Annual meeting of the Professional Community of school principals for Intercultural Education

Over 150 principals from across the country participated in the annual Principals’ Meeting of the Professional Community for Intercultural Education. To talk with them came the Minister of Education prof. Tsokov, his Chief of Cabinet Natalia Mihalevska, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Education and Science in the 49th National Assembly Krassimir Valchev, the team of the Success for You project, experts from the Finance Directorate of the Ministry of Education, representatives of the Executive Agency “Programs for Education”, the Director of the Centre for Educational Integration of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities Dr. Lalo Kamenov, and others took part online. The annual meeting was held from 24 to 26 June 2024 at the resort of. Sunny Beach.

A complex program that combined sharing practical experiences, conversations with professionals on the most pressing issues for schools and educators, receiving information on what is imminent in the field of education and advocacy provided an opportunity for principals to participate in the formulation of national education policies that take into account the needs of schools with concentrations of vulnerable groups, rural areas and others. At the same time, principals had the opportunity to talk with colleagues from across the country, to have fun, to feel like part of the larger community of the Amalipe Center and the Every Student Will Be a Winner network.

The annual director’s meeting showed once again that the Professional Community for Intercultural Education, coordinated by the Center “Amalipe”, is one of the key factors in the development of Bulgarian education, which defends important principles such as:

– Schools with Roma pupils, with concentrations of vulnerable groups, as well as schools in rural areas implement a quality learning process and their opinion should always be taken into account when formulating policies for the development of Bulgarian education;
– When evaluating the performance of educational institutions and educators in particular, a “horizontal” comparison should not be made between all schools in a given municipality, district and at national level – it is unprofessional to compare educational institutions with completely different family backgrounds (parents’ education, socio-economic status, etc.). The more correct approach is to look for the “added value”, i.e. how the school/Kinder gardens in question develops the capacity of its learners, to what extent it makes them more knowledgeable, motivated and seeking development;
– National External Assessment and State Final Examination scores are important indicators of educators’ performance, but should not be the only ones. The development of pupils’ social and emotional competences, their civic engagement and their attitudes towards participation in the life of their local community and society as a whole are important indicators that should be taken into account to the same extent;
– Although school drop-out rates are decreasing in absolute terms, there is still a problem with attendance and especially with drop-out after grade 10;
– Inclusive education should not be limited to working with children with special educational needs (SEN) or learning difficulties. It should also take into account progress on issues such as desegregation, learning in ethnically mixed environments, the development of tolerance and diversity;
– Intercultural education is a reliable basis for full inclusion in school, for the development of social and emotional competences, and for raising academic achievement. The “every student will be a winneer” network is a case in point: its dropout rate is consistently below 1% per year, with 60% of schools having no dropouts. Over 97% of primary school leavers in network schools go on to secondary school, and so on;
– Networking, support from schools with a similar profile and similar problems, and support from Amalipe Centre is a synergy that leads to sustainable positive results and development of educational institutions. During the annual meeting, a study by Boyan Zahariev and Ilko Yordanov was presented, which analyses the network “Every student will be winner” and compares it with other educational networks worldwide. The study highlights the fact that school networks have emerged over the last three decades around the world as a result of spontaneous efforts by educational institutions to seek support from peers. They have been extremely fruitful and heuristic. These types of networks are rarely long-lived and usually disband after a period of a few years, and in this respect the “Every student will be winner” network is unique and has been going strong for over 20 years, transforming and addressing new issues and approaches.

During the annual meeting, directors discussed two types of challenges. On the one hand, they extensively shared problems faced primarily by schools with concentrations of vulnerable groups and schools in rural areas. For example, many shared about increased scrutiny by the Regional Directorate of Education (RDE) and perceptions of stress and stigma based on lower National External Assessment and State Final Examination scores. Thus, the Ministry of Education and Science call for additional support to these schools by some (not all) RDEs was ‘read’. This information from the field is likely to be taken into account by the MES. There also remains a serious funding problem for schools with relatively small numbers of pupils in rural areas. Despite uniform cost standards per class and per institution, the majority of rural school budgets are used solely for teaching and non-teaching staff salaries. Classes there are mostly undersized, the municipalities vote them in but do not supplement them and leave this on the “shoulders” of the delegated school budget and Article 52a funds. There are also some regulatory problems, such as the requirement that an undersized class in the primary stage should be 16 pupils and in the lower secondary stage 18 pupils, although in small settlements it is unlikely that new pupils will appear between grades 4 and 5….

The principals also discussed topics that concern all schools – professional burnout of teachers, how to overcome it, building a positive image of educational institutions (including through social media), how to deal with fake news among students, parents and the local community, etc. Divided into small groups, they discussed practical advice in these areas with other principals and with nationally recognized professionals.

An important part of the event was a discussion about what’s next in education with the Minister, Prof. Tsokov, his Chief of Cabinet Natalia Michalewska and with Krassimir Valchev, Chairman of the Education and Science Committee in the 49th National Assembly. The curricula, the development of the Quality Education Standard, the evaluation and support/lack of it for schools with low results in the National External Assessment and State Final Examination scores, the principal competitions (past and upcoming), educational mediators, the financing of schools, teachers’ salaries, etc. were some of the topics discussed. Detailed information can be found HERE

What is coming in the next months under the project “Success for you”, new funding for work with vulnerable groups and what is important for school and kindergarten principals to know in order not to lose funds at the end of 2024, as well as a number of other issues were discussed by the heads of educational institutions and representatives of the Ministry of Education. Detailed information can be found HERE

Participants in the meeting received gifts – educational books from Publishing House “Prosveta”, which has become one of the corporate partners of the Center “Amalipe”. The publishing house announced that it will support the training of 5 young people from the “I Want to Learn” Fund in pedagogical specialties, and the support will last for 5 years. More information about the “I Want to Learn” Fund and how you can support it can be found HERE

Against the backdrop of our beautiful coastline, a meeting took place that within three days created a field of ideas and inspiration. Over 150 principals from all over Bulgaria, along with senior education and government representatives, joined forces and reflected to discuss the future of education in our country. They didn’t just exchange ideas; they created connections that will keep the flame of innovation and mutual support alive in the schools and communities they are a part of.

From conversations with the Secretary of Education to sharing successful practices from the “Every student will be a winner” network, every moment was a look forward to an education system that reflects and respects the differences and needs of every student. In this community, the inspiring participation of each of us – principals, teachers, idealists – proves that every effort to improve education is a step forward toward a better future for all of our children.

The annual meeting of Amalipe Center reminded us once again that education is the key to development and opportunity for each of us. It was not just a forum for the exchange of ideas, but an event of a big family, in which the highest values are knowledge and tolerance. With a smile and gratitude, we move forward, realizing that every initiative, every reform and every effort in education today is an investment in the tomorrow of our students.

See more:

What lies ahead in school education: messages from Profs. Tsokov and Kr. Vulchev at the National Meeting of the Professional Principals’ Community for Intercultural Education

The upcoming Success for You and funding for work with vulnerable groups