In 1995, we began with a two bedroom hall kitchen independent house in Nehru Nagar, west, with 13 students and a vision to make a difference by bringing back the childhood in today’s children’s lives. 17 years down the line, the number of students has increased; we stand tall on two sprawling campuses and have joined hands with many more teachers and staff members but we all are still driven by the same urge to make a difference.

Milestone Academy, the brain child of Dr (Mrs) Mamta Shukla - Director of the academy, was conceived to give a space to children to just be who they are! A place where they could be a little naughty and at the same time focus on learning; play and at the same time listen to their teachers; make friends for a life time and fall in love with their books a place where they could just live their childhood.

Dr (Mrs) Mamta Shukla began this journey with a question in hand. “Why does a child throw away the school bag and pick up play materials? Why does he/she not choose books over toys,” she asks. She realized that monotony has set in and the added pressure of exams and scores makes schooling a burden rather than an enjoyable platform to learn. According to her, more than books and class room teaching, children need a congenial environment which provides them the right kind of experiences to learn from.

With this thought, Milestone academy was brought into being. The school was the first of its kind in Chhattisgarh to follow the play way method of teaching and introduced the concept of “learning with fun”.

After seven years of work with the tiny tots, the school had made a name for itself. It was time to take the next big step and lay foundation for the senior school.

One step at a time, each year we added another class to our school and by God’s grace, this year our senior most batch is in class X. The focus is still the same - lessen the monotony in education and help our students to be creative, confident and compassionate young adults.

The school organises workshops for students to get familiar with the concepts, introduces methods that will encourage them to learn and Dr (Mrs) Mamta Shukla makes sure that a rich interactive environment is provided to facilitate learning.

Milestone will be introducing classes XI and XII in the year 2013. The children will be taught to focus on their studies in these two important years of their lives. “Our students dance to music and the next moment, fold hands to meditate. Understanding the need of the hour and giving it your hundred per cent is important and we help our children realize that. Play like a kid when you are taking a break and once back on your study table, study seriously as if you have an exam tomorrow,” she says.

The school will offer combinations like PCM (physics, chemistry and maths), PCB (Biology) and commerce and is trying to rope in the best names in the field for class room teaching and weekend workshops with our students.

Milestone Academy is like a second home to its students. They are given the freedom to express, imagine and build a world of their dreams. The teachers here are empathetic to the children and the principal has opened her doors to her Milestonians.

“Why should students be scared of their principal?” she asks. After home, a child spends maximum time in school. They should feel free to walk in with their problems to the head of the institution. “I play with my children, dance with them during celebrations, share stories and have serious conversations when required,” she adds.

With these thoughts, the Milestone academy makes a new beginning every day and is still trying to break away from the shackles.