User:Radhika Halde/The Society for Door Step School.

DOOR STEP SCHOOL
Door Step School is a registered non-governmental organization working to promote education and impart literacy skills among the socially and economically disadvantaged children of urban slum communities in Mumbai & Pune. Today the organization‟s annual outreach exceeds 85,000 children altogether in both cities.

Vision
All children deserve an education. An alarming number of India's urban poor still remain without an opportunity to receive formal education. Our mission at Doorstep School is to bridge this divide using innovative programs that will bring education to these children and help them make the transition to literacy and a brighter future.Our main goal is to provide primary education for all children up to 14 years of age.

Objectives
•	To provide facilities for improving literacy skills of children between age group of 3 to 14 years (School going and non school going) in the areas considered under the project. •	To address the problems faced by our public school system viz., non-enrollment, wastage, stagnation and low quality of learning for the children enrolled. •	To provide all these services at flexible timings and at suitable locations- be it in slums/pavements/streets. •      To work towards overall development of children.

Core Values
•	Respect for the community and children •	Focus on development •	Maintain high quality standards •	Participation of all stakeholders in the development process •	Empathy towards those less privileged •	Integrity and Openness in all activities undertaken

History
The concept of Door Step School came into being while working at the Social Service Center at the Colaba Municipal School in 1988. A major activity of the center was visiting homes of dropout children; trying to determine the cause of their dropping out and trying to bring them back to school. Factors affecting the inability to attend were varied and could not always be influenced directly by us. Despite a widespread infrastructure of formal education, a large number of children are yet uncovered by this system in Mumbai itself. Therefore the need for another alternative whereby education would reach the children was seen, and the idea of a school at the children's "door step" came into being. Door Step School became a reality with the start of one non formal education a class for 50 out of school teenagers in one community in 1988-89, and quickly spreading to 4 communities in the vicinity with balwadis, study classes and libraries also being initiated. Expanding to Pune in 1993, Door Step School is constantly evaluating the educational needs in the community and developing strategies for addressing them. The organization has impacted the lives of over 85,000 children since its inception.

Projects
Community Based Educational Programmes

Today, in Mumbai, the educational needs of the children in the community are met through a range of Community Based Educational Programmes

Balwadi

The Balwadi (pre-school preparation programme) where 3-6 year olds are prepared for school and entry into school is ensured as soon as the child is of eligible age. The balwadi thus serves as a preventive measure – preventing children from joining the ranks of child labour and preventing them from growing up into illiterate adulthood.

Study Classes

The Study Class, a supportive measure, through which extra coaching input is given to the students from Std. I to IV attending the Hindi and Marathi medium of the nearby municipal school. Many of them being first generation learners, the children tend to drop out when they are unable to cope with their studies. The study class offers the support they need to continue within the formal set up and minimizes the chances of dropping out from the formal school.

Non Formal Education (NFE)

The Non Formal Education class  which addresses the educational need of the out of school children in the age group of 7-18 years,  serves as a remedial measure, giving these children  an opportunity  for gaining literacy skills  which they otherwise would not have had.

School On Wheels

The School on Wheels (SoW), a bus designed as a mobile class room is an effective strategy to reach out to the most unreached groups of out-of-school children i.e. street children and pavement dwellers. It also acts as an emergency class room where space is a constraint.

School Partnership Project

The School Partnership Project is a form of direct intervention with the formal schools in order to enhance the quality of education being imparted in school. The activities, conducted directly in the school, focus on building the child’s capacity to cope and making the school a place conducive for learning. This intervention is designed to address the commonly observed problems of non enrollment, lower attendance and lower than expected performance levels with help of following programs.

Reading Promotion program and Library

Encouraging children to develop a healthy reading habit and to explore language beyond text books.Door Step School’s experience with children in urban slum communities, who form the major target group for Municipal schools also, show that inadequate language skills, especially reading skills hinders their academic progress. This, in turn affects each individual child’s  development as a productive member  of society.

Mental Health Project

Counseling individuals and groups of children helping them enhance their capacity to cope with a troubling familial issue, a negative poor behavioral pattern, or a learning disability.

Supportive Programs

Computer Centre

Door Step School computer centers are run with the objective of equipping children & youth with basic computer skills, which today’s technologically driven world demands.

Community Learning Centre

An opportunity to indulge a child’s curiosity, to encourage learning in a manner our formal education system does not allow: that is the role visualized for the Community Learning Centre (CLC) that came into being in July 2005. The Community Learning Centres provide access to reading and audio visual material, and engaging children in a variety of language building and learning processes. It also serve as an open library on Saturdays and some other holidays, when the young people of the community have sometime to indulge in a quiet read. Mobile libraries have also been initiated to take books and toys to the scattered group of children living on the periphery of a community and among pavement dwellers.

Bal Samuha

The “Bal Samuha” groups were formed initially with an objective of keeping in touch with the youth of the community, who have had some past association with Door Step School. It has turned into a vibrant group of young people plying an instrumental role in their communities. The Bal Samuha members come together to work on issues that affect their community, and also promote child rights & protection. DSS alumni comprise a major part of these Bal Samuhas. Through this venture, youth from the communities also get varied exposure and an opportunity to network with youth from other organizations.

Training Cell

A significant effort at capacity building for the Door step School team has always been incorporated into the organization’s work. A more formal avatar of the Training Cell emerged in 2008, when a team lead & field trainers was dedicated to it. With teachers, the training focuses on understanding development in children, how children learn, classroom processes, content (language and maths) & delivery and teacher student interaction. With coordinators, along with orientation core education relatedtopics, some management skills areas are also addressed.

Facts

 * Door Step School is successful to reach out more than 85,000 children.
 * Door Step School is currently working in 5 wards and 25 Municipal Schools.
 * More than 10,000 children were enrolled in formal schools.
 * The impact of 20 years work with 1 community is best seen in second generation learners of the Banjara Community.
 * Bal Samuhas comprising of mostly of Door Step School alumni are emerging in most of the          communities and school we work with .These young people over 1000 of them are developing into     leaders for their communities and are preparing themselves to deal with the issues that affect the community.
 * Over 100 and more alumni members have completed their graduation and are now pursuing  careers of their choice.