What am I going to speak about?

1. The Partnership and Quality Award for Public Education at the Elementary and Music School in Kerecsend

2. „The educators of Kerecsend started on a way and they can already see the results. They know, that all this can be indebted to themselves. It gives them a kind of poise, and so much energy that it is itself a guarantee for the further results since it is the teacher beaming with deep-seated conviction and strength that is the most impressive thing in education” /Buda Mariann-Kalivoda Katalin/

3. What am I going to speak about? • Briefly about the school • Antecedents, or forcing circumstances?? • Step by step • Results • The things behind the results

4. Briefly about the school „To create a school is not possible out of bricks and mortar, but out of human example and knowledge.”

5. Characteristics of the school • A small-settlement institution • 2272 inhabitants • About 35-40 % of them are roma by origin • High unemployment rate • Increasing social and socio-cultural disadvantages

6. Number of students: 191 • 87,5% of them are roma by origin • 95%of them are socially or cumulatively disadvantaged, or imperiled pupils.

7. Colleagues: • 27 teachers • 1 school-secretary • 4 cleaners

8. Antecedents or forcing circumstances

9. A powerful migration from the school started in connection with the broadening of free school-choice. It fundamentally changed the composition of students. • The rate of roma students increased remarkably

10. The students’ social situation was getting worse to an enormous extent because of large-scale unemployment. • The educational maturity of the entering age groups and their abilities with respect to their age regressed by the middle of the decade.

11. The effectiveness-indexes of the school were getting worse disastrously. • The financial conditions of the maintenance were getting worse. • The social and ethnic tensions were getting more and more enhanced.

12. The ill-considered introduction of new regulations –for example the bother about the National Basic Curriculum – made professional work uncertain. • Education is not more and not less than service.

13. Step by step

14. 1st step Changing attitudes

15. 2nd step Community-development

16. 3rd step • Seeking the reasons • Self-examination • What have we done wrong?? • Elaboration and use of an internal measuring system. • Professional examination of the students. • Measurement of the partners’ requirements.

17. 4st step • Working out the treatment of the presumably known problems • Infancy-development program • Extension of professional knowledge • Placing remedial teaching on new principles • Introducing learning methodology into daily work

18. Talent-improvement program • Applicable knowledge of information technology • Language teaching on intermediate level.

19. Program of economic studies and profession orientation • Preliminary training based on mushroom-growing

20. 5th step • Systemizing the activities • 1997-98 measuring and collection of information in connection with the elaboration of the Educational Program • 2000 Comenius 2000 /Quality Improvement Programme for School Education/

21. The functioning of the system • Activities and methods • Human resource improvement • Continuous development of partnerships • Multiplication • Intenton and ability for continuous improvement

22. 2002

23. Why did we apply? • the necessity of independent and external evaluation • criticizm • appreciation • proposals • challenge • are we able to suit requirements? • partners’ demands • colleagues, parents, local government

24. Prestige • We can be a model to be followed • We can share our experience and knowledge with others. • Participation gives strength to colleagues • The valuable work our team has finished made it almost compulsory to compete for the award • The sooner you take the first steps, the bigger chance you have to take the lead!

25. How did we apply? • November 2001 Decision-making on participation • November 2001 –January 2002 Fact-finding and systematization 1st draft • February-March 2002 Self-evaluation according to the criteria of QAPE

26. Conditions /What circumstances affect on the success of the School?/ • 5 main, and 18 subcriteria • Results / What success could the School achieve?/ • 4 main, and 7 subcriteria

27. Returns? • experience • Commitment and cooperation continue to improve. • Suggestions and useful ideas connected to organization inprovement and strategic planning. • Summary of our work is a new system. • Positive feedback and confirmation.

28. Appreciation and incresing respect from our partners. • Growing partnerships.

29. Results • The effectiveness of our pupils and the School increased. • 99 % of our pupils continue studies /more and more graduate from high-schools/ • The satisfactory level our partners was 82,58% in 2002. • The effectiveness of internal communication developed.

30. The dialogue with our partners is continuous. • The multiplication effect of our school is significant. • Flexibility of our system has improved /This is a very important result from our partners’ point of view/

31. The things behind the results

32. The human being

33. And what is needed for this: • Trust • Inclusion and authority • Control • Evalution, and appreciation

34. COMMITMENT

35. Acknowledgement • To our partners, because our success could not have been achieved without them. • Thanks to those who have helped our work, and are helping to this day. • Thanks to you for your receptive attention.