The forum was organized by Teach For Bulgaria for a second year in a row

How to successfully enroll and retain students in Stara Zagora Province? Are there any tried and true practices out there? This was the main focus of the half-day forum organized by Regional Management of Education – Stara Zagora and Teach For Bulgaria participants and alumni. It took place on March 27 at Primary School “Georgi Raychev” and allowed teachers and principals from the region to exchange good practices and share their experience in student engagement.

“This forum ‘went viral’ last year. Regional Managements of Education all over the country organized similar events and the feedback we all got was great,” Tatyana Dimitrova, Head of Regional Management of Education – Stara Zagora, stated in her opening speech and thanked the organizers. “I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about Teach For Bulgaria and their teachers who work in our region and I know that they are doing their best to provide excellent education to our students and to keep them in our classrooms,” Mrs. Dimitrova added.

Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Denitsa Sacheva, also addressed the guests with a video message. She thanked them for their hard work and effort to re-enroll students who have dropped out, to make sure they are engaged in class, and that they are provided with excellent education.

Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Denitsa Sacheva, also addressed the guests with a video message. She thanked them for their hard work and effort to re-enroll students who have dropped out, to make sure they are engaged in class, and that they are provided with excellent education.

“Your hard work pays off,”

Mrs. Sacheva added and reminded everyone that over 40 thousand students had been re-enrolled the previous year. “This is a huge success – 40 thousand lives are at stake,” the deputy minister concluded.

Why This Forum Matters

The goal of the forum was to provide space for the professional exchange of best practices among principals, teachers, public and municipal institutions, business and NGO organizations and thus to contribute to higher levels of student engagement and lower dropout rates. “Truancy is not an entirely educational problem. It has many layers – social, economic, cultural, political, national, and even international. But we must come to terms with the fact that time is running out,” Denitsa

Todorova addressed the guests on behalf of Institutional Partnerships at Teach For Bulgaria. “Problems like this one progress quickly. With the shortage of functionally-literate and competitive graduates who enter the labor market and who are able to somewhat revive our flagging economy, and considering the high levels of emmigration, the future of our country doesn’t look so bright. Our personal future doesn’t look much brighter either. This is why it is extremely important to do something about it now,” she added.

And I would like to thank all of you for putting the time and effort into this opportunity to share your experience with your colleagues and to learn something from them in return.

Tips from Teachers for Teachers

15 school teams from the region led workshops and round tables. Extracurricular activities were among the most frequently discussed strategies for student retention, boosting children’s motivation to learn languages, inclusive education, or need-based education. Guest organizations and institutions had the opportunity to present their work at an organizations fair.