Our Programs

At STA the teachers recognize that each student has unique strengths and needs. They use a range of ongoing testing throughout the year to assess each learner's ability level. Teachers use this knowledge to plan lessons that reach each student in the class. In doing so, they measure individual progress throughout the year and give parents a clear understanding of how their child is developing through progress reports and updates. They set high expectations for all students and encourage each student to achieve his or her best.

STA is proud to have some of the best teachers in Tanzania. We recruit talented educators from across the country to deliver a well-rounded curriculum that includes Science, Mathematics, English, the Arts, Vocational Skills and Physical Education and is tailored to each unique student. Meet the teachers

At STA, teachers are provided with many opportunities to continue learning and developing their skills and teaching strategies. A wide range of materials and resources are available to teachers to help them plan quality lessons. Every week, teachers meet during Professional Development (PD) sessions to ensure they are receiving the support they need to help each student to achieve their best.

In all Tanzanian government primary schools, each subject is taught in Kiswahili language. However, Secondary Schools or High Schools are taught in English. Consequently, many students struggle to adapt to an all-English language curriculum, and unfortunately can be left behind and underachieve. Our point of difference is that students learn English from their first day of primary school to help them be well prepared for secondary school.

In order to provide students with the individual attention that they need, STA has a policy of no more than 25 students per class. Small class sizes allow the teachers to get to know each student and tailor their teaching approach to the students' strengths and needs.

Many of our children face challenges at home with loved ones who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. In the privacy of a small group of peers and a trusted mentor, kids share challenges and learn coping methods that work when applied. This is a program with many decades of proven success around the world. Students learn that the only person they can change is themselves. 

Vocational education is important as it enables students to learn extracurricular activities that can be helpful in their everyday life. Students are taught sewing, cooking, bicycle riding and repair, business, scouts, theatre, computer knowledge, and agriculture.

Physical Education and sport are important at STA as they contribute to teaching confidence, mental alertness, and self-esteem, in addition to other skills like leadership, patience, teamwork, and social skills. At STA, students are taught football/soccer, volleyball, netball, athletics, and martial arts to strengthen hand-eye coordination and teamwork. 

A hungry child finds it difficult to concentrate in class and has little energy for sport, playtime or learning. All students at STA receive morning uji (Tanzanian porridge made from corn, soy, rice, millet, and peanut) and a nutritious lunch with organic fruit and vegetables from our own farm. STA students are encouraged to develop and maintain healthy eating habits, in order to make positive life choices, post-school when it comes to diet and exercise.

At STA, students are provided with stationary and multiple resources to support their learning. STA students are able to access a wide range of books that help foster a love and passion for reading. Learning resources provide students with important opportunities to practice a new skill, explore a new idea, and solve problems.

Many of our students live near enough to walk to school. Every day STA provides safe transport to those students who live in town and cannot afford transport. Some parents pool their resources and the children travel to school together.  Thus, all students get to school on time and get home safely.

School Buildings:

The school campus is composed of eight classrooms (one per grade from prep to grade 7), two offices (Head Teacher and admin), three toilets blocks (staff, female students, male students), a spacious library with areas for computers and art, several storage rooms, and a very large multipurpose assembly Hall.

Library:

The school lending library was built in 2014.  Today, the library is home to more than 2500 books, which are appropriately leveled and organized into fiction, non-fiction, and class sets. These texts serve as powerful tools to teach students and give access to a world beyond the walls of their classroom. The library is also home to an art corner, as well as a dedicated space for teacher guides and reference materials.

Computer Area:

In early 2020, the US Embassy in Tanzania donated ten computers to our school. By the end of the year, CMA CGM funded five more. Computers are used during the vocational training program called Computer Club where students learn the basics of computer knowledge. Computers are also used by teachers to support their work. One computer is fully devoted to the school office and used daily by the Office Manager to complete administrative tasks.

Art Corner:

Whether it’s paint, crayons, pastels, costumes, paper or craft materials you are looking for, you’ll find it in the school art corner! We have a range of art supplies available to students to enhance their creativity, school performances, and art classes.

Vocational Education Facilities:

At STA, there are several spaces available for teaching Vocational Skills. A kitchen for the Cooking Club, a 2-acre property to learn how to ride a bicycle, a computer area to learn computer knowledge, the Baobab farm with its organic gardens where students can learn about organic agriculture, and plenty of available classrooms where students can be taught other life skills like sewing, understanding business, scouts, and theater.

Organic Farm:

The organic farm of The Baobab Home is a 12 acre science lab where STA students  can learn how to grow and use food for nutrition. Currently, there are several organic gardens where students develop vocational skills class in agriculture and learn valuable lessons in persistence and patience as they work hard each day and wait for crops and plants to grow. Besides this, produce grown at the farm is used in the cooking of the delicious students’ lunches.

The Seed Bank

The Seed Bank, located in the back of Monahan Hall, is, fresh, locked room where our farmers keep their most precious treasure… the seeds that nurture all of the Baobab community! You will find there baskets and jars for each plant used on the shamba, meticulously stored on shelves. They represent our food safety and resilience towards increasing droughts and water overflows in the rainy season. This initiative also supports the importance of native seed saving and soil restoration. Passion fruit, papaya, tomatoes, moringa, artemisia, we have it all!

Monahan Assembly Hall: 

In 2022, to honor the memory of Dr. David Monahan, his family and friends made possible the spacious gathering place that we call “Monahan Hall”. Here, children and staff eat together, parent meetings are held, cooking prep is done. It’s also the storage space for our bulk food and seed supply. At night, it becomes a cinema and we watch movies together. Some students still choose to drink their energizing porridge in our small dining banda, which was built by. Others take their lunch under a tree enjoying a nice breeze. 

Playground and Football/Soccer Field:

Students also need time to have fun and recharge their energy in order to focus again. A playground with swings, towers, slides and a football/soccer field are at our students' disposal during break times.

Clean Environment:

The STA environment is kept clean and sanitized daily. The school has a wonderful team of cleaning staff who take care of maintaining a clean environment at all times, from the toilets to the classrooms and eating areas. Students are also taught to not leave behind any of their trash but to collect and dispose of it appropriately in the waste containers at school.