Hem Sheela Model School in India is getting new facilities thanks to a grant from Drury Board of Trustees Chairman John Beuerlein and his wife, Crystal.
Drury sister school gets donation from board
SBJ Staff
Posted online
A school in India founded by two Drury University professors is receiving a financial boost from Drury's board chairman.
Drury professors Rabindra and Protima Roy founded the Hem Sheela Model School - a private, K-12 institution with 3,350 students in Durgapur, India - in 1995.
Now, a $2 million donation from Drury Board of Trustees Chairman John Beuerlein and his wife, Crystal, will allow the school to meet several needs. The Roys and the Beuerleins are traveling to India during the holiday break to dedicate the new facilities.
Among the improvements are a 100,000-square-foot recreation facility featuring a volleyball court, gymnasium, swimming pool and 1,500-seat auditorium.
"This magnificent arena will help to develop complete human beings by combining excellence in academics with facilities that develop the mind, body and soul," Rabindra Roy said in a news release. "This state-of-the-art facility will be used throughout the year, not only by Hem Sheela students, but also for nationwide competitions with other schools."
The school is also getting a high-tech science laboratory with biotechnology and chemistry facilities, a new library and an advanced computer lab.
During the visit, the Roys and Beuerleins also will dedicate a new building at the nearby Protima Child and Woman Development Center, which they founded in 2007.
The center is currently housed in an open-air, one-room structure with no running water or electricity, but the school will now have six rooms for kindergarten-through-fourth grade students along with a teacher's room and restrooms. The upgrades also are being funded by the Beuerleins' donation.
The Roys started both schools with $2 million of their own savings and investment funds, and the Hem Sheela school is now self-sufficient, with students paying $14 a month in tuition.
"We both believe passionately in education," Rabindra Roy said in the release. "And we want more young people in India to have the kind of opportunities that children in America have."[[In-content Ad]]
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