Spring Board Academy - Puttur

If you look for 1-325/29 in Lakshmi Nagar, you’ll see our gate. Spring Board Academy here in Puttur is a place that feels very much like a part of the town. Chittoor can get quite warm, so we spent a good amount of time last summer making sure all the ceiling fans were balanced and not clicking. The school isn’t some high-rise building; it’s a space where you can actually see the kids playing from the street. We have some potted plants near the entrance, though they struggle a bit when we forget to water them on the weekends. Inside, the walls are covered with charts about the solar system and maps of India that are starting to curl at the edges. We use a lot of paper and pencils here, so there’s always a bit of sharpening to do. The teachers sit together in a small room during their break, sharing food and talking about the day. It’s a very normal atmosphere. We don't have fancy uniforms for the staff or a big marble lobby. It’s more about the wooden chairs, the sound of the bell, and the way the light comes through the windows in the afternoon. Most of the people who work here live just a few streets away. We know which kids come from Lakshmi Nagar and which ones have a longer walk. It’s just a steady, daily process of getting through the lessons. When the day is done, the janitor sweeps the halls and we lock up.