An overall holistic education revolves beyond the idea of not being bound by a particular subject or the syllabus but the quality education exists when the school gives importance to the overall development of the student. With the changing scenario of education, schools should ensure mastery over all of one’s faculties may it be cerebral, physical, emotional, spiritual or social. In recent times, there has been a huge shift in the educational approach while the educators and parents have realised the importance of holistic education. One school that promotes the holistic development of the students by enabling them with 21st Century learning skills in Springdales School, Pusa Road
Springdales is a progressive educational institution. The school was established in 1955 with its commitment to national revival and internationalism. The vision of our founding principal, Dr. Rajni Kumar, has always been to create a learning space committed to providing a joyous and spirited environment for our children. Today, that vision is being taken forward by Dr. Jyoti Bose, Director, Springdales Schools under whose guidance we at Springdales, Pusa Road strive to develop studies and skills in our children that will help them become confident and responsible global citizens.
We firmly believe that today’s youth is capable of bringing great changes, helping the nation progress in every field. It is with this hope and faith that we seek to instil in our children values of empathy, leadership and the passion to follow their dreams.
Springdales nurtures every student’s talents in all spheres be it academics, sports, visual or the performing arts. The holistic and individualized learning environment provides a setting conducive for self-discovery and independent decision making.
“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” which translated from Sanskrit means “The World is a Family” is the motto of Springdales and indeed is deeply etched in the heart of every Springdalian. It is a concept which greatly influences the thought process and value system of all pupils – past and present – as they look upon the school, the community, the nation and the world as a part of the whole family of mankind.
Unique Personality Development
The Springdales School stands unique among the other schools with its different and innovative ways to educate the children for their overall development. The school believes in the true sense of being inclusive giving financial support to the less privileged section of the society. The community service was started by Padma Shri Dr. Rajni Kumar, the iconic educator who laid foundation of Springdales Schools. Along with that, the 25% EWS Scheme was also pioneered by her. One of the unique things about the school is Volunteerism. The school inculcates the value of volunteerism within the classroom. The student volunteers take pride in showcasing the school to any dignitaries or parents, helping in functioning of the school. Another unique practice is to ‘inculcate the value of ‘dignity of labour’ through practical approach; each students learn the value of dignity that makes them confident and accountable. Two students are deputed on rotation to clean the classroom before they leave for the day’ stated Dr. Mala Gupta in conversation regarding promoting the unique development of the students in Springdales. Indeed, it teaches them the value of empathy and sensitivity thereby making ‘Springdales, a school with a heart’. Also, through the conversation we learnt that Springdales is one of the only few schools where there is no examination till VIII Standard, ever since its foundation. Dr. Rajni Kumar conceived the idea of Continuous Comprehensive Assessment since its inception, which is now also one of the key points of the National Education Policy. Dr. Mala Gupta, reiterated that this idea helps to focus on the complete personality development of the student rather than just the rote learning and performing for assessments”.
The school organizes enriching internal workshops such as inter school, teachers training pre and post pandemic, in the era of even online. Springdales boasts to be the first school to start Experiential and Personalized learning. The school, in comparison, has a very low fee structure and in that they provide a quality education, one of the foundational aspects of the RTE Act. Springdales takes the pride to call all the parents associated along with the students to the school as their family. The school gives importance to practical knowledge over textbook knowledge, the students have been provided the Maths lab to perform experiments to boost their curiosity since the very formative years. The teachers at Springdales propagate hands-on learning where they get freedom to work in the laboratories, supervised and with their teachers to nurture their quest for reasoning. As nature is the best lab, the students are taken to field trips and excursions and are very often taught outside the bounds of brick and mortar.
Creative Learning Environment
Springdales School has recently got an Excellence Award for 2021 by the Delhi government for their unique innovative methods like sci-fi, science, AI, robotics and interesting investigatory activities. The school has been ranked as No. 1 in Delhi/NCR region in Community service and No. 6 in giving holistic academic pursuit, according to a well known survey report. The school had already introduced investigatory projects as a tool for learning and enjoying the subject from early formative years that provides a positive point to the students in senior classes where it is mandatory to submit a research based project in all subjects. Dr. Mala Gupta, Officiating Principal, states –“We do not believe in boundaries within the subjects, our subjects seamlessly flow from one to the other”.
Nurturing the value of environment in Springdalians, in a creative manner is through promoting ‘EN Mass Sapling’ initiative. Dr. Gupta, firmly believes that the youth of today can surely help in repairing the damage done to our ecological systems in a programmed manner where every student who is enrolled in the Springdalian family will be planting a sapling, nurturing it throughout his/her journey in school and taking this to graduating year can contribute the well-established plant to the near by ridges and community parks, contributing thereby in afforestation and leaving a green legacy behind. The school has a rich heritage of National and International clubs that provides them exposure and understanding giving them opportunities to participate. In addition to the excellence in academics, the school also inculcates various sports regularly, the school takes the pride of having International and National level swimmers, shooters, chess players, footballers as their students.
Dr. Mala Gupta, Officiating Principal
With 24 years of excellence in the field of education, Dr. Mala Gupta has been The Officiating Principal for the past 7 months in Springdales School. Dr. Gupta joined Springdales as a teacher and continues to teach ‘Genetics and Biotechnology’ to Standard XII students. She took the honour of being a State Awardee by the Department of Education in 2017 and also has been awarded with the Radhakrishnan Teachers Award in July, 2021 by the Delhi University. She was a part of Curriculum Development in Australian Education, India along with student exchange programmes with Germany and Korea. Dr. Gupta is also an education counsellor for students aiming for foreign education at Under-Graduate level.
