Interethnic Integration in Education Project QUARTERLY PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORT No. 8 October 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013 Joint student activities Submitted by: Macedonian Civic Education Center (MCEC) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-165-A-12-00002 USAID Interethnic Integration in Education Project QUARTERLY REPORT #8, October 2013 – December 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Background 3 2. Progress Towards Objectives 4 3. Crosscutting Activities 6 4. Project Activities 10 4.1. Community Outreach 10 4.2. Capacity Building of School Management and Teachers 12 4.3. Demonstration Schools 20 4.4. Providing Incentives to Schools and Communities 25 5. Lessons learned 31 6. Activities to Increase Participation of People with Disabilities (PWDs) 33 7. Activities in the next reporting period 34 8. List of appendices 36 2 USAID Interethnic Integration in Education Project QUARTERLY REPORT #8, October 2013 – December 2013 MACEDONIAN CIVIC EDUCATION CENTER (MCEC) USAID INTERETHNIC INTEGRATION IN EDUCATION PROJECT (IIEP) QUARTERLY PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORT No. 8 Cooperative Agreement No: AID-165-A-12-00002 Progress Report No: 8 Reporting Period: October 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013 1. BACKGROUND On December 2, 2011, the Macedonian Civic Education Center (MCEC) signed the Cooperative Agreement with USAID agreeing to provide support to USAID’s Interethnic Integration in Education Project (IIEP). IIEP is a four-year, USD 5.2 million initiative targeting all primary and secondary schools in Macedonia. The main objective of IIEP is to build awareness and provide diversity training, technical assistance, and incentives to school boards, principals, teachers, and administration officials in support of interethnic integration in education. It will build broad public understanding on the benefits for all citizens as a result from integrating Macedonia’s education system. IIEP will also create the political, social and economic environment need for Macedonia to achieve sustained interethnic integration in schools, in other educational institutions and eventually all of society. Complementing this, the project team will strengthen the capacity of school staff, students and parents to address issues of diversity and equity in their schools and communities. Project’s approach is comprised of four mutually-supporting and inter-related components. 1. Community Outreach; 2. Capacity Building of School Management and Teachers; 3. Demonstration Schools; and 4. Providing Incentives to Schools and Communities. Students, parents, teachers, administrators and school board members in all primary and secondary schools across Macedonia will be the primary focus of project activities. Additionally, BDE advisors and education inspectors at national and regional level will also be central to achieving sustained change and will actively participate in capacity strengthening activities. Achieving success also demands that IIEP actively engage stakeholders in schools, communities and local governments in the integrated mix of project activities. MCEC is implementing IIEP on behalf of USAID in partnership with educational institutions in Macedonia (Bureau for Development of Education, State Examination Center, State Education Inspectorate, Vocational Education Center) and seven local NGOs (Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Loja, Sumnal, Multimedia, My Career, Macedonian Institute for Media and Youth Education Forum). 3 USAID Interethnic Integration in Education Project QUARTERLY REPORT #8, October 2013 – December 2013 2. PROGRESS TOWARDS OBJECTIVES During the reporting period the following was accomplished: Crosscutting Activities: . Sub-grant contract with partner organization My Career for extension of cooperation renewed; . Coordination of the partners performed; . Capacity building on IIE for providing mentorship to schools by Loja and Sumnal (Appendix 1). Monitoring and Evaluation: . Participation in training/seminars/workshops/meeting organized; . Check-lists for monitoring of IIEP activities finalized, tested and administered in pilot, demonstration and renovated schools; . Evaluation questionnaires and a form for report for the trainings/seminars prepared; . Evaluation of the effects of the IIEP activities in Pilot and Demonstration schools conducted; . Questionnaires for pre-test for evaluation of multicultural workshops in six demonstration schools administered; . Portfolio review and other reporting document prepared; . Support to preparation of PMP for monitoring and evaluation of the activities for integration in education by MoES provided; . Preparations for repetition of electronic survey commenced. Component One, Public Outreach: . Six (6) trainings for production of multimedia content in the context of interethnic integration in education (Youth-via-Media Program) implemented; . Nine (9) workshops for effective public presentations for representatives of the School Integration Teams (SITs); . Five (5) final presentations and promotions of outcomes from the implemented creative workshops organized and held; . Six (6) forum theatre workshops for the students of the secondary schools from Municipalities of Bitola, Veles, Skopje (two schools), Tetovo and Kicevo organized and implemented; . Four (4) ribbon cutting ceremonies to mark the successful end of the renovation process in the schools organized; . A meeting with editor-in-chief from Macedonian Television related to the infotainment documentary “7x7” organized; . Eight (8) debate clubs in the secondary schools of municipalities of Stip, Veles, Cair, Centar, Kumanovo, Struga, Kicevo and Kratovo established and operational; . One (1) national debate tournament organized and held; . Guest appearance in the afternoon contact program of 24Vesti Television organized; . Monthly briefers (for October, November and December) for IIEP activities prepared and disseminated (http://pmio.mk/category/project-updates/); . Interview with famous Albanian actress Amernis Nokshiqi-Jovanovska and eminent journalist Borjan Jovanovski arranged; . Various communication tools for community outreach and advocacy applied (web- page, success stories, attendance at events organized by other organizations, etc.); . Activities of other Project components regularly covered. 4 USAID Interethnic Integration in Education Project QUARTERLY REPORT #8, October 2013 – December 2013 Component Two, Capacity Building of School Management and Teachers: . First mentoring meetings for support of the School Integration teams from Phase 2 conducted; . Mentoring meetings with pilot schools delivered; . Dissemination of interethnic integration trainings in Phase 2 schools delivered; . Second mentoring meetings for support of the SITs from Phase 2 schools delivered . Strategy for support to schools implemented; . Cooperation with the pilot municipalities’ educational officials continued and coordinative meeting in pilot municipalities held; . Workshop with teacher training faculties representatives in regards to capacity building of teacher training faculties’ staff held; . Joint Students Activities carried out; . Training for School Boards members’ role in making changes towards IIE on school level for the schools from Phase 2 delivered; . Training for professional service staff and parental involvement in the IIEP delivered; . Activities in the five secondary schools for Developing Case study and Video Success Story on career development of employees in multicultural company commenced; . School Performance Quality Indicators finalized. Component Three, Demonstration Schools: . Nineteen (19) groups for running joint extracurricular long term students activities established; . Five (5) school manifestations organized in three primary demonstration schools; . Two (2) outings in the trilingual primary demonstration schools conducted; . One (1) training meeting between CHRCR and partners (Loja and Sumnal) held; . Five (5) trainings (one in each Demonstration school) for enhancing the student`s democratic participation carried out; . Fourteen (14) support meetings with monitoring and mentoring activities (one per month in each demonstration school) held; . Five (5) student`s initiatives initiated; . One (1) three-day training seminar with teachers for implementing multicultural workshops held; . Twenty eight (28) groups for implementing multicultural workshops established; . All materials needed for implementation of the multicultural workshops provided to the demonstration schools; . One (1) two-day training seminar with professional service staff and school management for transforming the school culture into multicultural, from all demonstration schools held; . One (1) instrument for external monitoring created; . Three (3) workshop activities with parents realized; . Five (5) Memorandums of Understanding with demonstration schools and municipalities signed. Component Four, Providing Incentives to Schools and Communities: . School renovation project for PS Nikola Karev, Kochani approved; . MoU signed with the PS Nikola Karev and Kochani municipality; . Annex to the Joint Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) for the renovation project in PS Nikola Karev, Kochani submitted and approved; 5 USAID Interethnic Integration in Education Project QUARTERLY REPORT #8, October 2013 – December 2013 . Tender for selection of construction company announced and construction company for renovation of PS Nikola Karev, Kocani selected; . Preconstruction meeting organized in PS Nikola Karev, Kocani; . Toolbox for school maintenance