed team believes in the future of each student entrusted to them. With a student-staff ratio of 1:14 and continuous evaluation, teachers can carefully monitor each child’s progress. The school week includes a half-day meeting in which teachers evaluate, plan and continually ask the question, “How can we better support learning?”

Extended Day
Students are in school for over eight hours each day, except for shortened teacher-planning days. Each day starts with 2-hours of language arts focus, followed by an extended math class. Students carry their learning home with activities like reading books to siblings on weekends. Summer camp, field trips and connections with sponsoring employees expand the experiential context of learning.

ESL Support
Teaching practice includes the research-based SIOP methodology. With the Read Naturally program, students work on reading fluency while listening to native English speakers. Materials are adapted with culturally appropriate reading selections.