We partner with orphanages in Vietnam to establish S.T.E.A.M. classrooms for the children. The program is designed to equip the children with important skills in digital literacy, while growing their self-confidence, and helping them to take proactive steps in preparing for their future careers after leaving the orphanage.
Preparation
Identifying Partner Orphanages
We seek out partners where the orphanage leadership and local government is committed to a long-term, multiple year collaboration with Kidspire. We prefer orphanages where there are 50+ children available for participation, where an onsite classroom is available for use, and a nearby university where some students may choose to enroll after graduation.
Setting up the Classroom
Our classrooms are designed to encourage collaboration among teachers and students, with workspaces featuring chromebooks, robotics components, circuitry, electronics, flexible loose parts, and room for students to move around while working in groups, brainstorming, ideating, building, deconstructing, and troubleshooting as they work through their projects.
Training the Teachers
Because the teacher-centric, rote learning approach is most common in Vietnam, much of our training is focused on introducing teachers to characteristics of a student-centered learning environment where the teacher facilitates a collaborative, student-driven classroom. Every year our teachers build new and updated curriculum featuring modern trends in edtech and learnings from professional development conferences, as well as close collaboration with our partners from Silicon Valley.
Programming
Extracurricular Programming
Our program is designed to supplement the regular public school classes for students age 8 to 18. Kidspire classes are taught in 90 minute segments in the evenings and weekends, September through June, with each child participating in 1 to 2 segments per week. We feature special programming in the summer months.
Cultivating Encouragement
Our program yields better results when we extend our focus beyond the educational technology curriculum and also focus on social emotional learning. We strive to include a culture of encouragement within our classrooms. Because we are teaching in an institutional setting, where children are living separated from their parents, many of the children’s personal stories are tragic. It is crucial that we help students to feel emotionally safe and secure in the classroom.
Project-Based Learning
We love the PBL approach and our curriculum is filled with multi-week projects allowing our students opportunities to develop skills in time-management, project management, collaborative brainstorming, research, presentations, and project pitches. This interdisciplinary skill set applies across many different career choices and really helps to prepare our students for their futures beyond the orphanage.
Mentoring
Preparing for Graduation
For students in Grade 10, 11, and 12, we offer an additional career readiness seminar alongside their regular program participation. This monthly seminar features coaching on university options, guest speakers from various companies, and peer consultation from students who previously lived in the orphanage and are now enrolled in university.
Relevant Internships
We have a growing group of companies - both Vietnamese and multinational - who are joining our network to provide our students with internship opportunities. This provides a great opportunity for our students to challenge themselves through job interviews and gain professional working experience while trying different jobs and learning more about themselves and the career path they would like to pursue.
Ongoing Mentoring
More than half of our graduates choose to move to Ho Chi Minh City after leaving the orphanage and join our Lead VN program while they are enrolled in university or taking vocational career coursework. Through Lead VN we support students in finding safe and affordable housing, offer English classes, connect them with part time job opportunities, and offer a 6-month leadership through entrepreneurship seminar.