Mrs. Sefunmi James-Ogbe is the co-founder and Head, Cypress Hillside School. She is an educationist with a drive for leadership development from an early age. She is a product of Texas America University in the USA, with experience that cut across administration, marketing, customer service and education.

Her training and diverse experiences for over three decades with the establishment of Cypress Hillside School which is co-founded with her husband, tells more about her vision and love for child development through proper educational foundation. In this interview, she speaks more on need for child care development and others.

Sefunmi James-Ogbe

 By Destiny Eseaga

  Can you tell us about your childhood experience and how did it affect your choice of career?

My childhood is absolutely connected to this present moment. I have always been passionate about caring for children and quality child care and upbringing was one of the dreams that kept coming strong during my formative years. In retrospect, being the last child from a family of six created a vacuum that led to the discovery of my passion for children; because I had wished my parents to have a younger sibling I can relate with but unfortunately, they stopped. While growing up, I had to study a course that is child-care related, which is education. These are some of the memories that invigorated my passion and love for children.

 …and should I possibly say the passion inspired you to set-up Cypress Hillside school?

Yes indeed! I am passionate about instilling discipline qualities leadership which I noticed in me from my early childhood days. With time, I also come to understand that good morals and character is very essential when building effective leaders – and quality education cannot function without true character.

Cypress Hillside School is founded under these tenets. It’s more than an educational institution, as we have a comprehensive approach that includes a robust leadership and academic curricula. In fact, it is a more challenging approach to education than focusing solely on academics because it is a wider-reaching goal.

Could you share what your school is doing differently from others, having harped on the enumerated principles?

At Cypress Hillside School, no child is left out, because our educational programmes are personalized to suit each child’s development needs. Ours is a collaborative learning activity that sees to a child’s individual strength, aimed to achieve the same learning objective.

We are strategic when it comes to differentiated learning approach. This is why we maintain a class size of low pupil to teacher ratio of about 8:1, so that teachers know every child in their class, their learning style, strength and ability. Class activities are enquiry-driven and project-led, while our pupils are consistently encouraged in reflective practices. We aim to continuously create interactive programmes with the use of progressive resources that will empower every pupil to participate according to their different skills and capabilities.

At Cypress Hillside School, we are thorough with staff employment and policies. We ensure that we get the best and most qualified and experienced. We also retrain teachers who will be committed to the advancement of our education through our “Leadership Development Programs.”

What makes Cypress Hillside School Unique for learning?

The School runs a combination of British and Nigerian Curricula, infused with leadership principles— developed solely to educating 6 to 11 years, and the British EYFS Framework with Montessori application for 0 to 5 years. We offer the finest quality of education through uniquely programmed leadership principles with the aim of helping a child become globally relevant in all field.

READ ALSO: Stakeholders in agriculture sector commend Akwa Ibom’s transformation

We also focus on holistic nourishing of the developmental needs of every child with individualized attention; a balanced education founded on the word of God that moulds and presents every child as valuable product of good morals.

In the country today, it appears that quality leadership is bane of Nigeria’s development. As a moralist and educationist, what is your take?

Leadership development is the future of any country’s economy and it is also based on the kind of education the leader got from the formative years to a level. This is influenced by outstanding character to do what is just and right. There is no doubt that Nigeria still struggles with good leadership, but I believe early intervention is key to sustaining the future. If our education progress is determined by the leaders of our country, then we must be proactive in building solid foundation for the next generation of leaders.

Education isn’t only about learning of science and arts. It is a more comprehensive and definite approach that addresses the emotions, personality, and character of an individual.

There is a popular quote by Nelson Mandela that says; “Children of today are the leaders of tomorrow and education is a very important weapon to prepare children for their future roles as leaders of a community or nation.” I believe there are no limitations to what children can achieve when we ignite their curiosity and motivate them to become responsible, wholesome beings early.

At Cypress Hillside School today, we use an intentional, proactive, and comprehensive approaches to character development, alongside all intellectual developments.

This approach to education incorporates values, ethics and emotional intelligence with great sense of civics which is aimed at giving children many opportunities to develop responsibly from the cradle.

Parents and other members of the community are our greatest partners in this character-building approach. For us, leadership development can be a lifelong process.

As educators looking into the future, we teach the skills to take on leadership roles from now into the future.

As an educationist, what can you say is responsible for the fall in the standards of education in the country?

One of the challenges of our education today is our leadership because everything falls and rises on leadership. The pitfall to Education in Nigeria is the lackadaisical approach taken by our government and also, a lack of integrated vision for the nation’s educational standard. Distortions and negligence of the system as a whole has left Nigeria decades behind. Government needs to reform and transform the system to have a positive effect. As a great nation with potentials, the country needs deliberate intervention and a new educational structure to revolutionise it. This can only be achieved with integrated policies and substantial funding.

Looking at the entire capacity building of the teachers and adequate remuneration, do you think the government is doing enough?

The quality, training and rewards of teachers in Nigeria are substandard. Recruiting quality teachers is a great challenge because majority of the people that presents themselves as teachers are either not qualified or didn’t get adequate training. We also encounter such challenge in our own recruitment selections. The problem is two way; government, not adequately providing solution as it should be and secondly, teachers on their own, not acquiring more knowledge and training to hone their career. Teaching is a noble profession but some teachers do not see it so. To them, it is a side hobby after failing to secure job in big companies.

The huge gap in the system for training and empowering teachers has a negative impact on the quality and dedication of teachers. In high-performing countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, teachers are drawn from their top 30 per cent of school leavers. In South Korea and Finland, teachers are drawn from the top 10 per cent. In these high-performing education-focused countries, Teacher Education Programs are limited with stiff competition for entry. If we want improved standard of education in Nigeria, the rewarding thing to do is establish policies that will assist to develop and empower teachers from point of entry into our higher institutions. Continuous professional development and revamping reward system of teachers must be done now.

Do you ascribe that government should support private schools, despite the clamour and need for reformation of public schools?

I believe government has a lot to gain from supporting private investors in the education system of the country. The government of our time needs to learn to attract and encourage private investors for positive returns. The public schools are not enough to cater to the entire education need of the country. A lot of people outside the educational environment see this venture as a money-making platform, but that is not true. The government has to consider a support mechanism that allows verified private educators certain financial incentives. Private schools today has trained reliable leaders and will continue to do so, but government has to see the vision as a supportive venture to our education system.

VANGUARD