In the 2025-2026 academic year, Hoa Sữa Kindergarten has seven classes with 233 children, all from ethnic minority groups. For most of them, Vietnamese is not their first language, which used to make classroom activities and songs difficult to follow. Many teachers also lacked experience working with such students, leading to uncertainty in teaching methods.
Principal Dương Thị Mai Lan, who took charge in 2019, initially adopted a hands-on management approach, planning lessons, arranging classrooms, and organizing every activity herself.
While this method helped stabilize the school at first, it soon limited teachers’ creativity. “At that time, all the work fell on my shoulders. Every day felt like a battle,” Ms. Lan recalled.
A turning point came in 2023, when the school joined the “Preschool teachers apply knowledge and skills to create language-rich learning environments for children” (TALK) project, implemented by VVOB.
Through training sessions on school leadership, classroom observation, and language development, Ms. Lan learned to delegate and inspire rather than direct. “Why not trust teachers to do things on their own, when they are the ones who understand their students best?” she asked herself.
By the 2023-2024 school year, each teacher was tasked with developing their own class plan, reviewed collectively through online groups and team discussions.
The principal offered only broad guidance, such as including sand-and-water play, sound exploration, or local culture corners, while allowing full teacher autonomy in design and execution.
Within months, the school was transformed. Classrooms filled with laughter and color: children built castles from sand, explored sounds with tin cans and pebbles, and dressed in brocade costumes while speaking both their native languages and Vietnamese. Parents watched with pride and trust.
“My child loves going to school,” said Kpuih Phen, 42, a parent from Klă village. “She wakes up early every morning, eager to go. She tells us how beautiful the school is and how fun her teachers are.”
Teachers, too, have been re-energized. Once hesitant, they now confidently create learning tools from recycled boxes, organize traditional games, and try new storytelling techniques. “After joining the TALK Project and receiving Ms. Lan’s trust, I feel more creative, confident, and proactive,” said Nguyễn Thị Thúy Loan, a teacher of the 4-year-old class.
For Ms. Lan, the greatest reward is seeing her teachers thrive. “I realized that empowering others doesn’t mean losing control, but rather gaining trust and more teammates,” she said.
Today, Hoa Sữa Kindergarten boasts a student enrollment rate above 98%, and its classrooms radiate happiness, children love learning, parents feel reassured, and teachers are motivated and innovative.
“Thanks to the support of VVOB’s TALK Project, I have learned to trust and empower others,” Ms. Lan said. “I am proud to see our teachers leading change for the children.”
The story of Hoa Sữa Kindergarten may be small in scale, but it carries a powerful message: when trust is shared, creativity blossoms, and happiness grows across the community.
VVOB is a non-profit educational organization that has operated in Vietnam since 1992. Since 2008, VVOB has focused on early childhood and general education. The TALK Project is being implemented from 2022 to 2026 in Quảng Trị, Tuyên Quang, and Gia Lai, aiming to support preschool teachers and administrators through training, classroom observation, and coaching.
