Yuta Kanno of Otsuchi Ringakusha Collabo School

A collaborative study space for kids

Collabo School aims to motivate children to study by creating a safe space for them to do so. It opened in Onagawa, Miyagi, in July 2011.

Otsuchi had a relatively high rate of children living in temporary housing, which is too cramped to separate into living and study spaces, so there was a high demand for this type of school. Ringakusha Collabo School, an after-school program, opened in December 2011. It currently has around 200 registered elementary, middle and high school students, with around 100 attending each day.

"We're not the same as a normal private study school. As it says in our name, we collaborate with schools and boards of education by sharing information, and using Otsuchi City's educational aims as a base," Mr. Kanno said.

Coming up with their own solutions

Besides their own studies, Collabo School's high school students also develop their own projects to engage with local issues that they are interested in.

Mr. Kanno sees the effect this has. "Children here, compared with children in big cities, really want to study hard and change things. Their projects engage with issues close at hand, and they think very seriously about how these problems can be solved. Local problems are also their problems, and they have the power to solve them."

The school's future plans include a supplemental study program with IT facilities.

Profile

Yuta Kanno
Head of the Otsuchi Ringakusha Collabo School （NPO Katariba）

Originally from Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture.
After graduating from university, he started working at a recruitment agency. In September 2011 he helped plan the launch of Otsuchi Ringakusha Collabo School, which helps with the education and care of children in disaster-hit areas. It was established in December 2011. Mr. Kanno currently works as its head.