The teacher-student relationship in the small school.

After a fun-filled summer, the children of Dinh Bo Linh Primary School (Bau Sam neighborhood, Long Khanh ward) return to their studies, arithmetic, and their respected teachers.

Ms. Truong My Ngoc (homeroom teacher of class 1/3, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School) helps students get acquainted with handwriting during their first lesson. Photo: Doan Phu

From a small school hidden away in the fields and gardens, many children in Bau Sam neighborhood, Long Khanh ward, constantly aspire to seek knowledge at higher levels of education.

The arduous task of finding the words

Despite achieving only a "fair" academic performance last school year, NVT (class 4/1, school year 2025-2026) still longs for summer to pass quickly so she can return to school to recite lessons and ponder math concepts. With her new uniform, school bag, and books donated by the school, teachers, and benefactors, NVT happily skips to class, leaving behind all her misfortunes and hardships.

Dinh Bo Linh Primary School in Bau Sam neighborhood, Long Khanh ward, where I taught from the time it was a branch of Le Van Tam Primary School until now, has had about 100 students graduate from university. Among them, many have returned to their old school, working with their former teachers to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in pursuing their dreams of education.

Ms. THAI THI NGOC TRANG, Dinh Bo Lin Primary School

After her parents separated and left the Bau Sam neighborhood to work elsewhere, NVT was raised and educated by her older sister. Because her sister's family was also struggling financially, NVT received constant care, protection, and support from the government, the school, and her teachers throughout her school years.

In the 2024-2025 school year, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School will have 11 classes with 381 students, of which 25.1% are children of ethnic minorities and 3.5% are from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the 2025-2026 school year, after Bau Tram commune and the wards of Xuan An, Xuan Hoa, Xuan Binh, and Phu Binh (formerly Long Khanh city) merge to form Long Khanh ward, the school will have a total of 394 students/12 classes (with one additional class in grade 1).

Ms. Luong Thi Hong Nhung, Deputy Principal in charge of Dinh Bo Linh Primary School, said: "Right from the beginning of the school year, the school's Board of Directors, teachers, and the Head of the Youth Union, in coordination with the hamlet, the Parent-Teacher Association, and benefactors, have promptly updated and supplemented information on students in need of assistance in order to provide support solutions."

According to Ms. Luong Thi Hong Nhung, in the first six months of 2025, the school mobilized nearly 48 million VND from various sources to implement programs such as: giving white shirts to friends; giving Tet gifts, providing health insurance for poor students… In addition, students with difficult circumstances and students from ethnic minority groups also received support from organizations and benefactors inside and outside Long Khanh ward in the form of scholarships, uniforms, and books to encourage their efforts to overcome difficulties and stay in school.

For our beloved students

As usual, before the start of the new school year at Dinh Bo Linh Primary School, teacher Thai Duc Duan, the school's Head of the Youth Union, encouraged Mr. Dao Xuan Nam (owner of the 1997 Hair Salon, Tran Phu Street, Long Khanh Ward) to organize free haircut sessions for students, aiming to help them have neat hair when going to school.

Mr. Dao Xuan Nam said: During the summer and before the start of the new school year, he regularly collaborates with Mr. Thai Duc Duan to organize free haircut sessions for students and even working people in the area when they need them. The students are very happy with the elegant hairstyles for their teenage years, which are no less stylish than those of children from more affluent families.

Dinh Bo Linh Primary School has 18 staff members, including teachers and other employees; 92.8% of the school's teachers meet or exceed the required pedagogical standards; in the 2023-2024 school year, the school achieved national standard level 1 (for the third time) and achieved educational quality accreditation level 2.

Teacher Thai Duc Duan shared: "The students in Bau Sam neighborhood are facing more difficulties than those in other neighborhoods in Long Khanh ward. Therefore, as the Head of the Youth Union, Mr. Duan doesn't hesitate to actively solicit donations from benefactors, from balls and shuttlecocks to bottles of water, so that his young students can not only enjoy practicing sports like football, sepak takraw, and chess, but also achieve high results in provincial and regional competitions."

In 2009, Dinh Bo Linh Primary School was established by separating from the Le Van Tam Primary School branch in Group 8, Bau Sam neighborhood, Long Khanh ward. Although the student population is not large, under the roof of this school, generations of children from Bau Sam neighborhood and the surrounding area have successfully progressed to junior high school, high school, and university.

Ms. Thai Thi Ngoc Trang, homeroom teacher of class 1/1 at Dinh Bo Linh Primary School, said: "Although the students only spent a short five years at the school, during that time, the bond between teachers and students, and between parents and students, was always beautiful. They brought vegetables and bananas from their fields, fish and snails caught in the rice paddies as gifts to the teachers; and the teachers helped find bicycles, rice, uniforms, shoes, bags, books, pens, etc., to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds." Having dedicated over 15 years to teaching in the Bau Sam area, Ms. Thai Thi Ngoc Trang continues to steer her young students through difficult times to attend school.

A gentle breeze from the Bau Sam fields blew through the windows, the voices of the children from Dinh Bo Linh Primary School echoed in the ears of the parents working in the nearby fields, drowning out the sound of the rushing traffic.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tong (residing in Bau Sam neighborhood, Long Khanh ward) expressed: "The economic situation of parents in Bau Sam neighborhood may not be as good as in other areas, but their children receive the same love, care, and attention from the teachers here as in other places."

Doan Phu

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202509/tinh-thay-tro-noi-ngoi-truong-nho-d8f2e26/