Ayb High School students met with Ayb Educational Foundation Executive Director Sona Koshetsyan to talk about Ayb ideas and history and learn how 15 years ago 8 graduates of the Moscow Physics and Technology Institute decided to realize their dream and founded Ayb School.
What united 8 members of the physics olympiad team?
Not knowing much about the educational system and reforms, they knew one thing for sure: investing in education can bring long-term benefits to the country. There were 8 of them at that time; now they are joined by more than 200 like-minded people.
In 2006, when it was rather difficult to speak about system problems, reforms in Armenia were mostly not continuous. It was like providing schools with computers or repairing classrooms. Fundraising was also a problem because the only information potential donors received was the idea about a school that didn’t yet exist. For example, what values the school graduates will possess and how they can contribute to Armenia’s development. Fortunately, there were people, who believed that their investment can make the idea of better education realizable.
Our school is the first social project in the field of non-governmental education. About 86% of Ayb High School students receive tuition fee reimbursement. The school is administered by the Board of Trustees, which means that the school doesn’t have “owners.” The school belongs to us, the students and alumni, who still have close ties with the school after graduation.
The Dilijan Central School became the second educational institution that was founded by the Ayb Educational Foundation in cooperation with the Central Bank of Armenia. The main purpose was to create a school that will be on par with Yerevan-based Ayb School. Some employees of the Central bank were offered to move to Dilijan, however, the initiative failed because they were not ready to settle there and could not believe that it’s possible to provide their children with proper education in a provincial school. Nevertheless, as a result, not only the children of the bank employees but also numerous kids from Tavush province got an opportunity to study at the high-level Dilijan Central School.
What has united all these people for 15 straight years?
There is one answer to this question: the mission to provide education. Ayb’s mission is to grow up a literate, brave, and competitive generation that will assume responsibility for the future of our land. The goal was the creation of an educational model that would be recognized as one of the best in the world.
Today, the world’s best 122 universities recognize the Araratian Baccalaureate developed by the Ayb Educational Foundation.
The AB embraces the best international practices, at the same time preserving the national values. It’s an Armenian language high school program that is adapted to the Armenian environment. As a result, the students receive an education that meets all international standards but preserves the Armenian spirit.
The role of the environment is extremely important for the students’ development. Every detail at Ayb School goes in line with the educational philosophy and is meant to make the learning process a pleasure. Just take the adorable slide which helps relax and have fun after the lessons. The whole school building was constructed for the full-fledged implementation of the AB, which is regularly updated for greater efficiency. It’s not accidental that Ayb School hosts teachers and principals from various educational institutions across the globe.
Which is the main activity of the Ayb Educational Foundation currently and what can we expect in the future?
Ayb Educational Foundation is cooperating with 75% of schools in Armenia and Artsakh, which are involved in the implementation of various projects. Currently, the Foundation is focused on a number of major directions. These are the organization of contests, creation of online educational resources like the Khan Academy platform, training of Tavush province school teachers, and implementation of hybrid programs.
We all know about Cangaroo, Meghu, and Russian Bear competitions spearheaded by the Ayb Educational Foundation. There are also numerous team competitions and tournaments such as the young chemists’ competition that aims not only to unite students who love chemistry but also to help them develop soft skills like teamwork, time management, making public speeches, and the ability to promote their own projects.
The purpose of the international robotics olympiad is to create robots capable of solving urgent issues such as refuse collection, smart city management, calamity protection mechanisms. In addition, a natural science competition for chemistry, biology, and physics lovers will be held in the near future.
The Foundation also translates into Armenian the educational materials of the Khan Academy and finds volunteers, who present the platform to the teachers and students in rural areas
Hybrid education is a program envisaged for the 10th-grade students in Armenia and Artsakh. Currently, dozens of students take exams and will be able to participate in online lessons in case of success. The education is free of charge. Details are available here.
In the future, hybrid education will be accessible for the children in the Armenian Diaspora, who will get the opportunity to get an education within the Armenian system of values.
Karine Avalyan, 12th grade
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