Delegates attached to the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union’s (Sadtu) Western Cape branch visited the United States last month to learn best practices from their American counterparts.
They toured the local ABC District in Hawaiian Gardens, Los Angeles, visiting 10 schools, Kenneth Williams, the union’s deputy provincial secretary, said.
“We have learnt a lot from the different schools we visited in Los Angeles, 10 of them. We visited Stowers Elementary, Niemes Elementary, Ross Academy of Creative Arts, Ceritos Elementary, Hawaiian Elementary, Fedde Academy, Whitney High School, Gahr High School, Ceritos High School and Artesia High School. We’ve met up with the management of ABC District under the leadership of Dr Zina Zitlow.”
Williams said the group was invited by the American Federation of Teachers, its vice-president Ruben Machillas, their tour guide throughout their stay. “There are schools in the USA where poverty is a challenge, and we learnt how they were dealing with such realities. We want to improve education in South Africa, and in Drakenstein, and by building partnerships we can do much better.”
He said some key take-aways from their overseas visit are: effective before- and after-school programmes at most of the schools, social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that begins in the early grades and continues through high school, and student and family access to wellness resources and mental-health professionals.
“Americans place a high value on a successful education system. A child is not allowed to stay at home for long periods because there is one social worker per school. Wellness counsellors and group/class lessons are accessible at all grade levels.”
According to Williams the Americans now plan to visit South Africa next June or July. “We’ll bring them to the Drakenstein Valley so they can experience our school system. The plan is to take learners from the valley to Los Angeles and bring American teachers and learners here in 2027.”
