Creating Democratic Schools

Democratic schools engage the entire learning community—administrators, teachers, students, and the community ­ to promote positive outcomes for children. Step by Step works with schools to develop self-initiative, empowerment, shared control, respect, and appreciation of differences. Step by Step’s comprehensive school improvement programs focus on teachers’ professional development; school development planning; leadership; management and educational change; and team building.

Participating schools establish a team comprised of the school director, faculty, administrative staff, parents and students to create a development plan for the school. This process considers challenges faced by the school that affect educational outcomes of students and address the needs of the larger community. Once the plan is adopted, implementation and on-going monitoring and evaluation ensure that school and student goals are met.

“One of the most important features of Step by Step is communication. There must be communication between the parents, teachers, and child because the parents are the first educators of their child. Since we started Step by Step, what I really like is that we work as a team. Teachers, parents, and children, we are all one team.” —School Director, Latvia

Development of Culturally Appropriate Educational Materials

Step by Step Programs meet universal educational needs in unique cultural, economic and geographic settings. Our most basic belief is to think globally but to act locally.

• ISSA offers training and hands-on participation in creating developmentally appropriate classroom materials from everyday items used in innovative ways. With the support of families and teachers, classrooms in even the most impoverished countries can benefit from the riches of educational materials
• ISSA’s network has developed the Reading Corner, (www.readingcorner.org), offering developmentally appropriate literature based on universal themes for children. The books, shared across borders, encourage a love of reading while raising the children’s awareness of other cultures.
• ISSA encourages local economic development by encouraging local companies to produce high quality educational materials and furniture for schools

Creating Educational Toys from Local Resources

by Lkhagva Nergui, Director, Kindergarten # 103,
Chengeltei district Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Published in Educating Children for Democracy, Issue Number 4, Winter/Spring 2003

Kindergarten #103 is one of twenty-one kindergartens chosen as initial pilot sites for the preschool education program, “Step-by-Step” in Mongolia. True to the its mission of the program, the first steps of in setting up the program were directed at establishing a favorable learning environment appropriate for the development of children while efficiently using kindergarten and local resources. As Mongolia moved towards a market economy, effective fundraising and management of the kindergarten budget for the welfare of children and parents has become important and, as a result, the kindergarten staff decided to produce wooden toys for children as one of the ways to raise money. Click here to read the entire article.