Our First Russian School-- SAAS

So much learned today in only a 12 hour period! 

We met with Victor Kruglayakov today while at the Slavic Anglo American School (SAAS). He'serves on the Moscow Duma (city council) and is Chair of the Commission on Education and Youth Policy.  I'm sure you can tell who he is in the picture.

 Some fun Russian facts about education include the reality that the city of Moscow spends 14% of its entire budget on education. They get no federal funds at all. Moscow spends more money on education then any other city in the country.  There are 4500 schools in Moscow with kids from first through eleventh grades. 280,000 teachers work in education.  I can't even imagine this number.  Parents can send their children to nursery schools for free as early as two months old. These preschools are almost all free. Most Moscow children attend preschool for full days and get up to 3 to 4 meals a day. 

BHHS PTA mom friends:  here in Moscow you'd make many of the important decisions along with the teachers.  You would able to accept or reject administrative candidates sent by the Department of Education.  Ultimately you and teachers would make those decisions.  

There was no mention of a Board of Education.

There are different criteria for teacher pay. It used to be pay for years of service but now Moscow schools pay as a result of student performance.

During the communist era, Special Needs children had no place to go. They were kept at home. There were no ramps or elevators. A few years ago these children were labeled "invalids". They are now called children "with limited opportunities".  I guess it's an improvement.  

In the picture below you will see smiling sophomores standing at  attention when we adults entered the room. We marveled each time we walked into a room and the students immediately rose to their feet.

This school has no more than 25 kids in a class but we saw very few classes with more than 12.  

Teacher friends, does the photo below look familiar?  I wanted to know if the instructor knew. . . 

By the way, Russian kids love their iphones every bit as much as our students.  The teachers spoke about Iphone use being a challenge.

Prom  is celebrated in this city. Notice the proud prom king. From what we saw prom takes place during the day.

These kids appear to take this event very seriously :-)  Just like our own Normans.

I loved the ritual of the below dance.

The library was compact and orderly: the most well lit room in the school.

Of course Charlotte's Web is beloved around the world: I was struck by the photocopy of the book. I don't think that would fly at BHHS.

And while we're talking about books. . . . .

By 2015 every Russian textbook publishing house must have an online version of their books. We saw an extraordinary demonstration of one of these interactive textbooks.

 I want online textbooks for our kids. 

My favorite fact of the day was that 95% of all administrators teach classes. The principal who proudly toured us through her school today teaches physics and still loves it. Russians strongly believe  that when principlals teach, they have a better connection to their students.  Let me throw my two cents in: I believe that administrators  would also have a much stronger connection to their teachers if they taught.  Everyone would win in this scenario.

The fierce physics teaching principal at SAAS :

                                               

Another full day of touring schools tomorrow and then a night flight to Barnaul, Siberia.  We split up with our cohort from the states at this point and journey to six different locations around the country.  We will not see our friends for a week when we return to Moscow to debrief.  

'Twas a day well spent.