On August 10th, I traveled to Shenavan Basic School in the mountains of Lori to witness firsthand the impact of Teach For Armenia. The organization recruits recent university graduates and established professionals, trains them as Teacher Leaders, and deploys them to communities across Armenia to ensure every student has access to quality education.
1988
Earthquake Year
The devastating earthquake that damaged Shenavan school
1
Grant Won
Student-Led Innovation Project grant secured by students
4
Student Wishes
Projects the students dream of funding for their school
Rubik Stepanyan
IT Teacher · Teach For Armenia
During my visit to Shenavan, I toured the school and met Teacher Leader Rubik Stepanyan, the IT teacher. I visited classrooms and met students and teachers who came in during their summer break to greet me. I was deeply impressed by the students achievements, particularly winning a grant to implement a Student-Led Innovation Project. With that funding, they built an IT room where they showcased a PowerPoint presentation they created from scratch, outlining their future plans: a much-needed sports gymnasium and improvements to their auditorium, severely damaged by the 1988 earthquake.
“I spent time with the ninth graders and was very impressed with their strive to learn and the value they placed on being educated. I felt like I could be one of them going to school in Shenavan.
Leonna TorosyanVisiting Author
The Students Four Wishes
- Sports GymnasiumA proper space for physical education and athletics
- Outdoor Grass FieldA green space for recreation and outdoor activities
- New Auditorium StageReplacing the stage damaged in the 1988 earthquake
- Harry Potter in ArmenianA complete Armenian collection of all seven books in the series
I was very sad to leave Shenavan, but left knowing that Teach For Armenia is serving an important purpose by investing in these children. During this next year, I plan to spread awareness about Teach For Armenia and raise funds to help make the students four wishes a reality. I wonder what Harry would say in Armenian when casting spells?
Leonna Torosyan
Author · Teach For Armenia
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