Little Rock Indian School

Preamble: 

A school is only as good as its teachers.  This is a simple truism, with a profound meaning. It states clearly that a school can improve only as much as its staff improves.  Buildings and facilities alone will not make an effective school. Competent and committed teachers led by highly effective principals only can make schools effective. Schools should therefore set apart a few days every year for Faculty Development Programmes.  Schools should devote time, money and resources to improve the teaching skills of their teachers and the leadership skills of their principals.  If teachers and principals do not continue to improve their skills, schools will stagnate and cease to be effective. 

Vision:

LRIEL (Little Rock Institute for Educational Leadership) seeks to provide opportunities for teachers and principals to enhance their leadership skills and the quality of their professional services. LRIEL will focus on innovation, professionalism and collegiality through the knowledge, talent and expertise of a school’s head and its teachers. LRIEL will assist schools to be ahead in the march of time, and their schools truly effective, and in the process, making the teachers’ profession and life more meaningful and satisfying.

Objectives:

• To provide professional development for teams of educators who are or would like to become highly effective school principals
• To prepare teachers of the highest caliber and commitment who will create  a lasting impact on students
• To create and sustain professional learning communities in schools
• To develop strategies for schools to develop students’ confidence, success, and continuous improvement

Schools must be well-organized, peaceful and dynamic places for learning. They should not be disorganized, conflict-ridden and stagnant. Only teachers can make schools serene and beautiful. Good things can happen only in such good places.  But it cannot happen by itself. We must make it happen.  We know why it should happen. The question remains ‘how?’

 Great teachers and principals must be people of intellect and heart but they also need constant encouragement to sustain these qualities.  LRIEL aims to rekindle their energies and encourage teachers and principals to become reflective practitioners.

LRIEL will provide 2-3 day seminars for school teachers and principals at any time of the year, in their own institutions or locations of their choice. The seminars will include lectures, workshop activities, and opportunities for dialogue and conversation.  A basic seminar will assist teachers and principals to unravel their hidden potentials, enable them to renew and reshape their school’s culture, and have a positive impact on the stake-holders of the school.   

Suggested topics for the Basic Seminar:

Within a short span of less than two years, LRIEL has covered over 30 schools and colleges, around 1500 teachers and over 150 principals, spread over the States of Karnataka and Kerala.  

The experience of conducting programmes and getting the feedback from the participants obviously pave the way for improvements in the content, and its presentation.  

A brief profile of Professor Mathew C. Ninan, Director of LRIEL 

A post-graduate in English Literature from the University of Calicut with a master’s degree in Educational Management from the University of Bath, UK, Professor Ninan started his career as a Lecturer in English. He taught at St. Aloysius College, Mangalore before taking up the principalship of SMS College, Brahmavar.  After eight years as Principal of university-affiliated colleges and Professor of English, he moved to Little Rock Indian School as its principal. He made this unconventional decision because he believed that he could make a decisive impact on school education.  The history of Little Rock bears ample testimony to the veracity of his conviction. He has been its principal since 1989, and indeed he has taken Little Rock to remarkable heights. It has become a model school.

Professor Ninan has attended many international conferences and presented papers at some of them. Prominent among them are:

Ø Seminar on ‘Higher Education’ held at the University of Salford, UK

Ø Seminar and Symposium on ‘School Leadership’ at the Universities of Erfurt and Bamberg, Germany

Ø Conference on School Effectiveness and Improvement in the Florida Atlantic University, Florida,  USA

Ø Conference on Learning in the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Ø Conference on School Leadership Today, School Leadership for Tomorrow, held at the Teacher Training University, Zug, Zurich, Switzerland

Professor Ninan has conducted numerous faculty development seminars for principals, educational administrators, teachers and parents in different parts of the country.  His topics of interest include School Climate, School Effectiveness, Leadership, Inter-Personal Relationships, Classroom Management, Classroom Communication, Classroom Teaching Strategies, and Parenting. His innovative ideas are as compelling as his communication skills. His seminars are rated very high everywhere.  

Professor Ninan has presented papers at many conferences organized by NCERT, NAAC, UGC sponsored Seminars, Independent Schools’ Federation of India, and AIACHE.  He is a member of the advisory boards for many schools and organizations. He is one of the chairpersons of the All India Council for Christian Educational Institutions (AICCEI) based in New Delhi.    

A guest faculty will be teaming up with Prof. Ninan.  Educationists from within India and abroad have offered their services to LRIEL.  The Advisory Board of LRIEL comprises luminaries in the field of education who have vowed their support to the fledgling institute.

Little Rock Indian School has an excellent record in both its academic and co-curricular achievements.  The singular and unique achievement of Little Rock is its student-friendly climate, for which every student, both present and past, will vouch.  Professor Ninan lays claim only to this one single achievement.  He says, “Nothing else matters.”  He is a votary of children’s rights and so to him, a good school is non-coercive, but persuasive. It should be a haven for its students, where they learn in an atmosphere of guided freedom and become responsible citizens.  That indeed is the benchmark of success and effectiveness. 

In addition to its unique school climate and academic distinctions, Little Rock has an excellent record in both its curricular and co-curricular activities.  

Excellent board exam results right through its history, a fair share of national merit certificates by the toppers, many regional and national level achievements by individual students and teams every year are all worthy of mention here.  Special mention may be made of,