Louise van
Rhyn is the founder of the Symphonia group of companies (www.symphonia.net) and has
worked as an organisational development consultant for many
years.
The
Meridian 2009 programme for Louise had strong themes around
education as a priority for our country and linking the Dinokeng
Scenarios (www.dinokeng.co.za), the
crises in education and an invitation to facilitate an Education
Indaba, sowed the seed for School at the Centre of Community (S@CC)
http://schoolatcc.ning.com )
The S@CC vision calls for the school to be at the centre of a
community - and speaks to the idea that the quality of education,
the improvement of the school environment and the increased
engagement of parents and teachers provide an upward spiral for
real change and inspiring possibilities. The collective impact of
all the changes on the children is multiplied and will result in
improved learner outcomes and safer, stronger communities. One of
the keys to the success of this programme is the collaborative
approach, tapping from and reaching into vital entry points in the
system. Through intentional design, learners become the direct
beneficiaries of community energy, talent and commitment channeled
to the school. The goal is to contribute to the improvement of
learner outcomes by providing a significant systemic shift
in the culture in and around schools.
Louise had
a strong sense that school principals could play a key leadership
role in bringing together the community around the school,
especially since there is so much evidence to show that parental
and community involvement improve education outcomes.
However,
she also knew that it would not work to just add another task to a
principal's already-overflowing TO DO list so she decided to test
an idea: to invite experienced business or community leaders to
partner with school principals as Partners for Possibility (PfP)
with the objective to mobilise the community around the school to
become more actively involved in the process of educating our
children. A school principal has a challenging task and many
principals talk about their experience of feeling overwhelmed and
lonely. The idea was to create a support system for principals. Two
former principles Arthur Cowley (Meridian 2009) and Greg Vlotman
(Meridian 2010) also offered their insights and perspectives.
Desiree Daniels (Meridian 2010) was a PfP.
The PfP is
not a coach or a mentor but rather a thinking partner to
the principal with a particular role: To work with the principal to
mobilize and engage the talents of the surrounding community.
Together, they enrol communities around the schools to become
actively and meaningfully engaged in the challenges of that
school.
As part of
the 2010 pilot of S@CC, Louise also became a PfP. S@CC now enjoys
endorsements from prominent South Africans like Dr Mamphela
Ramphele, Prof Brian O'Connell, Professor Jonathan Jansen and
leading businessman Brand Pretorius.
When we
asked Louise what her most important learning was, she responded:
"My ability to influence in situations where I have no control
or authority and my capacity to cope with ambiguity, complexity and
'not knowing'".
