At Vivi, we seek to transform the classroom into a controlled, collaborative, and creative learning space through social teaching. We do this directly through the only wireless screen mirroring and digital signage tool designed for education, but also indirectly through Schools Plus, an Australian not-for-profit that exists to help close the education gap caused by disadvantage.
Vivi believes all children should have access to a great education regardless of their environment, so we donate percentage of every Vivi box sold towards Schools Plus.
Schools Plus provides funding, coaching, and other resources to enable teachers to bring to life projects which will make a difference to their students. One school which is benefitting from Vivi and Schools Plus’ partnership is Tooborac Primary School, where the school is aiming to improve student confidence and learning outcomes in mathematics.
Outcomes to date
A Schools Plus coach has been assigned to support the school to create an effective project plan, develop a project rubric that captures evidence of growth in learning outcomes and provide advice to the school principal and project leader. Activities have largely included two initiatives:
- The Top Ten program, a comprehensive Early Years mathematics program, together with essential teaching resources were acquired at the beginning of 2021.
- All staff attended a professional development (PD) day, which introduced the purpose and structure of the Top Ten program. Classroom teachers have since attended a second whole-day PD, collaborating with two other small schools.
A lead teacher at Tooborac Primary School said that the program has assisted with upskilling staff and sparking a new level of enthusiasm.
“This has been an incredible opportunity to educate the staff and change our approach to teaching maths in the classroom. Without this funding, this would not have been possible, and I believe the downward trend in maths data would have continued. This money has enabled us to empower and upskill our teachers, create a renewed enthusiasm and most importantly, provide a rich and engaging curriculum for our students”.
A staff survey conducted in July 2021 showed a significant gain in all aspects of program delivery: staff has a greater understanding of the workshop model, the Top Ten program (following a full day of professional development) and are enthusiastic and confident to plan, implement and assess mathematics.
Closing the education gap with Schools Plus
Schools Plus is a national not for profit that helps children facing disadvantage succeed at school. They do this by empowering teachers with funding, coaching and knowledge to create lasting change in their school and beyond.
Schools Plus’ purpose is to close the education gap caused by disadvantage and ensure all young Australians reach their potential through access to a great education.
So far in 2021, Schools Plus has raised $26M for schools, benefitting over 300,000 students across 1,000 schools.
