Description
The project addresses the need to retain Roma children at school and improve their performance in Blagoevgrad Municipality. The project aims at improving the performance of Roma children with the help of assistant teachers acting as mediators between the school and the parents. First, cooperation will be arranged with the 3 schools in Blagoevgrad with Roma students. Second, 10 assistant teachers will be trained for 10 days to work in a multicultural environment; 6 of them will start working at the 3 schools, keeping constant contact with the Roma parents. Third, 40 Roma parents will attend the monthly meetings at the Parent Club to discuss education issues with the teachers and assistant teachers. Finally, 20 Roma children will learn computer literacy at the Computer Science Club. The project will benefit the Roma students, parents, teachers, the local authorities and the public.
Summary of project results
The project was planned to have an ambitious programme helping Roma children with the learning process in the school environment and supporting parents from the Roma community in Blagoevgrad. 10 assistant teachers were selected and trained under the project, 6 of whom were employed under a contract to work with Roma children experiencing learning difficulties in 3 schools in Blagoevgrad. The assistant teachers facilitate the connection between the teachers and parents of these children given irregular school attendance and the need to develop habits for self-study, etc. The assistant teachers work with 43 Roma children in coordination with the regular teachers of these children. Meetings with the parents also took part under the project to facilitate the learning process and raise the motivation to attend school as well as encourage and assist support and engagement of parents with their children’s education. A number of difficulties were identified during the project implementation which made it necessary for the Programme Operator to carry out corrective measures and the project was completed with partial non-recognition of the reported activities and expenses.
Summary of bilateral results