MIMAANSA

Main programs of the organization

• Mimaansa has three programs- Mimaansa works in 2 schools run by the Thane Municipal Corporation. Kissan Nagar school no .23 and Lokmanya Nagar school no.100 Mimaansa's programs in both the schools are within the school and run parallel with the mainstream school. Students are pulled out of the class for their remedial sessions which last 25-30 minutes. The mainstream school teachers extend complete cooperation and help the child if he/ she has missed something crucial during his/her time at the remedial session. On an average each child receives remediation thrice a week.
  
  The core services provided at these two schools are:
• Remedial Education
  
  Early Intervention Program
  School wide screening
  Identification [With validated tests]
  Remediation- Group and Individual based on principles of Neuro Linguistic Programming with assistive technology
  Parent and Teacher counseling
  
  
• Counseling Program
  
  This program is run hand in hand with the remedial program Mimaansa provides counseling to every child from the low-income government schools, whether they are learning disabled or not. As these children come from disadvantaged communities, often they are living in difficult situations, which can lead to acquired learning disabilities. Skilled psychotherapists and psychologists conduct these sessions.
  
  
• Teacher Training
  
  Twice a year 3 days training for in house Public school teachers.
  Monthly one to one coaching meeting
  Teachers observe Mimaansa's remedial session in action
  
  
• Partnership Program
  
  Keeping in mind the expansion, Impact and sustainability of Mimaansa a partnership program has been developed through this program Mimaansa partners with education based NGOs offering them the above mentioned programs. Mimaansa partners with other schools and organizations to provide training, student assessments, and support in developing their own remedial education services. The teacher training program is offered in isolation too in order to build capacity of classroom teachers to enable them to better accommodate students with Learning Disabilities. The components of the teacher training program are;
  
  Standardized remedial curriculum and teacher training program
  6 month in-service teacher training modules with Master Trainers
  Teachers learn about LD, techniques for handling the LD child, and methods for presenting material in an accessible way
  Teachers become eligible to be certified as special educators
  Teachers sensitized to LD and have the required skills to deliver effective and supportive remedial education in their school
  Teachers will have a structured progressive set of activities and methodologies to use with current and future students
  
  
  
  

Operational Model of the Organization

• Mimaansa has four permanent staff members: one executive director, one program coordinator, two special educators and an additional visiting counselor. All staff members are paid, however as of this time, due to lack in funds the executive director does not receive a salary. Additionally, Mimaansa has a board of trustees made up of five members, one of whom is the executive director. To date, Mimaansa has had 47 management interns who have volunteered with the organization.
  
  

Approach in Implementing the Program.

• Mimaansa propounds the 'Response to Intervention Model' which facilitates the screening of all students on the school premises. The screening is carried for students from grade 3 to grade 7 [Depending on the strength of the school]
  
• 1] The first step of screening involves a dictation assessment of 10 words and 4 Math sums. The words for the assessment and the Math sums are from a recognized testing tool called the 'Curriculum Based Assessment .'
  
• 2] In the beginning of the academic year words and sums from the test meant for a grade lower are administered [eg. Grade 3 will receive words from the test meant for grade 2] as the beginning of the year does not offer enough learning to students corresponding to their grade. Post the six monthly break the test corresponding to their grade is used.
  
• 3] Second step involves one to one screening of the students filtered from the initial screening. This screening happens with a special educator and a psychologist/psychotherapist.
  
• 4] After the 3rd step the big test , CBA is administered on students.
  
• 5] Depending on the finding/results of the test an educational proforma is filled with inputs received from parents and their consent for further intervention is obtained.
  
• 6] Findings/Results of the test are interpreted by a special educator and a psychologist/ psychotherapist and communicated to the respective class teachers/ subject teachers.
  
• 7] Depending on the findings/results, an IEP is designed.
  Mimaansa follows a strict monitoring and evaluation process in order to tap the progress made by students, Mimaansa staff and the municipal school teachers. The assessment is taken in the following manner;
  
  A] Every third remedial session is an announced assessment.
  
  B] Students take a test every 2 months in the remedial program as also in the mainstream classroom which allows a sound comparison to be made in the students' performance in both the remedial class as well as the mainstream class.
  
  C] At the end of 6 months students take a big test in the mainstream class often called the terminal exam and a big test which was conducted in the beginning of the year is repeated. This again is to check if the remedial support is resulting in better grades in the mainstream classroom which is our goal that would lead us to the morning of inclusive education.
  
• The gap of 6 months to repeat the big test in the remedial class is to compare results with the terminal exam. It is also keeping in mind the practice effect on any psychometric test , hence the prescribed gap of 6 months is maintained.