Blue: counties where kindergartens are already part of the program
Green: counties where eligible kindergartens will be targeted for inclusion in 2023
(as of January 2023)
GIVEN THAT:
- Romania’s early school abandonment rate is 26.6% in rural areas, 18.1% overall (compared to the European average of 10.6%) and our country’s PISA scores were the second lowest in the EU in 2018.
- To compete in the 21st century world economy, Romania must increase the average educational attainment level of its children.
- Literacy is the most accurate indicator of educational attainment.
- Early education has been shown to be the most efficient investment of resources to achieve literacy.
- Children living in poor communities do not have access to age-appropriate books, and are thus severely disadvantaged by the time they enter primary school.
- Of the 4500 public grădinițe in Romania, approximately 40% are in disadvantaged communities.
- Providing materials without training teachers in how to maximize their use wastes resources.
- Training teachers without providing them with quality materials severely limits their capacity to teach.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has added another obstacle for disadvantaged children living where online access is severely limited, increasing the likelihood of their falling further behind.
AND BECAUSE:
- OvidiuRo has already developed a strong network of teachers and administrators in all rural and disadvantaged areas, disseminating effective materials and methods appropriate for early education.
OVIDIURO PROPOSES TO:
Turn Romania’s 4500 public kindergartens into seedbeds of literacy by executing a 5-year plan to:
- Train teachers in read-aloud techniques and other ways of developing literacy
- Equip each kindergarten with a minimum of 30 books
- Give each child in disadvantaged communities at least one book to take home
- Create and consolidate sustainability for these activities, in connection to strategic national and European plans.
RESULTS :
Since 2021,
OvidiuRO has organized over 250 training sessions for teachers
with an average of 1,000 participants per session
and distributed 475,000 picture books
so that more than 200,000 children listen to stories every day.