US consul-general Beth Payne conducts a reading session at the American School Kolkata. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

The American School Kolkata (ASK) hopes to finally spread its wings. The one-hall classroom at the consulate at 5/1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani has nine students on its rolls, four more than when it started out in August 2007. Enrolment is likely to go up with more American business coming to town.

“Any new school starts small. The US-India strategic dialogue is moving forward and eastern India is a part of that movement. Numbers are likely to increase with greater ties between American businesses and Bengal. The school also encourages American investment because education is one of the basic areas of concern for families that move to Calcutta from abroad,” says Beth Payne, the US consul-general.

Payne sees another reason for the projected rise in student count — more employees joining the US consulate. “As of now we have a consul and three vice-consuls, of whom one vice-consul was appointed in end-2009. This allows us to have more visa interviews. We are waiting for approval from the ministry of external affairs for three more positions,” she smiles.

ASK is affiliated to the American Embassy School in New Delhi and is supported by the US department of state’s office of overseas schools and the US consulate. As numbers go up, ASK has plans to shift to a larger campus.

The elementary school, open to children from kindergarten to sixth grade, is headed by Laura Miller. The school is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 3.30pm.

“We offer an American-style education. The aim is to give the children an American curriculum so that they can take off from where they left. It’s a hard adjustment and we want to make sure that those who move here have an easy transition,” says Miller.

Indians working with MNCs or those focused on sending their children to the US for higher education can also enrol their kids at ASK.

The US curriculum differs from the Indian education system in being more “experiential” and “globalised” where “children are taught to think on their feet”, says Payne.

The experiential education system was demonstrated in a reading session by the consul-general last Friday. As nine eager children sat down to a learning session with “Peacemaker” Payne, each one was asked to define “peace”. To a nine-year-old, peace was a white dove; for a five-year-old peace was what was “in his lunchbox” — chocolate chip cookies and margarita pizza!

“At ASK, we don’t force kids. Our library stocks 1,600 books and we leave it up to the children to find out what they can read,” says Miller. Everything from teaching supplies to books comes from the US.