Domino School Bangladesh

document is representing the Guidelines of the domino foundation (domino) and Prime Development Trust (PDT). The vision, values, principles and strategies outlined in this document is the foundation for the cooperation. It is required for all stuff members in all domino schools to accept and practise these Guidelines this is the condition for working with domino schools. The national partner PDT is responsible for managing the projects in accordance with these guidelines. domino will assist und support each project for limited time of ca. 5 years. Thereafter, domino will decide how the collaboration might continue. Throughout the term of collaboration Prime Development Trust will to send reports outlined in this document to the domino foundation. These reports will serve to facilitate and monitor the development and achievement of the project goals. Changes to the guidelines are welcome if they help to achieve the goals of the projects in a more efficient and effective way. However, any changes or amendments must be discussed and agreed in writing by both partners before the suggestion can be implemented and practised in the schools. The name of the schools projects are domino school Bangladesh. B – Goals: Values; Excellency; Self-support;

1. Values

The values are representing the main goal in the cooperation of domino and PDT. In domino schools all children of society are welcome regardless of their religious or social backgrounds and all must be treated the same way. The Values of the domino Guidelines are based on Love. This means first of all to express an attitude of love toward children, guardians, colleagues, and all people of the community regard less their background and position in society. Love is demonstrated by humility, friendliness, transparency, honesty, respect, and through an attitude of service and practical help. We welcome children from all level of society and especially children from underprivileged families. Every child who would like to attend the domino school should be accepted and all obstacles should be overcome by the school stuff to make this goal possible. Any arrogant, self-centred behaviour of staff members will be rejected. All members, like board member’s teachers and staff members are expected to align with the outlined Values in this document which is representing the teachings, principles and the life example of Jesus. In any instance of personal failure or misbehaviour, all domino school staff members, irrespective of their status or position, are expected to accept correction from others including from children and acknowledge their misconduct and be quick to ask for pardon and forgiveness. Financial dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any suspected financial dishonesty must be reported to the local school manager or country coordinator. There will be an investigation and the country coordinator in connection with the boards will decide on any consequences for the person involved. Regardless of whether the dishonesty is big or small, it will be rebuked in order to provide a respectful solution.

2. Excellency / Quality

The goal of the domino schools is to provide Excellency /Quality in every aspect of school life like:
In teaching methods, through on-going teaching training for
teachers
In education results, punctuality and discipline
In cleanness and tidiness inside and outside the classroom and in
and around the school yard
In appearance of the school building
In care, respect and love for children and guardians
In communication with guardians and the local community
The head teacher in contact with the Country Coordinator is responsible for the needed training of the teachers in order to obtain these goals. Consequently all teachers are required to undertake further training for obtaining the needed teaching qualifications. The cooperation partners are willing to accept a major portion of the teacher’s educational expenses in order to ensure the Excellency.

3. Self-support

The cooperation partners assist only projects, which are, following the principle of self-support. This principle will be integrated in every project and in every aspect of the program. It is the strong intention of both Partners that within 5 years each school will fully be responsible for the running expenses of the schools. Adjustments have to be worked out in each situation and location with the responsible people in charge. The local community with their support and creative involvement should be the main resource for development and sustainability in each location. School fees

The high school quality provides the possibility for children of all levels of society to gain from attending the domino schools. The school fees will be realistically calculated in order to cover the running school expenses. The domino sponsorship program is only available for underprivileged families which fulfil the needed requirements. The school fees consist of admission fee, a monthly fee, exam fee, tuition fee, and possibly other fees the local school is requesting. If the child’s guardians or any other person do not pay all the fees (Admin, Monthly, and Exam) before the exam, the child cannot take the final year exam. Sponsorship Program

The school sponsorship program is one way to enable children of very needy and poor families to attend a domino School. Before a child can be sponsored by the school sponsorship program, the Head Teacher (or other senior teacher) must visit the guardian(s) of the child at their home, to access the family situation and prepare the sponsorship application. The Head teacher and country coordinator will make the final decision in light of the sponsorship guidelines if the child will be accepted. However, it may be extended if the economic situation of the family has not improved during that time. This must be assessed again with a visit and interview by the Head Teacher (or senior teacher) by the family at their home. The school sponsorship program will only be available for up to 15 % of the total number of students. domino will provide for this program the same amount as the Bangladesh Sponsor is providing per month but during the first five years the school must implement a strategy to develop their own revenue resource for a sponsorship program. The domino foundation will sponsor a child with the same amount as the Bangladesh Sponsor but only when a Bangladesh sponsor regularly pays monthly the agreed amount. The parents or guardians of the child should also endeavor to contribute a minimum of 20 Taka per month toward the child’s school fees in order to show their act of responsibility. The child and family must be very needy and unable to pay full school fees. This can only be accessed with an interview and home visit by a school teacher. No child should who is willing to attend the school be refused because of lack of finance but it is the teachers responsibility to find in each situation a solution for the child to attend the school. Free schooling

Free schooling or reduction of school fees is not possible. No Head Teacher or School-Manager or Country coordinator can give permission for free schooling or reduction of school fee, but teachers themselves may pay the school fee for underprivileged children. The only exception to the above rule is that a reduction of fees will be applicable for poor families who have two or more children attending the domino school. Additional activities

All additional income activities should directly or indirectly support educational program and provide revenue for the school. The scope of activities is unlimited. Some examples of the creativity include, sewing classes, computer training, song classes, tuition programs, selling school materials and books etc. C - Financial responsibilities for school projects

The financial responsibility of domino school projects are divided in two parts;
Start-up initial investment: for which the domino foundation is responsible. Operational expenses: for which Prime Development Trust is responsible. Start-up investment includes:

Initial rent for a school building or the cost of building renovations. Initial costs for school furniture and equipment. Initial financial help for further training of school-teachers
Initial costs for clean drinking water for the school children (water filter)
Initial emergency aid (e.g. blankets, flood relief, medical supply). Operational expenses include:
House rent, maintenance, administration, salaries and other operational costs, are the responsibility of the PDT. However domino will provide some help with these expenses, although on an annually decreasing scale for 5 years. Thereafter, a decision concerning any further help or investment will be considered. The goal is that all expenses must be financed by the project itself. Each school will contribute 15% of the school income to the domino Dhaka office. Financial transparency
All financial activities must be signed by two people, the provider and the receiver of the money; for example, School Fee, signed by the guardian and the teacher; Sponsor money, signed by the donor and the teacher; Salary, signed by the Head teacher and teacher; School expenses, signed by the Head Teacher and teacher, and so on. Receipts of all financial transaction must be available. Salary
The salary will be based on educational level, teaching qualifications, level of school self-support and the level of responsibility. The bonus at the end of the year will be calculated according to the level of self-support. (See domino school salary system)

Statement of accounts

The national partner organization PDT must prepare the Statement of financial accounts for the domino schools by an accredited chartered accountant and deliver it to the domino foundation. D - Leadership Structure

• domino Guidelines
The domino Guidelines are the overall document to which both boards PDT and domino have agreed and have accepted as their basis of their cooperation. These Guidelines present the highest authority in the Leadership Structure of PDT and domino to which are all schools and partners are obliged and committed.


• PDT Board
The Prime Development (PDT) Board is overall and legally responsibility of all the domino schools in Bangladesh.

• Country Coordinator
The Country Coordinator is responsible for the school projects and has the responsibility to implement the decisions of PDT and domino foundation to develop and protect the projects. He will fulfil his duties in collaboration with the PDT and domino foundation and is accountable to the national Board of PDT and the domino foundation. The Country Coordinator is responsible for appointing and dismiss teachers at all schools; he will do so in accordance of the Guidelines and with the support of one or two Head Teachers or the national Board. He also is responsible for the functions of the Dhaka office. (See Job description)

• Head Teacher
The Head Teacher is responsible for the quality of education at the school, the financial management, and the day to day operations (see Job description). The Head Teacher is accountable to the Country Coordinator and to his leadership team.

• Leadership team
The local school is led by a leadership team. The Head Teacher is the team leader under the authority of the Country Coordinator. The head teacher is not the boss but he is leading the team of teachers by involving the team in decision making process. All teachers of the leadership team and the other teachers should support the Head Teacher to fulfil his duties. The leadership team should consist of three and no more than 4 members. There should not be two members of the same family or extended family on the leadership team. Family member of the head teacher or relatives cannot teach in the same school. If the school has only 3 or 4 Teachers then all teachers can take part in the leadership team meeting but this depends on the Head Teacher. If there are more teachers than the teachers can select teachers who should represent them in the leadership team. If the leadership team is not able to make a decision for any reason the Country Coordinator must be informed and he will provide a solution.

• Weekly Leadership Team Meeting
The Leadership Team meets every week. One teacher will prepare the agenda. Everybody can add to the agenda before the meeting. The Head Teacher chairs the meeting; one teacher writes the minutes and keeps them in a file for future reference. The minutes must contain subject, decision, name of the person responsible for action and due date for completion. Every teacher has the opportunity and freedom to bring any issue to the attention of the Country Coordinator or to the Head Teacher and request advice. However, an issue concerning the school must be discussed and decided at the Leadership Team Meeting and then, if needed, presented to the Country Coordinator. Substantial management changes or new initiatives must be approved by the Country Coordinator. The Country Coordinator can, at any time, request to see the minutes of the Weekly Leadership Team Meeting.

• Daily Teachers Meeting
The Daily Teachers Meeting is for information exchange, for sharing personal and school concerns, provide input concerning Values and also to pray to God for help and guidance. The meeting is for all teachers, and they can decide if guests may attend. The meeting should be organised by the Head Teacher or by teachers who is appointed by the Country Coordinator. However, leadership of the meeting should rotate among the teachers. It is suggested that the best time for the meeting is in the morning before the children come to school.



• School Staff Gathering
There may be a bimonthly School Staff Gathering or whenever the Country Coordinator is visiting the school and if desired other special quests can be invited. The meeting is mainly to exchange information and to answer any questions. If the Country Coordinator is in attendance, he should present the vision of the school ministry and provide information about the other schools. In this Gathering no decisions are made but minutes are recorded. E - Personnel

Job description
Every staff member of the school must have a job description. Every staff member must know his/her responsibility and accountability. The job description of the Country Coordinator should be available to each staff member of the school. Requirements for staff members:
Staff members should practise the Values of Jesus and have the desire to love the underprivileged families and children regardless their backgrounds. Staff members must be qualified to teach (see national Guidelines for Teachers)

Staff members should be willing to receive further training in teaching skills in order to enhance their teaching quality and obtain advanced certificates and continue in English class. Teachers or people in school responsible positions like board or committee members etc. cannot be familial relatives. Staff members must agree with the vision, values, principles, strategies and guidelines for domino schools. Working assignment for teachers
A full-time teacher is required to work 40 hours per week. This time includes teaching, family visits, class preparation, school administration like financial reports, and other work assigned by the Head Teacher etc. A fulltime teacher is required to teach a minimum of 36 lessons per week (35 to 45 minutes per lesson). Teachers of domino schools generally have a 6 month probation period. The final decision about the probation time is made by the Country Coordinator
A class should have in average 25-30 students but not have more than 35 students. If the class is bigger than it should be divided into two classes. Each teacher should be responsible for 25 to 30 children and classes should not be smaller than 20 Children. F – Reports

Each school must send regular reports to facilitate transparency and accountability to the donors of the domino foundation. The Head Teacher is responsible for preparing the reports and delivers them to the Country coordinator within the set time. Each staff member has to fulfil his work assignment in a timely manner in order to deliver the needed reports like:
Monthly financial management report with Income and Expense information
Bimonthly report about stories of children, their families, teachers or special events or needs
Bimonthly pictures (in connection with story reports) of individual school children or families or project activities. Consequences
Consequences if reports or other agreements are not satisfactory fulfilled. The finance and story reports must be prepared by the Head Teacher or assistant. If the reports are not done in time or not done correctly, no salary will be paid. Only after the national Country Coordinator has received the correct monthly management reports from the school, is he allowed to authorise payment of the salaries to the staff members. Payments of salaries must always be done according to domino salary system and the bonus by the end of the year will be granted according to the level of self-support. G - Evaluation

Inspection and Evaluation guidelines

The domino foundation and PDT will assign a group of people to make a school inspection. If possible a domino board-member or representative will join the inspection team. The school management and operation will be evaluated annually according to the following criteria:

Signs of love and care:
The contact between the teachers and the children’s families. The unity and interpersonal relationships among the staff members
The community assessment of the domino school
The integration of the sponsorship program in the school activities

General Information:
• Number of children in school
• Percentage of children who passed the exams
• What kind of teachers training and education were implemented
• The relationship between the community and the school
• The future plans and perspectives for the school development
• The school appearance: entrance, classrooms, playground
• The percentage of self support that the school has reached
• The extra income projects that the school has developed during the year
• The performance of the school leadership structure
• The performance of the communication and reporting system between schools and the national Partner office and the domino foundation

Responsibility
The Country coordinator and PDT is responsible for implementing the Guidelines and for communicating with the domino foundation. domino-foundation January 2013