Faculty and staff at Al-Huda School are taking operations to the next level as the second half of the school year comes to an end by amping up operations, going green and going global!
One of the newest changes at Al-Huda School is the addition of an Academic Enrichment Program for FREE for our current elementary school students. Right now, the program is being offered in reading for elementary school. We hope to expand it for Arabic and math for elementary school and middle school. The objective with this program is to offer small group instruction for students who may struggle in these subject areas.
Al-Huda School has also began the implementation of a college and career readiness program called Naviance. In shaa Allah, this will help students navigate their high school and college careers free of charge! As a college and career readiness program, Naviance provides students with high school and college planning and career assessment tools.
This software will be their one-stop place to apply for colleges and universities, receive targeted guidance for their future careers and help them select their internships accordingly. Al-Huda School students may also keep track of their community service or internship requirements that Maryland State requires for graduation. These requirements include twenty-five community service hours and internship(s) needed to graduate. It will also help students continue to be organized, take initiative, and plan ahead long after they have ventured out of Al-Huda School. Naviance keeps track of various college requirements, pre-requisites, exams, and career paths all on a single screen.
“We are excited to keep more detailed tabs on our alumni as well,” Sister Shamila Hashim, who is spearheading this software. “This will help us with research, profiling, reports and making improvements. We can compare our current students and other Al-Huda School Alumni in terms of college acceptance rates and job rates. It’s a game changer!”
Inspired by the words of our beloved messenger ‘alayhi salatu wa salam:
إذا قامت الساعة وفي يد أحدكم فسيلة، فإن استطاع أن لا تقوم حتى يغرسها، فليغرسها
"If the Day of Judgement begins and there’s a seed in one of your hands, then if he’s able to plant it before the end of time, he should plant it."
We derive so many beautiful meanings from this hadith including remaining steadfast until the end and not wasting an opportunity to benefit others, not even a seed, but also, the importance of protecting what you have.
What about the trees that Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala has already given? Al-Huda School administration has executed this frame of mind by going G-R-E-E-N with all student files with an electronic document management system. Not only will this allow the office to become paper-free, as student files can become quite large as they progress from preschool through the 12th grade, but it will also allow office staff to be in-sync regarding files as they are centralized in one location and updated instantly. Several other Dar-us-Salaam projects, besides Al-Huda School, will be utilizing this management system including Al-Huda Preschool, Hifzh School, and the Al-Huda School branch in Pennsylvania.
“No need to waste ink or paper,” Sister Shamila explained the benefits of the plan that officially started in November. “Now everyone can work more efficiently and Al-Huda School can focus on what’s most important: the students.”
In an unprecedented Ramadan amidst Covid-19, Al-Huda School has continued with online instruction that began last month as well as many other adaptations including:
- Remote admission testing via a lockdown browser to avoid registration delays for the 2020-21 school year
- Online, automatic scheduling system for a more productive, accommodating and flexible class timetable for both teachers and students.
- Khairukum, online small group Qur'an reading and/or memorization program (via Zoom) offered this Ramadan by qualified teachers
- Lectures, live Qur’an reading and reminders on our Ramadan program as well as Storytime Crafts, Engaged Parenting, Sahabah Bingo, Dash of Delicious and other webinars with Sister Walida Mukhtar.
“When exactly the school doors will reopen is still uncertain,” Principle Haroon Baqai explained. “However, Al-Huda School is pushing forwardly progressively and patiently. We are striving to seize the opportunity in this difficulty with the help of Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala. May Allah allow us all to make our time apart beneficial. We miss our students and are sending lots of love to them and their families. And may He reunite us soon.”
