Blog

Largest 7th Grade Entrance Exam Turnout

The demand for education from Abaarso continues to grow in Somaliland. In the spring of 2019, we had the largest number of applicants for admission to our school in our history.

We administered our entrance exam to over 1,800 students around Somaliland. This admissions cycle we were able to reach communities in Sheikh and Wajaale for the first time to identify outstanding students to contribute to and benefit from an Abaarso education. After the admissions review process, 48 promising students were accepted into our community.

In another first, we are honored to have Hassan Daahir, our first student ever from our Gabiley Orphanage Program. This is a free tutoring program, in which Abaarso students create and execute lesson plans for English and math with the help of teachers, and then drive 33 kilometers to go and teach for several hours to then come back to their own studies at Abaarso. It’s quite a shining example of the kind of sacrificial work model that Abaarso has been built on over the years to provide access to quality education. 

On August 13th, our new 7th-grade class finally arrived at Abaarso for orientation excited to start their new journey. During orientation, our 7th graders were prepared for life at Abaarso by Gianna Biaggi, Head of Lower School, and our dedicated staff of new and returning teachers. 

This year, our seventh since we implemented the 7th-grade class, we graduated Abaarso’s first class of 7th graders. Currently, most in that graduating class are in universities around the world like Columbia, TCU, and Ashoka. Some are still studying at other secondary schools like Woodstock School in India and Phillips Academy Andover. We are proud of all that they have accomplished.   

We look forward to witnessing the community contributions and many successes our new 7th-grade class will bring.

2019 Faculty Spotlight: Adebola Akinmulewo

As we begin our 11th year at Abaarso School, we are proud to welcome 28 new and returning faculty members.
This dedicated and diverse group includes teachers from eight countries, among them Nigeria, Zimbabwe, United States, Poland, and Somaliland.

The newly arrived faculty come with various teaching experiences such as teaching English at an NGO for refugees in Greece and teaching Math for EDUSA in Rwanda. 
Our first faculty spotlight for this year introduces Adebola Akinmulewo. 

Adebola comes from western Nigeria.
She graduated from Covenant University with a Bachelor’s in Microbiology and a Masters in Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology.
Before coming to Abaarso, Adebola taught mathematics in a remote location in Nigeria.

Now, she teaches our 7th and 8th-grade mathematics classes. Her passion for teaching was nurtured by her parents, who continue to inspire her to this day. They instilled in her the importance of education, and this inspired her to become a teacher.

In addition to teaching, she works with the Primary Tutoring Program here at Abaarso.
When asked about the teaching experience at Abaarso, Adebola said,
“I love teaching here it’s a unique experience and it’s really beautiful.” 

As someone who doesn’t shy away from new experiences, Adebola pet a cat for the first time here at Abaarso!!

We look forward to featuring the rest of our faculty members on our Abaarso Facebook and Instagram every month.