On 18–21 August, the Polaris Programme Education Team held Management Practicums in Pivdenne hromada (Odesa Oblast) and Kobleve hromada (Mykolaiv Oblast). Nearly 100 directors and deputy directors of educational institutions, as well as education managers from hromadas in the two oblasts, participated in the practicums.
The main focus of the practicums was preparing educational institutions for the new school year and strengthening the management capacity of their leaders. Participants worked with the statutes of educational institutions, educational programmes, annual curricula and school work plans, staff tariff lists, timetables, and administrative orders required for the start of the school year.
Particular attention was paid to strengthening the legal and regulatory competence of managers and to the organisation of records management. The discussion focused, in particular, on how to determine which documents are actually necessary for an educational institution, discontinue practices that are maintained only “by inertia”, and streamline document workflows.
This approach helps reduce the administrative burden on managers and frees up more time for managing the development of the institution, ensuring the quality of educational activities, and introducing new management solutions.
A distinctive feature of the Polaris Management Practicums is the combination of training with hands-on work directly in educational institutions. Polaris experts Oleh Fasolia, Serhii Diatlenko, Yevhen Krynytskyi, Viacheslav Dolid, Olena Rusnachenko and Tetiana Ozerova worked with participants to analyse real management documents and situations, examine common mistakes and successful practices, and identify solutions for specific institutions and hromadas.
In addition to legal and regulatory guidance, participants received practical tools for their further work, including document samples, templates, transformers and checklists.
“For us, it was important to have the opportunity to discuss with experts the real situations we face every day. Not an abstract school or hypothetical examples, but our institutions, our questions and our solutions. This is exactly the kind of practical professional dialogue that managers at the local level often lack,” said Olesia Chaikivska, Director of the Viacheslav Chornovil Lyceum of Pivdenne City Council.
An important outcome of the practicums was also the professional exchange between representatives of different hromadas.
“For us, this practicum became much more than just training. It brought together education professionals from different hromadas in a space where they could openly discuss challenges, share experiences and look for solutions together. This kind of professional interaction gives hromadas new ideas and confidence in moving forward with further changes,” said Oksana Verbyk, Head of the Department of Education, Youth and Sports of Kobleve Rural Council.
The practicums in Odesa and Mykolaiv Oblasts continued the series previously held by the Polaris team in hromadas of Lviv and Chernivtsi Oblasts. The next step will be a webinar following the Management Practicums, where participants will be able to discuss questions that arise as they begin applying the knowledge and tools they have gained.
