Dozens of children from a small village school saw the sea for the first time after receiving bicycles and smart watches as gifts at the end of the school year just two days earlier. This is how the two-year project ended, which managed to bring them to school every day despite the difficulties at home.
Through PNRAS, a school organized a trip to the sea PHOTO: L. Stroiuleasa archive
Do the programs to combat school dropout run with European money help or not? The answer probably varies from case to case. At Milcov Secondary School, from Olt county, the benefits are obvious, says the school director, Loredana Stroiuleasa.
For two years, a project financed by PNRAS (National Program for the Reduction of School Dropout) Round II – Small schools, all the students of the school, from the preparatory class up to the VIIIth class, were involved.
From the more than 400,000 lei, remedial courses were organized, the school was equipped with sports equipment and materials, as well as garden furniture to allow the children and teachers to carry out outdoor activities, the children went in three trips, classes and activities were held for students, teachers and parents.
“Hot meal was for remedial activity days. So I scheduled every day”
A hot meal to benefit students at school is the intervention that has proven its effectiveness in all the schools where it has been implemented. The same thing happened in Milcov, the only regret of the school principal being that the project ended at the end of this school year.
The meal, according to the terms of the program, was given only on the days when the students carried out remedial activities (for which the teachers were paid). “It was only for the days with remedial activities, so we scheduled such courses every day, either Romanian, or Mate, or Counseling”, stated Loredana Stroiuleasa, for “Adevărul”.
The surprise came at the end, when all 45 children received smart watches, but also a bicycle or a kart, depending on the option.
Also at the end, the students of the school also went on the last excursion in the project, the third, planned months ago. They thus had the opportunity for most of them to see the sea for the first time, and the feeling was special, the director describes the moment.
The students also saw the dolphins PHOTO: Loredana Stroiuleasa Archive
“Maybe they don’t realize it, but for parents the fact that they can’t financially afford such a trip matters a lot. For children it is an adventure, something unforgettable, something they do together with their classmates and go where they have never been before. Of all the children, only about two had seen the sea before,” said Stroiuleasa.
Since 2001, since he has been at the chair (he has been leading the school for only four years), it is by far the period when school principals have had the opportunity to help their students the most, the possibilities to invest the money being diverse.
“Through PNRR we equipped the school with smart blackboards and furniture, all new, and through PNRAS, since we have this program, we can actually do something extra for the children. I simply saw the benefits of this project. The accountant and I are not remunerated in the project, we volunteer, only the teachers who conduct remedial classes have salaries, but the fact that we can do so much for the children matters a lot. The experience that these children have, to go on a trip, to receive a gift, to do extra activities, especially since most of them are children from families that cannot afford much, is unparalleled. Since we’ve been running the project, we haven’t had any school dropouts, and no one has dropped out of school after the 8th grade”, added Loredana Stroiuleasa.
Five 8th grade graduates choose their way to high school
Last summer, ten students graduated from the eighth grade, but this year there are only five. Of the 10, eight took the National Assessment, the other two being enrolled in vocational school.
On the last day of school, the students received their gifts PHOTO: Personal archive Loredana Stroiuleasa
As this year, to be sure that you get to the desired technological high school, it is necessary to take the exam, everyone will appear.
“We have one student who passed the exams for the Pedagogical profile, two students want to go to the Economic High School, two others to other high schools. Having no financial support from the family, they are looking to finish quickly and are looking for a job from which they can make money. A student who was in the project last year has now finished the 9th grade, Services profile, and is very happy that he will go to the seaside, to work.
PNRAS ends this year. I would like to have continuity, to be able to access other projects. There are already children asking: ma’am, but are you still bringing us to anu’? Their families don’t have money, so we have to see how we do”the school principal is already making plans.
It was quite an adventure to decide which destinations to see. The Geography teacher showed them on the smart board areas of the country that they could visit and they chose together. For the last destination, the sea, there was consensus.
On the last day of school, the students received their gifts PHOTO: Personal archive Loredana Stroiuleasa
“When he came up with the proposal, they were all: Wow! I told them that when we finish school we will go to the sea. And everyone asked: madam, are we still going to the sea? But when do we go to the sea?”, Stroiuleasa also reported.
For the three-day trip they chose accommodation in the Danube Delta, on the last day the 45 students finally arrived in Constanța, for swimming in the sea and other adventures and sights to visit.
“We were 49 people, we had 45 children. Of the children, only two or three had seen the sea. The others had a reaction – «Wow, how big!». They asked me if the seashells on the floor could collect them for free, if they could take them, and then they were happy to collect more and more shells. I stayed for a few hours. I would have liked to stay at the sea, but it was difficult for us to find places in the same unit for everyone”, Loredana Stroiuleasa also specified.
“If all the children came to our school…”
In the school year just ended, 45 students and as many preschoolers learned in Milcov School. At school they learn simultaneously, because there are fewer and fewer children. “If all the children came to our school… There would be children in the village, but many parents send them to schools in the city”, the director also specified. The challenge now is to convince the parents that they no longer have any reason to make the effort to send them to Slatina, even if the distance is not very great, because they have everything they need in the village.
The problem of renovating the school on the outside remains to be solved, because the interior, plus the facilities, have been solved, and another big issue is the replacement of the minibus. The one provided is 18 years old and requires frequent repairs, and without a means of transport it would be difficult for some students, because they are brought from more than 10 kilometers away.
Otherwise, out of the 20 teachers of the school, 10 are the holders of the unit. The number of teachers increased considerably last fall, with the increase in the didactic teaching norm, reaching the situation where certain subjects, despite the small number of students in the school, are taught by two teachers who each have two hours. It happens in Religion, in English, in Physical Education.
