Classrooms

Unlike traditional Rwandan school classrooms featuring rows of fixed desks, the classrooms for the Itara Community School will be flexible in the way they can be used and arranged, to stimulate interactive learning. Classrooms will be organized in clusters of several buildings with courtyards. The number of classrooms will be gradually expanded as the school grows.

Athletic Facilities and Landscape

Play and engagement with nature will be important components for enhanced learning at the Itara Community School. Various kinds of sports fields and playgrounds will ensure the students’ healthy physical development. Though using and maintaining the campus landscape, students will learn about the surrounding nature and sustainability so that upon graduation they are able to implement these practices elsewhere.

Pillars of Learning

The core pillars of learning at the Itara Community School fall into the following categories:

Public speaking and community engagement

• Rigor and knowledge, boldness, readiness to lead and serve their community

• Finding and channeling the voice of the community

• Role plays and mock sessions of parliaments, courts, etc.

Music, art and culture

• Stimulation of expressions of creativity and the cultivation of an aesthetics rooted in African culture and excellence

• Awareness-based experiential learning through street plays, rallies etc.

Creative writing

• Developing imagination, literary discipline, and self-esteem through written expression of talent

• Drawing deep inspiration from history and landscape

Environment and the physical universe

• Understanding how systems in the natural world are interconnected

• Examining the natural cycles of energy flow and evaluating how human interaction affects these cycles

• Modeling real-world situations and recognizing possible consequences of specific actions

• Championing the protection of the environment by understanding human interaction with the planet

Math and science

• Logical and conceptual education through activity-based learning

• Live experimentations and laboratory practices

• Use of computers to gather and analyze experimental data and simulations of experiments

Technology and innovation

• Extensive use of technology for research, writing and communication across the curriculum

• Sharing knowledge across Rwanda through the Education Broadcasting Center

• Access to the latest Internet-based learning platforms