Weimin primary school builds school buildings, purchases equipment and introduces teachers according to the highest standards, but the fees are the lowest among similar schools. In his own words, it is "high-end decoration food stalls." The purpose of this is simple: because "flowing flowers also need sunshine and rain."
Zhao Weiming's kindness in running a school not only benefited thousands of children of migrant workers, but also attracted the attention of the society. Yesterday, the reporter made a special trip to Weimin Primary School to learn about Zhao Weiming's mental journey of running a school.
Seeing that the children didn't go to school, Zhao Weiming, 50, started education.
Speaking of Zhao Weiming's running a school, we have to start with 1998. That year, Zhao Weiming was 50 years old and was a manager of Shiyan Power Supply Station. As a native of "Old Shenzhen", his family has about 100 mu of land in Shiyan Street and a factory building of more than 3,000 square meters. This factory alone can bring him nearly 40 thousand yuan in rent every month, and even if he lies down to sleep, he can live a good life without food and clothing. This is also the lifestyle of many of his neighbors: playing cards, drinking tea and living a leisurely life.
With the rapid development of Shenzhen, there are more and more migrant workers in Shenzhen, who have brought their own children. Every day, these children either wander aimlessly in the street or help in the vegetable fields. Most of them are school-age children. "Why not go to school?" Zhao Weiming asked these children and their parents many times and got the answer: there is no school. Yes, at that time, the public services in Shenzhen were still insufficient, and there were not enough educational resources to meet the rapid influx of a large number of school-age children.
Children of migrant workers are flowing flowers and need sunshine and rain. Zhao Weiming began to sprout the idea of running education in his heart. But education is easier said than done. What about education? Zhao Weiming hasn't read many books himself. When it comes to running a school, he is at a loss. However, in Zhao Weiming's view, it is simple to break down many difficult things. School? You just need venues, equipment, teachers and students. Venue? I thought there was a factory there. Zhao Weiming gritted his teeth and vacated the factory that can bring nearly 40 thousand income every month to be a classroom. Equipment, make do with buying some simple ones first. If there is no teacher, you can recruit. In Zhao Weiming's simple concept, as long as you give good treatment, you will naturally attract "golden phoenix". Soon, more than 20 teachers arrived at their posts smoothly.
Everything is ready, except for the east wind, which is the step of enrollment. To recruit students, we must first set the charging standard. In fact, Zhao Weiming can definitely set the tuition higher. First of all, my school is the first and only local private school. The threshold of public schools is high, and most children of migrant workers can't get in. If they want to go to school, they can only come to his school. Secondly, I have invested a lot in school construction. The factory rent loses a lot every year, and the teacher's salary is also high. Only by charging high tuition fees can we make up for our investment. However, Zhao Weiming didn't do this because he didn't forget his original intention of running a school, so that the children of migrant workers could also go to school. That's why he named the school private. As a result, the tuition fee was set to the lowest. Every semester in 650 yuan, more than 350 students, mostly children of migrant workers, come from all corners of the country.
On the day of school, Zhao Weiming looked at the children standing under the national flag and was very excited. "I touched everyone's head." He will never forget that scene. Zhaowei knows that bringing children to school means a kind of responsibility and dedication. In order to keep the children away from home from being late for class, he paid for nearly 300 bicycles and gave them to the children for free. Children at home have difficulties, he sent condolences and solatium; Children are in arrears with tuition fees, and even if they can't pay tuition fees when they graduate, they will never rush to pay them or even subsidize their living expenses.
Schools are getting better and better, and families are getting smaller and smaller.
After the first batch of students entered the school, Zhao Weiming went further and further on the road of running a school and promoting education. The school has been built, but Zhao Weiming is not satisfied with the status quo. Looking through the old photos again today, we can vividly see the scene of the Children's Day cultural performance from 65438 to 0999. At the feet of the children who lined up neatly to sing, there was a large piece of plastic striped cloth. Under the striped cloth, there was dirt.
At that time, the school didn't even have a cement playground, and striped cloth became a colorful runway for students. However, the dust raised in sunny days and the silt in rainy days have a great influence on children's learning and activities. There are also classrooms rebuilt in factories and poor teaching equipment, which are unacceptable to Zhao Weiming. Since then, Weimin School has entered a period of great development.
In 2002, Zhao Weiming demolished the factory building and built Lide Building on the original site. In 2004, three old houses were demolished and funds were raised to build the Lizhi Building.
With the development of Shenzhen's economy, the house price and rent in Shiyan are rising, and many communities have built "handshake buildings" for landlords to rent. However, Zhao Weiming demolished his house to build a school. After the teaching building was built, he decided to build an upscale playground. If you want to build a playground, you must have a good place. A piece of land the size of a playground, a 200-meter runway, actually belongs to more than 30 families. So, Zhao Weiming went to talk about it one by one, buying it piece by piece, and the smallest piece of land was only half the size of a single bed. But after all, the playground has been built, and the children can go to physical education class happily.
As long as he has money, Zhao Weiming will ponder how to build the school better. To this end, this not-rich local has invested more than 20 million yuan. This money includes not only the compensation for the expropriation of about 90 mu of land in his family, but also the income from renting the factory for many years, including the money for selling cars and villas. In 2008, in order to provide better learning conditions for children and create district-level schools for primary schools, Zhao Weiming sold his Mercedes-Benz in order to raise funds. In 2009, when he founded the first-class school in the city, Lao Zhao invested more than 3 million yuan to build 26 functional classrooms. All classrooms in Lizhilou 18 are equipped with electronic whiteboards, and only the computer room is equipped with brand-new LCD computers, which costs 600,000-700,000 yuan. Last year, there was a piece of land 1 1,000 square meters near the school to be sold, and many people were moved by the wind. Zhao Weiming had a brainwave and spent more than 4 million yuan to buy it as the school's biological park. To this end, he sold the villa, realized more than 3 million, and was in debt 1 more than 10,000. Now, several members of their family have moved to an old bungalow of more than 70 square meters.
I worked hard to run a school 13 years, invested more than 20 million, and didn't make any money. Now the school has 10086 square meters of land and 7252 square meters of buildings, and some developers have offered over 100 million yuan for transfer. Why is Zhao Weiming not tempted? To this reporter's question, Zhao Weiming's answer is: since students have been recruited, we should be responsible for them, and we should not close the school to make money. He told reporters with emotion that he can only go to the end on the road of running a school now.
Let the school become the home of the children of migrant workers.
It is precisely because he did not take running a school as a career that Zhao Weiming gave generous treatment to teachers, attracted more than 50 outstanding teachers, including 9 senior teachers, and provided quality education for children. The average salary of Weimin primary school teachers is 2376 yuan. Not only that, but also provide free accommodation for teachers' apartments. Even if you live outside, you can enjoy the monthly subsidy from 200 yuan.
It is precisely because running a school is not a business that Zhao Weiming still offers the lowest tuition for the school after all this work, because the families of these children are not rich. Zhao Weiming told reporters that last year, Shenzhen Welfare Lottery Center selected private primary schools as donors and gave 500,000 yuan in funding. According to the survey of the Welfare Lottery Center in the city, the parents of students are mainly engaged in collecting waste products, waiters, factory workers, selling snacks, selling vegetables, construction workers and other occupations, and the per capita monthly income is about 1000 yuan.
Now, the number of students in Weimin School has reached 1496, which is a famous local school. "Other private schools have to recruit students everywhere, but we are always overcrowded here, and we have to persuade people behind us to go to other schools." Speaking of the school's social recognition, Zhao Weiming is full of pride.
Weimin school is also a full home. Principal Xiao Hui is the first batch of teachers recruited by the school, from Chinese teachers to moral education directors to independent principals. Gradually, someone came to dig her up, and the offer and conditions were attractive enough, but she was unmoved. Because I am used to the strong smell of home in Weimin School, "every year during the Spring Festival, the chairman will invite the teachers who stay in school to have dinner at home, and his wife will cook for us personally." Pregnant female teachers always get special care. "Madam President will definitely stew her own chicken, at least not less than five, which is very touching." This atmosphere has stabilized the teaching staff of Weimin School and greatly promoted the improvement of teaching level.
Weimin Primary School organizes a group of teachers to go out for training every year. "Some private schools are worried that after organizing teachers to go out for training, the level will improve and people will jump ship." Xiao Hui said, "This kind of worry is understandable, but in Weimin Primary School, all teachers are inspired by Chairman Zhao Weiming's personality charm. Even though the road ahead is bumpy, the teaching staff is always stable, and there is no teacher who has been sent out for training. At present, more than 94% of the 62 faculty members have college education or above. "
On the campus of Weimin School, many details reflect Zhao Weiming's school-running philosophy. There is a banner on Lide, "You have the best future, study hard, knowledge is power". Zhao Weiming doesn't read much, but he tries to tell his children that knowledge is the truth that strength and knowledge can change fate.
In order to educate children to learn to be human, he chose black and white when he chose marble slabs as guardrails, hoping to let students distinguish between black and white and be a person who knows right from wrong. He also made dozens of nests by himself and hung them on trees around playgrounds and botanical gardens to make nests for floating birds. The reporter saw a board on a tree with a bird's nest hanging on it, which said, "As long as you work hard, birds also have homes."
"The persistence and efforts of our chairman in 13 are to build the school into the home of the children of migrant workers." President Xiao Hui told reporters, "Although the President is not good at expressing, his kindness, simplicity and great love are perfectly interpreted in him. In his eyes, every student is his child. "
Today, walking around Weimin School, beautiful teaching buildings and high-quality runways make people easily think of children's pride and happiness. Whether it is the children running happily on the playground or the sound of reading in the classroom, it is Zhao Weiming's most cherished wealth.