"Millennium Schools” Programme in Lithuanian schools - a boost for positive change
“Basically, the Millennium Schools Programme (MSP) has given a strong impetus and momentum to the implementation of the Gymnasium’s Strategic Plan. Thanks to the MSP, we will create more opportunities for a wide range of children – I think this is the essence of the programme,” says Darius Mockus, Director of the Jonava Senamiesčio Gymnasium. Jonava, together with 21 other municipalities in the first stream, can already count the achievements and rejoice in the changes taking place. They will be joined early next year by the remaining 36 municipalities of the second stream, which will sign the Joint Action Agreements and receive the first funds to implement the activities.
More than 50 municipalities responded to last year’s call for participation. In response to this high level of participation and to ensure the quality of the preparation for the implementation of the programme in every municipality, it was decided to set up two programme streams.
All municipalities focus on four areas: leadership in action, inclusive education, cultural education and STEAM education. From making schools accessible to students with diverse needs, to creating modern STEAM spaces, to implementing long-term contemporary cultural projects, this and more is all part of the municipalities’ progress plans, which are already becoming a reality.
As we come to the end of a challenging and important 2023, the representatives of the first stream of municipal schools are in no doubt that the changes initiated by the MSP are already visible and that we will be able to enjoy even greater results in the near future.
The biggest challenge is good planning and strong leadership
Activities already being implemented by municipalities in the first stream and being prepared for the second stream have been put together in progress plans. Identifying problems, finding solutions and setting priorities at both municipal and school level has been perhaps the biggest challenge so far.
“Involving and engaging school teams in the development of the progress plan is essential. I would say that the quality of a progress plan: its soundness, its logic, when there is no need for major revisions, is a sign of the level of education management in a given municipality, of the focus and trust of the education community and of the real leadership. It is a huge challenge to create such a context for the implementation of the MSP programme”, says the Director of the Jonava Senamiesčio Gymnasium.
However, most municipalities and schools have risen to the challenge. Dinara Vitkuvienė, Director of Šiauliai Ragainė Progymnasium, was pleased to have managed to bring together a team that is passionate about creating a school for all students, that spares no time to organise, generate ideas, communicate and collaborate.
“The people working in the team are highly responsible, organised and creative. Together, we tried to find meaningful and useful activities, so that each one is a gift to the school, teachers and children”, says D. Vitkuvienė.
Meanwhile, Dalia Dausiene, Deputy Director of Panevėžys Primary School, said that the experience of the previous projects has been very useful when starting to implement the MSP activities, so the challenges do not seem to be too big: “Let’s say that already before the MSP project, the teachers were already oriented towards conducting lessons in out-of-school spaces. We are actively using the change of classroom spaces in the project as well.”
Infrastructure upgrades for new opportunities
The Millennium Schools Programme for Educational Progress makes “soft” activities – training for teachers and educational activities for pupils – compulsory. Meanwhile, the “hard” part – various infrastructure changes, new equipment – is needed to support the “soft” activities. Thus, some schools have started with the “hard” part of their MSP activities.
“In order to implement long-term cultural education, STEAM education programmes, we had to create the necessary infrastructure. So, first of all, we built a new physics classroom and a biology laboratory. We are currently in the process of coordinating the list of modern teaching tools needed for science education. We have also just opened a new cultural-educational space called “Library without Walls”, which includes not only the library and the reading room, but also an adjacent space that will allow us to organise a wider range of cultural-educational activities. We are excited about everything that provides new opportunities for students and teachers,” says the director of Jonava Senamiesčio Gymnasium.
Mockus shared that a music and singing laboratory-recording studio will be set up in the near future. Here, pupils and their teachers will be able to use technology that the school did not have before, which will help them not only to create in a modern way, but also to improve their technological skills. And to complete the teaching and learning process, the school will run a competence development programme for teachers and pupils, which will give them an insight into the technologies of the music industry and their application in formal education. A language laboratory is also being set up for foreign language teaching, and the smart interactive displays already purchased are waiting to be put into use.
One of the key themes of the MSP is the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs, and the programme will make a large number of Lithuanian schools more accessible to all pupils.
“Infrastructure works are planned in the near future, including the installation of an elevator-lift and access ramps for people with disabilities. Educational space for social, emotional and health skills, as well as a lounge area are also planned. Alongside the new spaces and facilities, there are parallel plans to strengthen teachers’ competences in inclusive education, to share experiences, and to introduce new methodologies and tools. The necessary teaching tools and equipment for the STEAM space will also be purchased,” says Reda Uzdilienė, coordinator of the STEAM activities at Lazdijai Motiejaus Gustaičio Gymnasium.
Learning through experience
There is already no shortage of new opportunities, exciting activities and education in all first-stream MSP schools.
Dausienė, Deputy Director of the Panevėžys Primary School, says that the school says that each month is a project month at their school and has a theme. Each month, pupils delve into a different area according to the monthly theme. Cultural and STEAM education is targeted and reflects the objectives of the month and theme.
“For example, the theme for September was ‘Me and my city’. The pupils explored the history of the city, visited various sites, businesses and the municipality, counted bridges, their length and width. In October, the school team took part in the initiative “Lessons try Panevėžys on: a series of challenges”, where they “bought” the challenge of UAB Specagra at an auction and created a visualisation of an eco-farm, and throughout November the school hosted the “Technology Progress Month”. The pupils were active participants in the project and discovered ways to save heat. The project activities ensured that the content of the teaching was connected to real life. Children learn actively rather than passively, which is very important for today’s student,” she says.
According to D. Dausienė, positive changes have been observed in the implementation of such activities – non-traditional lessons, lessons outside the classroom, outside the school are very popular and engaging for pupils, and they make it easier for pupils to learn, understand and memorize the educational material.
She was echoed by D. Vitkuvienė, Director of Šiauliai Ragainė progymnasium, who pointed out the already held and well appreciated camps for pupils “STEAM wardrobe” and the experiential camp “Motivator”, the activities which were aimed at helping children to learn to communicate and to act together, to discover their interests, to actively participate, to overcome their fears and to gain more motivation to act, to be not afraid to strive for more ambitious, higher goals.
She says that in the near future, the school will host the Engineering Schools’ Inventors’ Festival “Young Creators’ Fair”, the PIPL Help Centre (I accept, I listen, I advise – we win), the Key Lab, cultural events, and many more activities and trainings.
Training for teachers too
The progress plans for the MSP programme also focus on teacher development through targeted, multi-faceted professional development programmes, internships, mentoring initiatives and good practice sharing events. Teachers are the ones who directly influence student engagement and quality learning. “The teacher traineeship in England was a great success. The traineeship included visits to the National STEM Learning Centre at the University of York in the UK and four schools in England. The trainees had the opportunity to observe the application of the Thinking Development Methodology, the Critical Thinking Methodology, the organisation of STEAM activities, and to learn from the experience of advanced schools in England. Workshops included creative research in science, engineering, technology and design, and the search for integrative links between subjects. The most mind-boggling experience was the application of critical thinking, which revealed a new approach to deep and informed problem solving and drawing conclusions,” says Vitkuvienė.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of Panevėžys Primary School is pleased with the various activities for teachers: the training “STEAM: Experiential Activities that Change Traditional Lessons”, which provided teachers with new information on the use of Universal Design, Design Thinking and Artificial Intelligence, the republican forum “Creating and Managing Digital Content”, which shared insights and innovations on the impact of technology on education, the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence, the multi-faceted development of creativity in STEAM activities, internships in the Children’s Individual Progress (CIP) network of schools, and the Engineering Schools Network, etc.
Looking ahead: changing learning environments and improving learning outcomes
Municipalities will have until 2026 to implement the actions set out in the Progress plans. When asked about the long-term changes that will be brought about by the MSP, all school representatives highlighted changes in learning styles, the learning environment itself and the likely improvement in pupils’ achievement as a result.
“Learning environments at school will change. Learning environments that allow children to analyse their personal experiences and actively build their knowledge base are infinitely more effective than verbal delivery. Educational achievements will improve, lessons will be engaging, innovative and motivate students to achieve personal growth,” says D. Dausienė, Deputy Director of Panevėžys Primary School.
Uzdilienė, coordinator of the MSP activities at Lazdijai Motiejaus Gustaitis Gymnasium, points to the core principle of the MSP programme – networking – and the fact that change in a school is not limited to its walls: “Improving teachers’ competences will ensure a high quality of education, and that they will be better prepared and motivated to educate the next generation. All schools in the Lazdijai district will benefit from the newly equipped spaces. We will be able to share our good practice with other schools in Lithuania.”
According to D. Vitkuvienė, Director of Šiauliai Ragainė Progymnasium, the renovation of the school premises, the installation of student support centres and STEAM education spaces, the use of an elevator, and the experience and competences gained in the organised activities will enable students of different abilities and needs to learn and be taught in a more effective way.
Mockus, Director of Jonava Senamiesčio Gymnasium, also speaks about the positive changes brought by the MSP programme: “Thanks to MSP, we will create more opportunities for different kinds of children, which is, I think, the essence of this programme. Changes in schools are influenced by many different factors, but the Millennium Schools Programme is one of the positive ones.”
The MSP Education Progress Programme has been designed to address the problems holistically, with the aim of ensuring the best possible learning conditions for every child, irrespective of his or her place of residence or social status, and to narrow the gaps in pupils’ achievements between the different municipalities of the country, and the different municipal schools.
The project has a budget of €210 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and a maximum of €44.1 million from the state budget to reimburse value added tax. The specific support to a municipality depends on the number of pupils in the municipality and the value of its progress plan.
Original source: „Tūkstantmečio mokyklų“ programa Lietuvos mokyklose – postūmis teigiamiems pokyčiams – Tūkstantmečio mokyklų programa (tukstantmeciomokyklos.lt)