Ukrainian educators are eager to share best practices with community school directors from other countries in Central/Eastern Europe and Russia at the International Conference on Community Schools set for Nov. 3-5 on the outskirts of Kyiv.
“Every country has its own motive for why they have community schools, but they want to know what others are doing,” said Marina Voron, coordinator of the Community Schools Development Program at the Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation, which is hosting the event. “This international conference is a great opportunity to share experiences and learn about best practices.”
Step by Step expects educators from as far away as Great Britain. But most of the 70 registered participants are coming from emerging democratic countries in the region -- Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Russia, and Ukraine.
Specialists in the field say no two community schools are exactly alike because each is designed to reflect the community in which it is located. However, all community schools should serve as “hubs,” becoming the center of local activity before, during and after school hours, and providing programs for everyone – from babies to senior citizens. They draw people, organizations and resources together to build better communities.
The Mott Foundation, the East/East Program of the Open Society Institute, and the Eurasia Foundation have provided support for the conference. In total, Mott has provided $347,000 to the Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation for community school development.
Mott also made a two-year, $150,000 grant in 2005 to Step by Step Moldova to help transform schools, primarily rural, into community schools. The latter grant also funds efforts to build networks between community schools for learning and sharing.
Because Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, residents have embraced the community school concept as one way to encourage people to take responsibility for improving their living conditions instead of depending upon the government.
“In Moldova, there is a deeply rooted attitude at the community level that community problems should be identified and solved by public authorities without input from community members,” said Cornelia Cincilei, director of Step by Step Moldova.
“By helping people believe in the possibility that they can change their own condition at the local level through a pro-active attitude, experiencing success in local projects, and working in partnership with various agencies, we may help achieve the goal of taking the country out of its crisis.”
Moldavian educators already have selected directors and set up advisory boards for seven pilot schools that will test the community school concept, Cincilei said. She is eager to travel to Kyiv to meet with seasoned practitioners and learn new community mobilizing strategies and fundraising ideas.
For Voron, the conference will be successful if those in attendance, especially her fellow Ukrainians, leave with a vision for how community schools can improve the lives of people in their own countries.
“The greatest need for community schools in Ukraine, and maybe community schools elsewhere, is to rebuild a community’s trust in its own capacity. Also, we need to build the vision of community schools as change agents for communities.”
Additional Resources
- Click here to read details about the grant to Step by Step Moldova.
- Click here to access the Ukrainian Step by Step Foundation Web site.
- Click here to access the East/East Program of the Open Society Institute.
- Click here to access the Eurasia Foundation Web site.