TEACH Rwanda has high standards for its Exemplary Schools, including:

1. 20 children per preschool classroom
2. 2 Rwandan teachers in each preschool classroom
3. up to 25 children with one Rwandan teacher in each primary classroom
4. abundant hands-on learning materials including fiction and nonfiction books for children
5. evidence-based, respectful teaching practices
6. TR Education Standards
   

Only those schools that have a TEACH Rwanda record of continuous quality improvements are awarded the Exemplary School status.  These schools then can become sites for teachers from around the country—and around the world—to discover how evidence-based practices can be implemented in ways that demonstrate respect for Rwanda's CBC, culture, AND reflect current child development research about the values of learning through play and projects.
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Our teachers are dedicated, enthusiastic professionals who continue to learn as TEACH Rwanda staff and volunteers mentor them. Many arrived at early childhood education through other fields, found their work rewarding, and are becoming TEACH Rwanda leaders themselves!

What about the children? They are thriving! Then rush into school each day and are filled with joy! Their elaborate block constructions, intricate drawings, detailed stories, delightful pretend play scenarios, compelling projects, and engagement in reenacting children’s literature reveal how a Rwandan, integrated, enriched, competency-based curriculum is succeeding!

And the families? They are thrilled! And recognize what a difference TEACH Rwanda has made in their children’s lives. Families frequently tell us that neighbors’ children who are far older do not have the skills that children in TEACH Rwanda schools have: cognitive, language/literacy, math, physical, social, and personal. “What are you doing to my daughter?” asked the father of a girl in P1. “At home every day she is writing, organizing things, doing calculation in math: addition, subtraction. She’s independent.” The journals he got for her to write in are full. “She is like a genius!"

​BRIGHT SCHOOL, MUHANGA
Home to TEACH Rwanda's national TEacher Mentoring center

Four of Bright School's lower-primary classrooms are housed in space rented from Eglise Presbyterienne au Rwanda.

Construction Phase 1. We built these two classrooms in 2019, and by 2020 our enrollment grew so we cut them in half to house four classes. Our preschool classes are now in this building.

Construction Phase 2. We moved into eight more classrooms in May 2023 as we continue to realize Bright School's campus expansion plans.

Bright School, TEACH Rwanda's flagship school, was started in 2012 by Louise Batamuriza, a Rwandan teacher who retired in 2016. Bright School has expanded every year. In response to parent demand and TEACH Rwanda’s dedication to provide continuity of education, our first primary 1 class started in 2016. In 2022, the school's first P6 class graduated, and 100% of the eligible students passed their national primary leaving exams!

On June 23, 2022, 10 Bright School students were invited to the Kigali Public Library to demonstrate learning through play. The guests? First Lady Jeannette Kagami and Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, now Her Majesty the Queen! Two of our students (in red) are shown here

Bright School P2 students saw how isombe (ground cassava leaves) is made at the Nyabisindu Market. Students used both this modern grinder and a traditional mortar and pestle to grind the leaves.

Bright School began in a small rented house, moved to a bit larger rented house with better ventilation, and then moved into our current home in 2019. TEACH Rwanda now operates six bustling preschool classes as well as Primary 1 through 6 (first through sixth grades) at Bright School. Children from all walks of life attend, from the wealthy to the most vulnerable.

During Enrichment, between school terms, children choose from a variety of opportunities. This Creativity group, led by artist Francois Ingabire, learned how to dye fabric, much to their delight!

Picture Bright School students at all levels, including these P4 children, explore the world around them, as well as beyond their landlocked country.

Beginning at the age of 3, children at Bright School draw freely. Then they tell their teacher their stories--often very long stories--while the teacher writes the words. Teachers also read books with children every day, using props and much expression. These early literacy experiences assure that children LOVE to learn to read!

Even our youngest students are introduced to computers as a means of communication. Soon they will be old enough for our robotics team.

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Every year, TR Board Member/Co-Vice President Clare Smith arranges a Zoom call with her 5th grade class at Farmersville Elementary School in Pennsylvania. This year, our P6 class joined the conversation. For more than an hour, students on both continents asked and answered each other’s questions, in English. The exchange concluded when students sang their national anthems for each other.

Within days after Liliane’s P4 class moved into their more spacious, bright classroom, everyone was clearly at home, working in teams. Walls were covered with student’s original work, and shelves displayed abundant books and learning materials.

John Park, from Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a Korean NGO, talked with preschool, P4, and P6 students at Bright School in June 2023. Primary students were so curious about the Korean language and traveling to Kigali from Seoul! Everyone in P4 eagerly raised their index fingers to proclaim “We are one!”

When 3 Mountains staff came to observe learning through play and projects at Bright School, P2 students were reading outdoors. They joyfully read one of their favorite books, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff".

Our P6 students top off their school year with a trip to Kigali each year. In 2023, they saw snakes and a crocodile at the Kandt House, rode an escalator to the 18th floor of Kigali City Tower, toured the Campaign Against Genocide Museum at Parliament, and devoured fried chicken and ice cream at Jan and Bill’s house. Here they are walking with Teacher JMV and Rachel in the downtown Car-Free Zone. Everywhere the class went, people asked about Bright School. A memorable day, planned by Eric.

Bright School attracts international visitors, government officials, researchers, other NGOs, and Rwandan educators—all of whom are amazed to see children at Bright write and illustrate original stories at an age when most children in Rwanda are still learning to spell their names. Children are treated with respect by their Rwandan teachers. They work together to explore Rwanda-relevant themes and seek solutions to challenges.
Families and visitors are always welcome to see engaging teaching practices in action.
To arrange a visit please contact our school office at +250 78 893 3135.

Bright School's first P6 graduation was held in 2022. Several students in this class started with us in preschool. And 100% of our P6 students passed their national primary leaving exams with high marks!

Eunice and Visha shared a few Bright School memories and expressed their gratitude to the families, teachers, and TEACH Rwanda for supporting them on their roads to bright futures.

Watch this video to see our students read and reenact one of their favorite books about a female Nobel Peace Prize winner from Africa.