On 27 May, a workshop “Reform of specialised senior secondary schools: opportunities and challenges for communities” was held in Kyiv, marking the final part of the advanced training programme. The event was attended by mayors and their relevant deputies from 41 communities in Kyiv region.

The professional development programme was approved by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and is worth 0.6 ECTS credits (19 hours).

The participants discussed the implementation of the reform of specialised secondary education, with a particular focus on taking into account the specific features of Kyiv region and its communities, with:

• Nadiia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine;
• Mykola Kalashnyk, Head of the Regional Military Administration;
• Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager;
• DECIDE National Experts: Andrii Matsokin, Pavlo Ostapenko, and Serhii Yatskovskyi;
• Anna Morenko, Coordinator of the Educational Environment Division of the NUS Implementation Office.

The meeting was held in the format of an open dialogue: community leaders actively asked questions addressed to the Deputy Minister of Education and Science and DECIDE Project experts, discussed the practical aspects of implementing the reform in their communities, and identified the challenges that arise in the process of transforming senior secondary education.

Key issues included:

• key changes envisaged by the reform of specialised senior secondary schools and their impact on the organisation of the educational process in communities;
• requirements for educational spaces in specialised senior secondary schools: approaches to zoning, functionality, and funding opportunities;
• financial tools and subsidies to create a modern material and technical base for academic lyceums;
• cooperation between communities in the process of establishing a network of educational institutions.

Key issues that are currently a priority for communities:

• requirements for the minimum number of students in an academic lyceum;
• ensuring the accessibility of lyceums, taking into account the condition of roads;
• opportunities to attract external resources for the development of the lyceum;
• details of concluding cooperation agreements between communities;
• legislative provision of opportunities for students currently in Grades 9 and 10 to complete their education at their current schools;
• moratorium on the use of the property complexes of abolished educational institutions;
• amendments to the charters of educational institutions by their founders to introduce financial autonomy.

Moreover, Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE Project Manager, presented opportunities for further cooperation within the framework of the second phase of the Project. Recently, DECIDE Project and the Kyiv Regional State Administration signed a Memorandum of Cooperation valid until 2030. It concerns the systematic implementation of educational reforms, strategic planning for the development of education, as well as the strengthening of links between education, the economy, and the labour market in the region through the creation of an effective career guidance system.

During the workshop, the participants also visited Lyceum No. 1 in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, where they saw practical examples of how the educational process is organised.