Nurturing the Whole Child: Priti Alankrath on Building Safe Spaces through Project Sampoorna

Nurturing the Whole Child: Priti Alankrath on Building Safe Spaces through Project Sampoorna

At the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child (GC-DWC), our mission is grounded in research, innovation, and a commitment to the whole child. Across countries and contexts, the threads of this work weave together classrooms, communities, and global networks to help every child flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. The Nurturing the Whole Child series highlights those whose expertise advances Whole Child Development (WCD), transforms learning, strengthens communities, and shapes the path forward for children worldwide. Together, their efforts form a global tapestry of impact.

Our series continues in India with Project Sampoorna, a GC-DWC initiative that works directly with residential school networks in Telangana to support historically marginalized students. By equipping teachers with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) tools, classroom management frameworks, and evidence-based practices, Project Sampoorna transforms traditional classrooms into safe, inclusive environments where students build critical life skills like empathy, self-agency, and resilience. 

In this feature, we spotlight Priti Alankrath, whose two-decade journey as an educator showcases how intentional empathy, active listening, and social-emotional tools can reshape adolescent learning.

“I realized that I am destined to be a teacher.”

When Priti Alankrath reflects on her long career in education, she admits that teaching was not initially an intentional choice. "I came from a lower-middle-class background. My parents always supported and encouraged me. I faced challenges in continuing my education, but that didn’t stop me," Priti shares. Working in a private school while earning her degree allowed her to connect theoretical child psychology directly to classroom dynamics. “In fact, I did not choose to become a teacher. It happened by chance. Later on, I realized that I am destined to be a teacher.”

Throughout her journey, Priti drew deep inspiration from her own school principal, who taught students life skills, resilience, and how to navigate adversity—values Priti carries into her work today. For Priti, the true reward of teaching lies in human connection.

“I now understand the unlimited potential I have to serve others,” she says. “Recently I was driving and stopped at a shop to buy a water bottle. The owner of the shop was sitting on a broken chair, stood up and offered me a seat and told me, ‘You’re the reason my children are in a better position.’ The happiness I see in their eyes when they speak is a reminder of all the important work I do.”

“My teaching strategies have become easier and sharper.”

Partnering with Project Sampoorna has enabled Priti to refine her classroom practices, shifting her focus to the emotional foundation required for academic success. “I have learned that for a child to learn, it is not just their intelligence that’s important, but also their emotional state, which is key to learning,” she explains. 

Before diving into daily academic lessons, Priti now dedicates time to check in on her students. “Before starting a class, I dedicate a couple of minutes to understand students' emotional state and listen to them, and then dive into the academics. The confidentiality and trust I have built with them through Project Sampoorna is a great asset for me.”

This shift in perspective has altered how she handles simple, everyday classroom interactions. “Appreciating responses, rather than saying, ‘ok, sit down,’ might seem negligible, but when incorporated into teaching, and we say ‘thank you’ after a student responds, we’re respecting them and ensuring their response is not overlooked. My teaching strategies have become easier and sharper.”

Instead of interrupting students when they make mistakes, Priti adopted coaching methods that preserve their self-esteem. “When a student is answering something wrong, [before Project Sampoorna] I used to interrupt them and point out that it’s wrong. Now, I don’t interfere; I let them complete their thoughts and give feedback at the end. This way, it doesn’t affect student’s confidence to speak up.”

“Project Sampoorna gave me a chance to mend my classroom.”

Teaching adolescent students often presents challenges around peer competition, behavioral instability, and conflict. Through Project Sampoorna, Priti implemented school-wide and classroom agreements, pairing them with clear consequences and consistent reminders.

“Project Sampoorna gave me a chance to mend my classroom,” Priti notes. “Especially, the fights between students have reduced so much, and a kind of tolerance has developed among students regarding relationships with each other. The peer group was very much strengthened, and they became very empathetic. They started valuing their shared spaces, Vandalism cases went down and this was consistent.”

By co-creating agreements specifically around peer relationships, the overall classroom environment became significantly more harmonious. “I teach adolescents. They go through a lot of changes and are competitive with each other… Project Sampoorna activities have helped me to resolve this stress between peers. It is the agreements that have helped me run the classrooms very smoothly.”

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s citizens.”

As an educator with over twenty years of experience, Priti views teaching as both a profound responsibility and service to society. “As today’s students are tomorrow’s citizens, we must cater to the needs of the student, personally, professionally, emotionally, psychologically, and socially in every possible way. It is the responsibility of every teacher to build a better nation. If a better community is built, a better nation can be built.”

Reflecting on the profession, she offers a heartfelt message to educators everywhere:

“As we’re dealing with the lives of students, it is our utmost priority to deal with that in the most stress-free way, and with great devotion; we’re to serve the students. If we can be a role model to our students, our students will become the best citizens of the world. As per Project Sampoorna, we model everything before we do; in the same way, we model the most modest behaviour that a child should learn from us.”

Stay tuned for more stories from our Nurturing the Whole Child series, where we highlight the people behind the deep commitment to support every child, in every context, to thrive.