Page 35 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022

SCHOOL
TOTAL ENROLLMENT
TOTAL FACULTY
TYPE OF SCHOOL
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
RANKED BY ENROLLMENT
TUITION
DIRECTOR
ENDOWMENT
YEAR FOUNDED
23
25
27
ACADEMY HILL SCHOOL
Independent Grades Pre K-8
Toddler to Grade 6
Grades K-6
Pre-K (3-4 years old): $12,800 Kindergarten: $16,000 Grades 1-5: $17,900 Grades 6-8: $18,800
Toddler: $6,650-$14,250 Pre-K: $5,300-$10,150 Kindergarten: $10,150 Grades 1-6: $12,250
$15,600 (maximum effective tuition: $11,600)
22 1190 Liberty St., Springfield, MA 01104 25 (413) 788-0300; www.academyhill.org
24 1524 Parker St., Springfield, MA 01129 20 (413) 782-3108; www.pvms.org
26 LANDER-GRINSPOON ACADEMY
257 Prospect St., Northampton, MA 01060 17 (413) 584-6622; www.landergrinspoon.org 59
Melissa Earls
Margaret Bagge
Ellen Frank Deborah Bromberg Seltzer
$140,000 1986
N/A 1963
N/A 1996
MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF NORTHAMPTON
51 Bates St., Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 586-4538; www.northamptonmontessori.org
PIONEER VALLEY MONTESSORI SCHOOL
THE ACADEMY AT CHARLEMONT
1359 Route 2, Charlemont, MA 01339 (413) 339-4912; www.charlemont.org
LIGHTHOUSE HOLYOKE
208 Race St., Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 420-8299; www.lighthouseteens.org
100
100
95
72
60
45
25
21
15
Montessori day school 18 months to grade 8
Independent/Day/Co-ed Grades 6-12 and Post-graduate
Independent/Personalized Grades 7-12
Toddler: $10,040-$20,830 Preschool/Kindergarten: $13,690- $17,550 Elementary: $18,075 Middle School: $20,640
$23,500
$10,555
Beverly Smith
Neale Gay John Schatz Nora Bates Zale
Catherine Gobron
N/A
$1.1 million
N/A
1976
1981
2015
Elms
Continued from page 30
That was back in early 2019, said Dumay, adding that there were visits to Haiti by officials at Elms and those with the Kellogg Foundation to explore the facilities of the Episcopal University of Haiti’s School of Nursing and meet with officials there to brainstorm about how the initiative could take shape.
Eventually, continuing education for nurse educators became the focus, he went on, adding that a ‘train-the-train- er’ model was identified as the most effective course of action — figuratively but also quite literally.
“We know that a lot of the nurse educators in Haiti are at varying degrees of preparation, and we heard from our partners from the healthcare system in Haiti that the nurses that are coming out of the various schools of nursing in that country have varying degrees of preparation as well,” Dumay explained. “So helping to reinforce the capacity, the level, and the preparation of nurse educators in Haiti so that they, in turn, can teach the nurses who are on the front lines became the concept that we created.”
With a $750,000 grant from the Kellogg Foundation, plans were put
in place for two cohorts of 24 faculty members from approved nursing schools across Haiti to take part in this ‘train-the-trainer’ program, he noted, adding that the original plan was for in-person classes at the Episcopal Uni- versity of Haiti — specifically a “very intense” once-a month model.
Obviously, this plan had to change, because of COVID but also other fac- tors, including the growing danger of traveling from one province to another in Haiti, said Dumay, noting that the
ing in various hospitals. Some had bachelor’s degrees, while others had a master’s.
The common denominator was that they wanted to take their education, and their ability to train others, to a higher level.
School of Thought
Nunes told BusinessWest that the shift to remote learning in Haiti was similar to what was happening at Elms College and other schools in this coun- try during the pandemic. But there
the many challenges they are facing in their daily lives, because they under- stood its importance to them becom- ing better educators and nurses — and perhaps advancing in their careers.
This resilience, desire to learn, dedication to helping others, and the knowledge and experience they already brought to the table certainly made an impression on those at Elms.
“Speaking with them, it was just fas- cinating to learn the way Haitian medi- cine and nursing care is delivered, and the amount of experience these nurses have is incredible,” Nunes told Busi- nessWest. “For me, as an educator, I feel I learned so much from them in addi- tion to what they learned from us.”
As she talked about what was taught, and how, Nunes said there was prepared curriculum, obviously, but those leading the courses would often take their cues from the students, the nurse educators.
“One of the courses I taught was ‘Health Assessment,’ and in the begin- ning, we asked them, ‘what do you want?’ she recalled. “One of the things they identified was maternal health, but one of the things that surprised me was that they wanted to know more about how to use a stethoscope because, in Haiti, they said, the physi- cians do that.
“But they wanted to become more competent as nurses and develop that skill, so we were able to provide resources online, such as videos that demonstrated the sounds they’d hear and where to listen, things like that. In the development of our curriculum, we wanted to integrate knowledge in
Elms
Continued on page 43
program was halted at one point as plans were developed for an online format. This was a challenging adjust- ment because of the need to provide the nurse educators with needed equipment in the form of laptops and hotspots — and then actually getting this equipment into their hands, an assignment fraught with challenge
on many levels, from the transporta- tion and safety issues to the pandemic itself.
“We worked with and leveraged the network of the telephone company
in Haiti, which has stores throughout
“
reputation in the area for preparing great nurses and healthcare professionals in general. But Elms College has also had a desire, and some efforts, in reaching outside Chicopee, outside Massachusetts.
Elms College has a great School of Nursing and a strong
the country,” he said. “We worked with them to coordinate the distribution of the technology to individuals all across Haiti; it was a logistical feat to be able to have all of the students have access to that material so they could complete the program.”
Overall, said Mistivar, the move to a remote format provided other learning opportunities.
“Not only did they learn about nurs- ing, but also about technology,” she told BusinessWest, adding that the stu- dents were nurses representing all 10 provinces in Haiti. Some were already nurse educators, and many were work-
”
were many subtle, and not so subtle, nuances and adjustments that had to be made.
“Each week, on Wednesday after- noons, we met with the students via Zoom,” she explained. “We had to adjust our course time because, once darkness comes, it becomes much more dangerous. It became an example of the ways we had to work with our students to make sure we were not only providing them with a great education, but also keeping them safe.”
Overall, the nurse educators dis- played great resilience, she went on, and a strong desire to learn, despite
BusinessWest
EDUCATION
OCTOBER 17, 2022 35