From Austin to Tanzania: How a School Partnership is Transforming Learning
How a global partnership between St. Andrew’s and Promise Village Academy is reshaping students on both sides of the world.
When St. Andrew’s Second Grade Teacher, Annie Billups, boarded a plane last summer and began the long journey to rural Tanzania, she was excited to finally meet with students and teachers at Promise Village Academy (PVA) in person, after two years of conversation through video calls, letter writing and collaborative learning.
She knew she’d likely see poverty. She had traveled through communities in Mexico and Bolivia before, and expected tough conditions. But nothing prepared her for the reality that unfolded as she traveled the last three hours from Arusha, rumbling over a bumpy, off-road route that felt part safari, part pilgrimage. Herds of goats passed by with groups of four- and five-year-olds guiding them. Villages—bomas—made of huts and thorny fences dusted the landscape. Clean water was rare. The nearest marked location on a map was an hour and a half away.
And then, suddenly, buildings appeared—the first sign of Promise Village Academy, the remote school in Tanzania that St. Andrew’s School second, third, and fourth graders had been conversing with throughout the school year.
Billups arrived on a momentous day. The school community had gathered to dedicate their new dormitory to co-founder, 90-year-old Donna Gunn. Although it was technically PVA’s winter break, students had returned two weeks early for the celebration. They greeted Billups, Gunn, and the other visitors with songs, dances, skits — an entire day of ceremony and hospitality that culminated in a feast where goats and cows were prepared in Gunn’s honor. Five mothers dressed Billups in traditional Maasai clothing and the translator got her up to speed, translating conversations and alternating between Maasai, Swahili, and English. The warmth was overwhelming.
“It was the kind of trip where I still wake up thinking about it,” Billups says. “The hospitality, the resilience, the joy—it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Her mission at PVA last summer was clear: to strengthen the growing relationship between students at SAS and PVA. What she discovered, however, would reshape how she approached teaching — and expand the partnership far beyond what she expected.
She knew she’d likely see poverty. She had traveled through communities in Mexico and Bolivia before, and expected tough conditions. But nothing prepared her for the reality that unfolded as she traveled the last three hours from Arusha, rumbling over a bumpy, off-road route that felt part safari, part pilgrimage. Herds of goats passed by with groups of four- and five-year-olds guiding them. Villages—bomas—made of huts and thorny fences dusted the landscape. Clean water was rare. The nearest marked location on a map was an hour and a half away.
And then, suddenly, buildings appeared—the first sign of Promise Village Academy, the remote school in Tanzania that St. Andrew’s School second, third, and fourth graders had been conversing with throughout the school year.
Billups arrived on a momentous day. The school community had gathered to dedicate their new dormitory to co-founder, 90-year-old Donna Gunn. Although it was technically PVA’s winter break, students had returned two weeks early for the celebration. They greeted Billups, Gunn, and the other visitors with songs, dances, skits — an entire day of ceremony and hospitality that culminated in a feast where goats and cows were prepared in Gunn’s honor. Five mothers dressed Billups in traditional Maasai clothing and the translator got her up to speed, translating conversations and alternating between Maasai, Swahili, and English. The warmth was overwhelming.
“It was the kind of trip where I still wake up thinking about it,” Billups says. “The hospitality, the resilience, the joy—it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Her mission at PVA last summer was clear: to strengthen the growing relationship between students at SAS and PVA. What she discovered, however, would reshape how she approached teaching — and expand the partnership far beyond what she expected.
Resourcefulness Creates a Culture of Shared Responsibility
One of the first things Billups noticed was how deeply PVA students care for their school.
“Everything is theirs,” she explains. “The crops, the grounds, the classrooms — students take ownership of all of it.”
The school schedule reflects that mindset. Every week, PVA students have Hygiene Day on Wednesdays, when all children shower and brush their teeth, a vital part of their week since most do not have access to clean water at home. Environment Day is when students care for crops, cut grass, and maintain the school grounds. And finally, students observe Recreation Day on Fridays, when boys learn sports and girls learn dances.
What’s more, students cook, clean, wash their dishes, sweep their classrooms, and tend the land. They grow their own food. They share everything, including crayons.
“Paper is a scarce resource,” Billups says. “They use every scrap carefully. Kids were sharpening pencils with knives before we brought sharpeners.”
The experience widened her perspective on constructivist learning. “This is ownership of learning at the highest stakes,” she says. “Their survival skills are intertwined with their education.”
One of the first things Billups noticed was how deeply PVA students care for their school.
“Everything is theirs,” she explains. “The crops, the grounds, the classrooms — students take ownership of all of it.”
The school schedule reflects that mindset. Every week, PVA students have Hygiene Day on Wednesdays, when all children shower and brush their teeth, a vital part of their week since most do not have access to clean water at home. Environment Day is when students care for crops, cut grass, and maintain the school grounds. And finally, students observe Recreation Day on Fridays, when boys learn sports and girls learn dances.
What’s more, students cook, clean, wash their dishes, sweep their classrooms, and tend the land. They grow their own food. They share everything, including crayons.
“Paper is a scarce resource,” Billups says. “They use every scrap carefully. Kids were sharpening pencils with knives before we brought sharpeners.”
The experience widened her perspective on constructivist learning. “This is ownership of learning at the highest stakes,” she says. “Their survival skills are intertwined with their education.”
Leadership Looks Different — but Starts Early
At PVA, leadership is woven into the structure of daily school life. Each class has a class boy and a class girl, and upper grades have appointed prefects—students who lead pledges, uphold expectations, and model responsibility within the school. In many ways, the prefects are the cultural equivalent of student council leaders at SAS.
This year, those prefects are meeting with St. Andrew’s fifth-grade ambassadors on Google Meet. Despite limited technology — solar-powered internet that doesn’t work at night or on cloudy days — the chance to learn from one another is meaningful.
“These students have never seen a paved road,” Billups says. “But they are leaders. They know what it means to serve their community. Our students can learn so much from them.”
At PVA, leadership is woven into the structure of daily school life. Each class has a class boy and a class girl, and upper grades have appointed prefects—students who lead pledges, uphold expectations, and model responsibility within the school. In many ways, the prefects are the cultural equivalent of student council leaders at SAS.
This year, those prefects are meeting with St. Andrew’s fifth-grade ambassadors on Google Meet. Despite limited technology — solar-powered internet that doesn’t work at night or on cloudy days — the chance to learn from one another is meaningful.
“These students have never seen a paved road,” Billups says. “But they are leaders. They know what it means to serve their community. Our students can learn so much from them.”
Life in the Maasai Community Is Changing, But Its Core Traditions Remain
PVA serves families from nearby Maasai villages, many of which maintain cultural practices that date back thousands of years.
“The Maasai are semi-nomadic pastoralists,” Billups explains. “Their wealth—their entire economic structure—is based on cows.”
Cows are rarely eaten as families live primarily on their milk and blood, but goats and sheep are consumed more frequently. The fact that two cows were prepared for Billup’s welcome feast was a profound honor.
As climate change alters grazing patterns, some Maasai men leave for months at a time with their herds and family structures differ widely from American norms. One Maasai family that Billups spent time with included more than 70 children.
And yet, the purpose of PVA is not to erase these traditions, Billups emphasizes.
“The school’s philosophy is not to change Maasai culture,” she says. “It’s to elevate the status of girls and give all students the tools they need to protect their community in a modern world.”
Hospitality and Joy Show Up Where You Least Expect Them
Despite limited resources, PVA’s hospitality is abundant. Billups experienced the generosity of a community where every gesture carries meaning.
Students proudly showed Billups their dormitory, where 73 students live. When she brought SAS t-shirts for each boarding student, she was surprised to learn that no students chose the white ones.
“The soil is so red,” Billups says, making it challenging to clean as there are no washing machines and the children wash their own linens by hand.
She spent most of her time with second graders and their teachers, planning lessons and exploring ways to deepen connections with SAS classrooms. “I hoped to help their teachers in some small way,” she says, “but they ended up teaching me more than I ever expected.”
This Partnership Is Expanding SAS Students’ Worldview in Powerful Ways
The idea for this global relationship first sparked when Billups noticed Lower School parent, Robyn Reddy, collecting items from St. Andrew’s lost and found. Reddy explained that she was going to mail the forgotten items to her family's school in Tanzania. A lightbulb went off in Billups's head that St. Andrew’s and PVA students needed to interact and learn from each other. Over several school years, the relationship has grown through regular conversations between students at both schools.
Last year, Grades 2–4 exchanged videos and letters, and Billups hand-delivered supplies and student messages over the summer. This year, second graders will explore sustainability through the expertise of Maasai students who grow food both at school and at home. Fifth graders have begun new prefect-ambassador meetings. Additionally, Billups looks forward to sharing her experiences with the Middle School and continuing to expand the program’s reach.
“It’s the most authentic teaching I’ve done in my 18 years as an educator,” Billups says. “Our students learn paragraph writing by comparing our schools and lifestyles . But when they interview PVA students, it becomes real. Gardening becomes real. Global citizenship becomes real.”
As Billups reflects on her time in Tanzania, one theme rises above the rest: gratitude. The partnership brings the Scholar and Service Pillars to life for students through meaningful connections and helps SAS students understand sustainability, resourcefulness, and community from their peers whose daily lives differ enormously from their own in Austin, Texas.
