The Helping Schools Succeed project expands to include another three public elementary schools

As early as this summer holiday, the recently accepted schools will join the scheme of experience sharing with the other schools, which have been involved in the project for five or more years. In September they will start to cooperate with project consultants and engage teaching assistants. During the course of the school year they will draw up plans for the educational development of the school and each individual teacher. On the basis of their own needs they will also gradually implement well-tried teaching procedures such as formative evaluation, reading workshops, and maths teaching using Professor Hejný’s method. They will also use the extensive know-how that Helping Schools Succeed has accumulated and continues to develop for public elementary schools in the Czech Republic: methodologies, thematic video textbooks, inspiration from the Critical Literacy periodical published by the project team, and a unique manual, the Diagnostic Map, that charts out children’s paths to readership.

The selection process took six months and members of the project’s expert panel were selecting from among dozens of schools that had signed up for the process. One of the important conditions that each of the schools had to meet was consent of the majority of the teaching staff to their school’s involvement in Helping Schools Succeed. The purpose of the project is to provide intensive support to a school in each of the Czech Regions; the acceptance of the new schools has therefore extended the coverage to two-thirds of the Regions.

New schools in Helping Schools Succeed

Elementary School and Kindergarten at Husova 17, Brno
The teaching staff includes 50 teachers and teaching assistants and 500 pupils attend the school.
Roman Tlustoš, the school’s principal, comments on the acceptance of his school to the project: “I like the comprehensive nature of the Helping Schools Succeed project and its effort to achieve success for every pupil through investing in the quality of teaching work. I am convinced that it is the right track.”

Slatiňany elementary school, T. G. Masaryka 136
The teaching staff includes 38 teachers and teaching assistants, and 480 pupils attend the school.
Ivo Mandys, the school’s principal, comments on the acceptance of his school to the project: “We were attracted by the project’s objective, which is in line with our school’s vision, namely focus on each individual pupil. We look forward to the mentoring support, with which we already have experience, and to tandem teaching, which we are only testing now. We appreciate the opportunity to cooperate with successful schools and pedagogy leaders from the whole Czech Republic.”