WISER

250 Candidates from Africa, Australia, and Europe Respond to Organization’s Mission and Opportunity to Make Girls’ Dreams Come True in Muhuru Bay

WISER’s leadership team in Kenya, guided by Board of Directors Vice Chair Dr. Rose Odihambo, Executive Director Andy Cunningham, and new Principal Dorcas Oyugi, met in Muhuru Bay in early December to interview candidates for the inaugural five teachers at the school. From the extraordinary number of candidates applying for the positions, 28 of them were invited to participate in the interviews on WISER’s new campus.

Andy Cunningham, who is also one of WISER’s Co-Founders, commenting on the candidates’ qualifications said, “WISER has attracted some of the most dedicated, diverse and experienced teachers across the country who have demonstrated measurable academic growth and distinct innovation in their previous teaching posts. They each are determined to make history in Muhuru Bay as a member of a pioneering team of teachers, charged with the responsibility of inspiring our girls to live, learn and become WISER global leaders. I am confident they will surpass our expectations.”

WISER is committed to establishing a ratio of 1 teacher for every 12 girls at the school, where 30 students will begin classes in January 2010. Five teachers will be recruited for Year One to cover all 13 subjects in the Kenyan secondary school curriculum as well as additional subjects critical to WISER’s mission. Those include sciences (math, physics, chemistry, and biology), humanities (geography, history, and religious education), languages (English, Kiswahili, French, Chinese, and Sign Language), and technical (business studies, computer studies, and agriculture). Additional teachers will be recruited as more classes of 30 girls begin studying at WISER over the next three years. By 2013, WISER’s total enrollment will be 120 students.

Along with review of the candidates’ professional backgrounds, WISER seeks to understand how each teacher would respond to its mission and the opportunity to make girls’ dreams come true in Muhuru Bay.

Gillian Dolce, a WISER volunteer in Kenya who coordinated the search process on behalf of WISER’s leadership team, saw first-hand in the applications how the idea and promise of WISER is spreading and appealing to teachers across Kenya. Reflecting on her work, she commented, “It is so inspiring to imagine some of these applicants in the classroom at WISER, changing lives and expanding minds so that the girls of Muhuru Bay have every opportunity to realize their own potential and make an impact on their world.”

WISER’s new teachers will join Principal Oyugi, moving to the newly-constructed campus in just a few weeks and preparing to welcome our students. They will be selected in early January, once their scores on the Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam, which all Kenyan students take after primary school to determine secondary school eligibility, are available for WISER’s evaluation. 115 girls have already begun the application process, completing the essay, personal information, and recommendations parts of the application. The top student candidates will also have personal interviews with WISER’s leadership team.

(Pictured above: Students from Egerton University help prepare the campus, which will include offices and meeting space for teachers.)

International Search Fulfills Organization’s Dream as School is Poised to Open in January 2010

WISER’s Board Chair and Co-Founder Dr. Sherryl Broverman, who led the search process with Dr. Rose Odihambo, WISER’s Board Vice Chair and Co-Founder and Andy Cunningham, WISER’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, commented on the appointment, “Dorcas Oyugi fulfills WISER’s dream to have a top-notch educator and administrator as our inaugural Principal. She enjoys prominent status as an education leader in Kenya, with her role at the national level in education reform and a demonstrated commitment to international partnerships. She has the ability to be a stellar role model for girls at WISER. We are extremely pleased that she has agreed to be our Principal and look forward to working together to creating new opportunities for girls in Muhuru Bay.”

Principal Oyugi, who holds a Master of Education Administration degree from Kenyatta University and a Bachelor of Psychology Counseling degree from the University of Nairobi, comes to WISER from Utawala Academy in Nairobi where she has served as Principal since 1994. She has been a recipient of the Head of State Commendation for Exemplary Public Service, which is awarded by the President’s Office to 50 Kenyan leaders each year.

She has extensive family ties to the region around Muhuru Bay, giving her invaluable insights into its people and community partnerships like WISER that seek to address education, health, and economic challenges and provide answers to them.

Principal Oyugi is already working with WISER’s Board on a part-time consulting basis until she begins her appointment in January 2010 when the school opens, helping to select the school’s first 5 teachers in early December and 30 students in early January. Reflecting on her new role, she declared, “WISER is a dream come true to the pioneer girls that will be admitted to this great Institute and indeed to women in Muhuru Bay. I’m excited to provide transformational leadership to influence positive change and empower these girls to effectively take up their own leadership roles in society.”