
Educational mediators managed to convince more than 60% of parents among vulnerable groups to send their children back to school!
Educational mediators managed to convince over 60% of parents among vulnerable groups to get their children tested and back to school! For a week they have been going door to door to explain to parents among the Roma community and other minority groups what testing is and why it is important to get children back to attending school. More than half the classes are back in school in 21 districts thanks to educational mediators, teachers and principals who are together on the ground informing the students’ parents. According to Amalipe Center, due to the great misinformation throughout the country, many prejudices, ignorance of the procedure itself (in most places parents thought that the tests would take a sample from the nose of the children), parents of children from 1-4 grades massively refused to have their children tested twice a week with the so-called sparing tests. An important role in parental consent was played by the great diligence of the educational mediators, who managed to convince many parents that the tests were safe for their children. The mediators once again show that they are the link to the community.
Here’s what some of them have to say about their work in the field and their efforts over the past week:
Boycho Kochev, Educational Mediator at the “Vasil Levski” Primary School, village of. Karadzhovo, region. Plovdiv:
“More than 80% of the parents had decided to have their children in “distance learning in an electronic environment” for one reason – not to be tested. I had many conversations with the parents, who from the beginning were extremely negative towards testing their children. I am glad that the parents understood my message, and I am even more glad for the trust they have in me, our school and our teachers. I am happy that the parents of the majority of the 3rd graders have trusted me once again, and together we will get our kids back in the classroom. I believe there is no reason to worry. I can only assure the rest of the parents that if we come together, we will find a way out and soon everything will be behind us. I believe that every parent will do what is best for their child, which is to enable them to learn in a normal learning environment. It is no secret that we are faced with a situation where quick decisions have to be made. The most vulnerable are the youngest. They are the ones who will suffer the consequence of adults’ choices. Each one of us has our reasons for the decisions we make. I, as an educational mediator, but also as part of the team at Vasil Levski Primary School, am genuinely concerned about our pupils getting the best at the time. I know we will all be relieved when this is over. But until it does, we have a decision to make: whether to return our children to the classroom where they feel best, or to extend their time of separation from a natural environment – friends and caring teachers.”
Veska Abadzhieva, Educational Mediator at St. Cyril and Methodius Primary School, village of. Nova Cherna:
“At the beginning, parents were called to the school for consultation and filling in declarations of consent for testing their children. It turned out that some of the parents did not agree, neither did they visit the school to fill in declarations of consent. At this stage organisation was difficult in school as we were entirely online. On 8-9.11.2021, the principal handed me all the declarations that had to be completed on the ground. At the beginning I faced many difficulties due to the disagreement of most of the parents to have their children tested. During the meetings with parents, I explained to them the importance of their children attending school and how the testing of the children would take place. It was extremely difficult to convince them that this was the best thing for the children, namely to be in school. It was very important that they understood what testing actually was. The efforts I made have borne fruit and we have agreed with the parents that for the time being this is the only option for their children to learn in attendance.
On the morning of 10.11.2021, all the children in grades 1-4 were at school with their parents. Again there was concern and mistrust as the testing took place in the classrooms. I was with the parents during the testing, talking to them the whole time and trying to reassure them. Naturally, I also received unpleasant feedback towards me. After the test was over, the parents calmed down and saw that it was nothing terrible.
We are now in normal school classes. I would like to thank all the parents and Amalipe Center for their support, because without it it would be extremely difficult to show and explain the benefits of attendance!
Snezhana Ovcharova is from Burgas and works in “Hristo Botev” School, Burgas, Bulgaria. She is working as an educational mediator for the second year.
“When it was announced that children would return to school only after tests and that they would be tested twice a week, parents did not agree. They started coming to the school and picking quarrels. They claimed that they would not let their children go to school, that they did not agree. But the main reason for this was their ignorance about how exactly the children would be tested – whether through the nose or through the mouth. I went to people’s homes and started explaining to them that the children would be tested with a saliva swab, that they wouldn’t be “mistaken” anywhere. I played a video for them to see how things would go. I reassured them that even if they didn’t like just one thing, whether it was the way the testing was done or the way their child was treated, they could call me right away. I told them that it was extremely important for the children to go back to school and they would lose a lot if they didn’t. The efforts I made have borne fruit and the children can return to school in attendance. I am glad that I can be of help and that the community trusts me.”
Selime Aliyeva, educational mediator at the Yordan Yovkov Primary School in. Krasen.
“From the very beginning, when it was announced that it was necessary to test children twice a week to get them back into classrooms, parents were against it. They shared that they did not agree with their children being tested. In my conversations with them, I found that the misinformation among parents was extreme. For this reason, and advised by the principal, I started talking to parents and showing them how testing would actually happen in school. I reassured the parents that they would not be messing with the children’s noses and the test would be by saliva secretion. Understanding that there is nothing actually wrong with testing, and how huge the importance of attendance is, the parents agreed, and now more than 50% of them agree to have their children tested and back in the classrooms.”
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Students in the 13 districts of the country who already have tests and whose parents agree to have their children tested twice a week can return to class starting today, November 10, according to the press office of the Ministry of Education.
Parents of 57.03 percent of first through fourth grade students in municipalities with an overall incidence rate of more than 250 per 100,000 nationwide have consented to their children returning to school by being tested with the COVID-19 sparing test twice a week. In 19 districts, both parental consent and the number of primary classes that will attend school in person is over 50%. More than half the classes are returning to school in 21 districts. Children studying online due to lack of tests will enter class as soon as quantities of the new orders are delivered. Arrangements have already been made for the tests to be distributed around the country’s schools so that everyone will be able to start attending classes by the end of the week.
It is important to note that the educational mediators who were on the ground explaining to parents the benefits of attendance learning and how the actual testing would be implemented with the children played a big part in getting the children back into the classrooms. Once again we see the efforts made by educational mediators bearing fruit. In the stories shared, it is clear to see that mediators are indeed the link between the school and the parents.
Center Amalipe congratulates all educational mediators, teachers and principals who, despite the dynamic environment, once again show their professionalism by doing everything possible to make children learn again attending school. These are just some of the stories that educational mediators have sent us.
It should be noted that in most locations parents are willing to have their children return to school after testing. To a very large extent this also depends on the attitude of the teaching staff itself. However, there are also cases where schools decide and inform parents not to give consent for their children to be tested and taught in an OPEC environment! We appeal to all principals to make every effort to have children back in school!
You can read more about educational mediators at the links below:
https://amalipe.bg/en/aldin-stefanov-educational-mediator-coordinator/
https://amalipe.bg/en/irena-mihaylova-educational-mediator-coordinator/
https://amalipe.bg/en/boycho-kochev-educational-mediator-coordinator/
https://amalipe.bg/stefan-stefanov-obrazovatelen-mediator-koordinator/