Firetree Asia Foundation runs school projects focused on developing teaching methodologies appropriate for children with difficult socio-economic backgrounds and with language issues.
Francesco Caruso is the manager (and treasurer) of the Starfish School and Ms. Wae Yea Wendy Choi, an education psychologist, is very involved in curriculum development, assisting our local team.
Francesco Caruso is the manager (and treasurer) of the Starfish School and Ms. Wae Yea Wendy Choi, an education psychologist, is very involved in curriculum development, assisting our local team.
Starfish School
Integral part of Firetree Asia Foundation, the Starfish (Ban Pla Dao) School is registered as a private charitable school under the Ministry of Education, and provides education at the kindergarten and elementary levels. Baan Pla dao School provides services to students and marginalized families and migrant families. The school's curriculum promotes student learning through the project-based learning approach in both local and English languages.
Baan Pla Dao School was established on May 1, 2006 by its licensee, Starfish Country Home School Foundation (the subsidiary of Firetree Asia Foundation).
It accepts boys and girls students, aged 3-12 years old. The school has two semesters annually, runs classes from Monday to Friday weekly, and follows national and public holidays.
General Student Population:
The School is managed by a competent local team, overseen by Francesco Caruso, Firetree Asia Foundation's Executive Director, who is the School treasurer and a member of the management team.
Baan Pla Dao School was established on May 1, 2006 by its licensee, Starfish Country Home School Foundation (the subsidiary of Firetree Asia Foundation).
It accepts boys and girls students, aged 3-12 years old. The school has two semesters annually, runs classes from Monday to Friday weekly, and follows national and public holidays.
General Student Population:
- Students from families with unstable income / living in poverty
- Children living with grandparents, or whose parents are imprisoned, divorced or deceased.
The School is managed by a competent local team, overseen by Francesco Caruso, Firetree Asia Foundation's Executive Director, who is the School treasurer and a member of the management team.
Makerspaces
Originally launched in 2017 by Firetree Asia Foundation and Starfish Education Trust at Starfish School and its three satellite schools, Starfish Maker is a program that focuses on the Makerspace learning management method. Through agreements with the government and with other partners, Starfish Maker has since expanded to help set up Makerspaces in over 120 schools in Thailand, which account for 6,000 teachers and over 23,000 students.
A Makerspace gives everyone the opportunity to think, research, design, plan, exchange, share, create and develop their work, leading to new innovation. Moreover, Makerspace also helps to promote creativity by providing an environment suitable for learning, including equipment for researching and creating new things, providing people with knowledge and skills, and having experts provide advice to help creators solve problems and work towards their goals.
The 21st century is an age of information. There is knowledge and new things happening all of the time. Those who will succeed in the future are those who have learning skills, as well as the capability to live a good life together. Teaching in the 21st century focuses on skills more than knowledge; on practice; on the process of finding answers to questions; on development of an individual’s potential.
Learning with the STEAM Design Process through Starfish Maker activities promotes essential skills for the 21st century, including:
A Makerspace gives everyone the opportunity to think, research, design, plan, exchange, share, create and develop their work, leading to new innovation. Moreover, Makerspace also helps to promote creativity by providing an environment suitable for learning, including equipment for researching and creating new things, providing people with knowledge and skills, and having experts provide advice to help creators solve problems and work towards their goals.
The 21st century is an age of information. There is knowledge and new things happening all of the time. Those who will succeed in the future are those who have learning skills, as well as the capability to live a good life together. Teaching in the 21st century focuses on skills more than knowledge; on practice; on the process of finding answers to questions; on development of an individual’s potential.
Learning with the STEAM Design Process through Starfish Maker activities promotes essential skills for the 21st century, including:
