larisa Antonova, educational mediator-coordinator

Dear readers,

Center Amalipe was one of the first organizations that applied the pilot model for community moderators and later educational mediators. In the process of work, it became very clear how great is the need for the quick inclusion of educational mediators in the teaching teams of schools with a large percentage of school students from ethnic minorities in Bulgaria. That is why in 2021 Amalipe Center started a series of online meetings and training for educational mediators to increase their capacity in their work among the community. From March 2021 to August 2021 a total of 225 educational mediators and social workers from all over the country participated in the online meetings and training organized by Amalipe Center.

Within a few weeks, you will have the pleasure to meet educational mediators that Amalipe Center has selected to be mediator-coordinators. Their role will be to coordinate and support individuals who are taking their first steps in the profession of an educational mediator. Through this, we will try to promote the work and activities of educational mediators.

Today we will introduce you to Larisa Antonova!

My name is Larisa Marianova Antonova from the town of Byala Slatina and I am a teacher. I am an Economist by profession, also I graduated from the Academy of Economics “D. А. Tsenov” in Svishtov. I also have a pedagogical qualification as a teacher of theoretical economic disciplines. I have been working for CIDT “Amalipe” since 2016, as the head of a youth center in the town of Baku. I am a manager of the Amadi Youth Program at the Amadi Youth Center in Byala Slatina.
I believe that parents are the main factor in creating a sense of responsibility, desire and love in children for education and school. If parents realize that their children’s education is the most important thing for their future, they will pass it on to the generations. That is why I have introduced the practice of inviting parents into the classes, thus making them feel useful not only to their children but also to the school. Some of them are members of the Parents’ Club, which has undergone various metamorphoses over the years. The new status of the school enables the children in Sr. Banitsa to complete their secondary education in the local school, and this is the wish of the parents’ community. They are also included in the Public Council and their opinion is guiding the shaping of school policies.
In a time of crisis and pandemic, it is important that educational mediators and parents work together to overcome the difficulties associated with quality education for our children.

Mediators must become a natural and full complement to the teaching team. They can, and should, work alongside teachers to sustainably integrate children into the education system who are at risk of dropping out of school.

Atanas Atanasov, coordinator of work with parents.