Sometimes the best way to see the change in a school is to look at the numbers. At the end of 2018, 131. SU “Kliment Arkadievich Timiryazev“ had about 270 students. Today, they are approximately 1200. Behind this difference are seven years of work, changes in the organization, new educational initiatives and the gradual building of a different image of the school. At the center of this process is the director Tanya Moneva, who took over at the end of 2018.
At that time, 131. SU was not among the first schools that Sofia parents thought of when choosing an education for their children. Now the situation is different. The school has significantly expanded the number of its students, is developing projects, working on national programs and introducing new forms of education. Transformation does not happen with one big change. It is the result of many smaller decisions - from working with teachers and supporting students to participating in projects, competitions and international programs.
When the numbers speak
The growth from 270 to about 1200 students is the most visible sign of change. This indicator alone is not enough to determine the quality of a school. However, it shows something important - interest in 131. SU has grown significantly.
For the management, this also means greater responsibility. More students means a greater workload, more expectations from parents and the need for an organization that can support the development of the school.
It is here that the role of the director Tanya Moneva turns out to be essential, because she chooses to develop the school not only as an administrative structure, but as an environment in which teachers can implement ideas and students receive opportunities beyond the standard curriculum.
More than traditional education
Now 131. Sofia University is defined as an innovative school and develops integrative subjects in the junior high school stage. Among them are “Mathematics and Technology“, “With a Pen Through the Ages“, which combines Bulgarian language and literature with history and civilization, as well as “KMIT and Fine Arts“, which has been approved for the new school year, and the previous ones were pilot.
The idea is that different knowledge should not remain isolated within individual subjects, but that students should use them in a general context.
The school is also developing a STEM environment under the national program. The goal is to create spaces in which students can work with technology and develop their interests in the field of science, mathematics and technology.
Digitalization is another direction in which the school is investing. Interactive methods are used in some of the teaching practices, and elements of artificial intelligence are introduced in certain activities.
Teachers as part of the change
The development of a school can hardly be achieved with decisions from the principal's office alone. Therefore, one of the important elements in management is working with the pedagogical team. According to available public feedback, teachers appreciate the opportunity to have greater freedom in organizing the learning process and experimenting with new approaches.
This freedom is especially important when the school is trying to impose the way it works. New programs and technologies by themselves do not produce results if teachers are not ready to use them.
Therefore, an environment is gradually being built in which the initiative and changes of teachers become part of the development of the school. After the renovation of the material base, Moneva began to form a new pedagogical team and attracted many young teachers to the school. Now the average age of the teachers is 33 years old - a young, motivated and inspired team.
Connection with Europe
International activity also takes its place in the development of the 131st Sofia University. Under the “Erasmus+“ teachers participate in training abroad, including in Malta, related to the digitalization of language learning and the implementation of modern European educational practices.
The school also develops a partnership with the “Friedrich Schiller“ Association and the “Lewis Carroll“ Society, related to the enhanced training in German and English for students in primary and lower secondary schools.
This shows a desire to expand educational opportunities beyond the traditional model of the neighborhood school.
Results remain the most important
The most difficult part of the change, however, is not the introduction of a new program or the purchase of new equipment. It is more difficult to change the attitude towards the school itself. In the case of 131. SU, one of the arguments for the change that has occurred is the students' results.
According to the data presented, the results of the National External Assessment in the 4th grade place the school among the top three municipal schools in Sofia.
In addition, the students participate in various contests and competitions. Sixth graders from the school, for example, have won the grand prize in the national reading competition “What have we learned from books about life and nature?“ These are results that gradually build a different image of the school.
From image to trust
One of the most serious tasks facing every school principal is to gain the trust of parents. At 131. SU, this process can be traced through the number of students, the development of the school program, and public assessments of the initial stage of education. Some of the reviews for the initial stage are particularly positive, where parents point out the good environment and the work of the teachers. This trust is not created only by advertising. It is built in everyday life - in the relationships between teachers, students and parents, in the organization of the educational process and in the results.
Director Tanya Moneva takes over the school at a time when it is faced with the need to change not only its way of working, but also the public attitude towards itself. Seven years later, the difference is visible - from 270 to 1200 students. From a school that has to prove its place, to an institution that increasingly attracts the interest of parents. This does not mean that 131. SU has become an elite metropolitan high school. But it shows something more important - that a large neighborhood school can change its direction when it has a clear management vision and leadership that consistently follows it. But if one had to point out the most significant result of Tanya Moneva's seven years of management, it probably wasn't just in the number of students. It was in changing expectations. In how parents view the school, how teachers see their capabilities, and how the institution itself presents itself to society. And when a school manages to change its own reputation without abandoning its main task - to educate and develop children - this is already a quality management result.