Sited on a state-of-the-art 12-acre campus, Delhi Public School, Rajnagar (DPS-R, estb. 2011) has established an excellent reputation through the provision of contemporary education rooted in Indian culture and traditions. Unsurprisingly, the co-ed day K-12 institution is ranked Ghaziabad #4 in the latest Education World India School Rankings 2022-23.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated DPS-R is a franchisee of the DPS (Delhi Public Schools) chain of over 200 progressive K-12 institutions worldwide and is managed by the Delhi Public School Society.
Established with a mission statement “to emphasise the notion that the school is with the students for life and helps them to become responsible citizens of the world”, DPS-R offers a well-balanced curriculum driven by the latest technologies.
“At DPS Rajnagar, we believe that education should not just be about imparting knowledge, but also about helping students grow as individuals and become valuable members of society. We strive to create a curriculum that is both value-based and of high quality, and that incorporates modern technology and understanding in equal measure. Our school motto, “Service before Self,” reflects our commitment to selflessly serving others and making a positive impact on the world,” says Suchi Sharma, principal, DPS Rajnagar.
A postgraduate in Chemistry and Clinical Psychology, Suchi Sharma is a committed educator with over two decades’ experience in the field of education. She has served in various leadership roles including senior education officer at Synergy Schools, head of audit team to various school PAN India, and team leader for curriculum design for many schools like IVY World School, Kothari Group of Schools etc. and has extensive experience in training school leaders and teachers. During the course of her illustrious career in education, she has conducted several induction programmes and mentoring sessions for parents on how to enable their children to excel. Under the guidance of Suchi Sharma, DPS Rajnagar has been setting new benchmarks of excellence in K-12 education.
Championing equity in education and experiential learning
At DPS Rajnagar, education rests on the four pillars of equity in education, student-centred learning, learning by association and experiential learning. The school ensures equity in education through its commitment to provide every student with the support and resources they need to succeed so that no child is left behind while student-centred learning is enabled by providing every child tailor-made support based on their individual competencies.
The school promotes associative learning by encouraging students to learn by associating a specific stimulus with a specific response. Moreover, DPS-R teachers act as facilitators rather than disseminators of information and ensure learning through self-exploration.
Keeping with its educational ethos, the school has introduced innovative teaching-learning and assessment practices and approaches. Among them: Learning Under the Sky, Project Based Learning, Performance Tracker (provides teachers with detailed and authentic information relating to a student’s academic performance), ‘Sports Mechanics’ which integrates sports and academics, Score rubrics (attempts to outline a transparent criterion for grading and to ensure transparency in evaluation), ‘Art Academia’ which integrates art and academics, APS (Assessment of Pre-requisite skills) to assess students’ competencies across various skills, ELR (Entry Level Readiness) – an informal assessment that assesses the prerequisite level of a child going to the next grade level, student-led clubs focusing on the 4Cs (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication) and meditative writing to help students improve their concentration skills and neuromuscular coordination for better expression in writing form.
Moreover, committed to the continuous professional development of its teachers, DPS-R encourages them to enroll in HRDC workshops apart from the mandatory 50 hours of training provided by the CBSE. The school also facilitates in-house workshops and skill enhancement modules to keep its teaching staff abreast with current affairs and globally acclaimed teaching-learning practices. The modules cover topics such as inclusive education, language proficiency, progression of NEP, as well as soft skills and team building exercises. Peer tutoring programmes are also conducted on non-instructional days and the school’s ‘Tribe Ties’ programme facilitates dialogue on relevant issues that enable its students to blossom into highly aware adults.
“Our training programmes are not merely professional development programmes but focus on grooming modern educators to cater to the needs of the 21st century learners,” says Suchi Sharma.
Engaging learning environment that helps unleash the potential of every child
Committed to creating an engaging learning environment for the 21st century learners, the DPS-R management has invested generously in an enabling infrastructure for academics, sports and co-curricular education. The school’s contemporary academic infrastructure includes ICT enabled classrooms, a well-stocked library, junior and senior computer labs, a laptop lab, social studies, math and language labs, an audio-visual room and well-equipped labs for physics, chemistry, and biology.
A sports and activity arena, half Olympic-size swimming pool, seven turf tennis courts, a basketball court, a skating rink, well-maintained fields for football, hockey, and cricket, activity areas for music, dance, theatre, yoga, and art and craft, and a story room support the school’s rich sports and co-curricular education menu.
The school’s unique Sports Mechanics programme integrates sports and academics to enhance students’ understanding of key concepts. In these classes, academic concepts are explained through sports activities making interdisciplinary learning interesting and ensuring more effective retention of concepts. Apart from the regular sports programme, extra coaching is provided in various sporting disciplines.
The school promotes several student interest clubs that focus on nurturing the essential 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication while its internship programme focuses on leadership skill development. In addition, the ‘Lessons of Equality’ promotes understanding of the constitution and the importance of being a responsible citizen. The school’s five e-newspapers which are edited and published by the students, allows them to express their creativity and share ideas through self-composed articles, advertisements, stories, and poems while Portfolio Building encourages students to reflect on their journey of achievements and learnings in school.
“The right blend of sports and co-curricular activities at DPS Rajnagar is designed to help unleash the full potential of every child. Besides excelling in academics, our students have won laurels in co-curricular and sporting events. They have bagged top spots in inter DPS competitions and have won medals in state and regional championships. We are proud to have produced talented and dedicated players and performers,” says Suchi Sharma.
“Moreover, as a responsible educational institution, we have responded to the challenges of the pandemic by adopting technology-based and blended teaching methods to continue providing high-quality education to our students. We have also prioritised the mental health and well-being of our students by providing access to resources and strategies that support their emotional well-being, inclusion, and behavior modification. The pandemic did brighten up the 360 degree evaluation towards holistic development for learners. Overall, we have demonstrated our adaptability and commitment to our students’ success in the face of unprecedented challenges.”
