Sanjay Pimpal Shende, Black Diamond International School, Wani, Maharashtra
Story of starting the school
“After working in different jobs, like in companies, grocery shops, and even farming, I found myself feeling restless and unsatisfied,” Sanjay Pimpal Shende confesses, adding how much he craved to make a meaningful contribution to society. In his quest for his true calling, a stimulating discussion with his brother, Ajay Pimpal Shende, and a family friend, Ashfaq, ignited the idea of starting a pre-primary school. This resonated with Sanjay – it was a way he could create a positive, lasting impact on young lives.
Inspired by this vision, the trio made plans to adopt a Singapore-based study pattern for their school.
“This way of teaching focuses on the early years of education. It has already shown great results in giving young students a strong start,” says Sanjay, clearly excited.
What started as a discussion on impacting the lives of local children, quickly grew into a big project. In just six short years, they went from having a single center to a network of six thriving schools. Sanjay believes they’ve been able to grow because of their dedicated teachers, their focus on experiential learning, and consistent meeting parents’ expectations. The results speak for themselves – parents see the positive changes in their kids and want to get them enrolled. It’s a great example of how small steps towards a dream can make a big difference in people’s lives.
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EYFS framework for effective teaching that worked well for the school
Sanjay shares the secret behind their effective teaching method – the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. “This is designed to support effective learning for all pre-primary children,” he elucidates.
According to him, the EYFS plan helps them organize, carry out, and check how their teaching is helping each kid learn and grow as much as they can. It sets clear steps for what students should be learning and it focuses on five key areas of development: physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and creative. “By providing us a clear plan for quality teaching, this framework makes our school stand out.”
Sanjay also stresses on the adaptability of the framework. “It understands that every child is special, and they each have their own needs and speed of learning. This plan guides us in providing support that matches each child’s personal learning journey, encouraging each child’s individual growth,” Sanjay adds. It is this focus on personalized, all-round development that has helped the school become more successful.
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The success story of Black Diamond International School
“Providing quality education with well-trained teachers, supportive staff, and tremendous positive student learning outcomes has won the hearts of parents in Wani,” says Sanjay. The school stands apart due to its unique focus on individual students and innovative teaching methods, keeping students engaged and interested.
He emphasizes that instead of using traditional rote learning or chalk-and-talk methods, his teachers use experiential learning approach which has made many parents want to send their kids to this school. This eventually prompted Sanjay to open additional centers to meet the growing need.
Today, just six years into its journey, there are six branches of the Black Diamond International School, all testament to its growing popularity.
Sanjay’s philosophy
“We don’t pressure kids to count from 0 to 40. Instead, we focus on helping them understand the basics from 0 to 9 in Kindergarten,” he explains, his pride evident. “Our school has also adopted special ways to make students feel confident, like praising them and using encouraging words. Additionally, we also plan their lessons very carefully every day to ensure students get a quality education.”
Sanjay expresses his gratification, saying, “The satisfaction I have found in the field of education is incomparable. Through education,we’re granted the opportunity to contribute to our nation by helping young students reach new heights in their lives.”
Achievements
The school also prepares students for tough exams like the Olympiad, Navodaya, and Sainik school exams from a young age. Sanjay proudly says that their students have won school competitions, often getting the first and second prizes.
Help from Varthana
“The progress of the school wouldn’t have been possible without the support from Varthana,” Sanjay readily admits. “Without the funds, we couldn’t have built more facilities or bought more equipment. I’m really thankful to them. We used the money to build more facilities and buy furniture for our primary grade students. This made more parents want to send their kids to our primary grades. So, we started a primary school because of their requests,” he explains.
Sanjay also thanked Varthana for their help during the tough times of the pandemic. “Besides financial support, they also gave us worksheets to keep students learning while the school was closed,” he claims.
Sanjay envisions a bright future for his school centers. Committed to providing the best education possible to the community, he plans to introduce smart classes, build an auditorium for kids, and initiate more sports activities in the coming years. Sanjay’s story shows how strong will and good education can bring big changes. He is an inspiration for everyone trying to do good things in the world of education.
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