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UPLIFTING A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS

OUR MISSION

To uplift and inspire a community of learners through inclusive, adaptive, modern education.

OUR VISION

To establish the leading primary school in Kenya by pioneering innovative, evidence-based educational practices and by building an inclusive, diverse community of parents, educators, and learners.

Our Values

The name Oyana is derived from the Kikuyu word Oya, which means to uplift, and the Kiswahili word Na, meaning “with” or “together.” Through our core values, Oyana aims to RAISE up every student through modern, adaptable and inclusive education. Our values inspire each child to become a respectful, sustainable, and exemplary global citizen instilled with a lifetime love of learning.

RESPECTFUL 

ADAPTABLE

INCLUSIVE 

SUSTAINABLE

EXEMPLARY

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Oyana School is committed to offering programs that support each child's physical, mental, social, and emotional development. We believe every child is unique, and we provide a nurturing environment where they feel loved and valued among peers and teachers. Our staff strives to model excellence and integrity, aiming for each child to leave our school with a lifelong love of learning and the skills to pursue their dreams.

OUR PROGRAM

At Oyana, we create individualized learning plans for each child and teach academic subjects in ability groups. This approach enables mixed-age classes, ensuring students are challenged at the right pace, while students benefit from peer learning, with older and younger classmates engaging with each other. Children can join the Oyana program at any time during the school year, as our skills-based curriculum allows for more flexibility than traditional content-based models. Students typically spend up to two years in one class stream, providing continuity of care and reducing stressful transitions.

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OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Emily Post
Emily Ireri
Kevin Schreiber
Kirtan Patel
Eddy Okech

Our Staff

Oyana is looking for experienced teachers who hold no less than a bachelor’s degree in education. We are a small teaching team that allows teachers to make meaningful connections with their colleagues and encourages collaboration. 

We offer teachers an opportunity to learn our international curriculum and experience innovative teaching methods. Our directors are highly experienced teacher coaches who will work alongside you to accomplish your teaching career goals.

OUR FOUNDING STORY

In May 2020, Kenya and the world were rapidly changing. It was the beginning of the COVID-19 global pandemic and lockdown had commenced in Nairobi. Parents were stressed, children were confused, families were cooped up, and everyone felt a sense of impending doom. By June, schools had begun shutting their doors, cutting teachers’ pay and laying off staff.

Emily Ireri and Emily Post felt the strain on families firsthand, and saw many children facing a regression of their foundational skills as traditional schooling models struggled in the face of the pandemic. Many parents called the Emilys begging them to create something to support their children in these desperate times. So the Emilys resolved to develop their own program that would be more modern, inclusive, and adapted to our new reality.

In June 2020, they started the “Loresho Camp” for children ages 3-10, a mobile program that traveled between backyards to teach small groups of neighborhood children. Emily Post earned the nickname “Mary Poppins” as she drove around with suitcases in the back of her car filled with books, paint, building blocks, and whatever else she needed to teach. At the same time, the Emilys began searching for a property in Loresho, where there are many young and growing families, but few quality schooling options.

By July 2020 they earned enough from the Loresho Camp to secure a dedicated space where they established the “Community Learning Program,” a full-time, in-person learning pod set up in a completely outdoor environment. As the Nairobi lockdown continued, the Loresho Camp branched out into a “Home Teaching Program’’ that remotely supported 8 teachers to establish their own learning pods across Nairobi. They used income from these two programs to purchase furniture, play areas and learning resources for what would soon become Oyana School.

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