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As the principal at St. Agnes Primary school, Mr. Louw has many aspirations for his learners. But he isn't daydreaming about the little girl who will grow up to be a professional athlete. He isn't preoccupied with hopes that one of the small boys will become a world-renowned artist. He doesn't have the luxury of worrying over which learners will achieve careers as doctors, singers, educators and lawyers.
No, Mr. Louw hasn't the time to revel in dreams of this kind. His hopes are quite rudimentary. He will delight in the day that each learner who enters his school will leave with the ability to read English fluently.
"I firmly believe that every child deserves a chance. That's why I greeted the Shine Centre"
Mr. Louw became the principal at St. Agnes in Woodstock in 2002. Eight years later, he is still exploring different facets of teaching that will improve the learning capabilities of his learners.
"When I got here, I realized that there were many learners coming in who were not fluent in English," says Mr. Louw.
When the Department of Education completed their annual assessments in reading and maths, the results reflected just that.
Mr. Louw has a long-standing association with St. Agnes. He still remembers dropping both his sons, now 23 and 27, at the primary school and fetching them at the end of the day. He takes pride in the fact that his parents were married at the church next door, which was then still owned by the Dominican Sisters.
Since arriving at St. Agnes, Mr. Louw has taken advantage of every opportunity in order to assist his learners. He has tried after-school intervention programs for struggling learners, employing teaching assistants, even splitting the Grade One class into two and requiring educators to spend half of a period each day reading to them. Unfortunately, lack of funding and manpower have proven to be constant hurdles for the school.
"I can say with complete honesty that we've tried a number of ways to help from our side to provide assistance for these kids," says Mr. Louw, who spends his mornings teaching maths to the Grade Six learners. "As the manager of this school, I realize I can't expect my staff to solve the problem with me sitting here on the back line. I want to have my finger on the pulse, be in the trenches."
Two years ago, Mr. Louw visited the Observatory Junior school to familiarize himself with Shine.
"I saw something good in the sense that children who were not able to read, were guided and taught in an environment conducive to reading" remembers Mr. Louw. "And the kids wanted to come. They looked forward to coming to the Shine Centre."
Mr. Louw explained to his staff what he had witnessed. "I said to them, 'Look, we need to start something like this.'"
When Kathryn Torres, Director of Shine's Outreach Program, approached Mr. Louw, there was no hesitation.
"I grasped the opportunity with both of my hands," says Mr. Louw, who views Shine's initiative as a way to catch the learners who are slipping through the cracks.
The Shine Centre at St. Agnes is Shine's first satellite centre. Ginette Flockton is the acting Link. Currently, six volunteers see nine children in Grade Three. Next year, Mr. Louw plans to incorporate the Grade Two learners, following the model at the other Shine Centres.
Working with Shine, Mr. Louw has started to make his dreams a reality.
"We strive for that. We may not get there tomorrow," says Mr. Louw, "but to see the joy on the child's face when they've read a page, to see their smile and sense of achievement, that is more important than any financial gain."
Someday, Mr. Louw will be able to address those dreams that every educator should be allowed to imagine, wondering which one of his learners will one day be president.
"I firmly believe that every child deserves a chance. That's why I greeted the Shine Centre," says Mr. Louw.
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