Author Educational Program

The "Mkhitar Sebastatsi" educational complex experimental research unit (hereinafter referred to as the educational complex) was established in 1989 by the government of the Armenian SSR to introduce and further develop the educational copyright concept developed by the pedagogical creative team (see decision No. 12 of the Board of the Ministry of Public Education of the Armenian SSR of 07/14/1989, decision N216 of the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR of 05/1990), as a copyrighted educational program alternative to the state educational program in terms of content, material environment, and organization.

The author's educational program known as "Bleyan School," "Creator's Mobile School. Educational order of a creative individual, a public open system for the development of individual giftedness. The author's educational program, with a school calendar, educational projects, and individual digital tools," the main and additional (hereinafter referred to as the program) is a public education program guaranteed in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia (see the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On General Education," the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On Amendments and Additions to the Law "On General Education" dated 09.02.2022 HO-35-N).

The program is developed, refined, approved, organized, and distributed in accordance with the procedure established by the charter of the educational complex.

"Creator's Mobile School” known by the name “Bleyan School”. Educational order of a creative individual, a public open system for the development of individual giftedness. The author's educational program, with a school calendar, educational projects, and individual digital tools," the main and additional (hereinafter referred to as the program) is a public education program guaranteed in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia (see the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On General Education," the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On Amendments and Additions to the Law "On General Education" dated 09.02.2022 HO-35-N). The program is developed, refined, approved, organized, and distributed in accordance with the procedure established by the charter of the educational complex.

Fundamentals

The author of the program is the educational complex experimental-research association, with its pedagogical team, with the appropriate organizational structure for the development, implementation, and dissemination of the program: governing council, assembly, pedagogy laboratory, pedagogy center, professional groups. Teachers, specialists, and students participate individually and in groups in the development, refinement, and dissemination of the program as a creative individual, who:

·         works by learning, studying,

·         values creative work and missionary spirit,

·         considers freedom and education inseparable,

·         constantly develops his/her abilities and personal qualities, strengthens his/her will,

·         considers the task of education to be making the environment well-maintained, interesting and attractive, becoming a more economical, polite, enterprising, patriotic citizen,

·         uses media at home, at school, everywhere, studies, translates, transmits,

·         keeps the mother tongue and culture rich and alive.

The client of the program is the state and the educational community, as a collection of people who choose the program: employees, learners, parents, graduates, partners.

The basis of the program's development is to make the learning environment and organization more relevant to the development of society, the needs and characteristics of the individual, and the interconnectedness of general education, vocational education programs, supplementary education, and self-education implemented in the educational complex.

The 7 synonyms of Bleyan School are: community, educational garden, network of workshops-studios-laboratories, creator's school-cooperative, expedition, ensemble, hive (anthill, family).

The 7 qualities of the Bleyan School: spirituality, creativity, love of learning, striving for excellence, solidarity, caring, nation-building.

The program ensures the formation and development of eight competencies of secondary education required by the state standard of general education: linguistic, learning to learn, self-cognitive and social, democratic and civic, digital and media, cultural, mathematical and scientific-technical, economic, according to the general education programs, the expected learning outcomes of the graduate.

Changes in the educational environment are implemented through projects jointly carried out by the "Sebastatsi" Educational Foundation, students and teachers, and partners.

2. Standard

Terms of Program Organization

Open Physical Environment

Educational garden in a residential suburb. Accessible, well-maintained, safe, inclusive transitions serving students, teachers, and residents. Creating an aesthetic environment with festival-style learning: public presentation of the work of students, teachers, and cultural figures in the parks of the educational garden.

Creation, preservation, and development of grape arbors and orchards. The inside and yard of the school, and adjacent areas are the subject of daily care by students and staff.

A constantly changing environment—inside and out—as a factor in the development of an individual's mind, taste, and spiritual potential.

·         The school building: classrooms without walls, transparent environment for learning,

·         Educational attics

·         Basement as educational space

·         Areas designed for outdoor activities

An educational institution with open doors, without a doorman-guard-controller. Transforming corridors and offices into a unified learning environment.

Library Educational Centre with open reading halls, outdoor reading spaces, reading corners.

The College of the EduComplex as a public educational environment.

Internet everywhere: indoors, outdoors.

Student and teacher attendance with a personal digital learning tool (notebook-netbook-tablet), classrooms adapted for digital learning.

Basic education school-kindergarten educational institution

·         Spacious group rooms for 2-5 year olds: a complete environment for the development of the child's independence and the group's autonomy, with a sports ground-bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, tools, and supplies.

·         1st grades’ classrooms of the Joy of Learning program: furnished halls with a reading room, a relaxation corner, and a toilet

·         Open educational classrooms, halls, a gym

·         A green garden inside and outside

·         Outdoor beaches from May to September.

Professional learning environment: a network of workshops, studios, laboratories, and halls.

A Scool in N

ature

·         Year-round activities of Arates School Center

·         Artanish summer tent camp.

Nature study School

·         Educational farm: animals, birds, plants

·         Educational agriculture environment: gardener's corners in educational institutions, "Educational Garden in a Residential Area" project on Saralanj,

·         Educational greenhouse

·         Educational apiary in Arates

Naturalist’s School

·         Laboratories of engineering creativity, instrument making, IT-robotics, natural sciences, physics, chemistry, biology, geography.

Art School

·         Workshops for architecture, sculpture, painting, drawing, design, jewelry, pottery, fabric, and artistic processing of thread.

Sports School

·         Halls for gymnastics, game sports, tennis, martial arts, shooting range, indoor swimming pool, stadiums, equestrian school, cycling clubs, cycling paths, running tracks.

 

 

Music school

classical and national musical instruments, concert halls. Pianos everywhere: in group rooms, of grades 1-3, in the halls.

School of Grapes and Wine:

Grape arbors, winemaking workshop-laboratory.

Educational kitchen

Bakery workshop, educational cellar.

The computer, camera–video recorder–audio recorder–telephone are everyday learning tools for each individual.
Attendance with a khurjin (traditional bag) or backpack.
The backpack, sleeping bag, and other equipment necessary for hiking are essential learning supplies for both the student and the teacher.

Open Media Environment

• Educational website and sub-sites for branches of educational institutions, learning centers, the pedagogy laboratory, and the pedagogy center.
• Media library created by teachers and students.
• “Dpir” pedagogical journal.
• “Partez” preschool program website.
• Educational blogs of teachers.
• Educational blogs of students starting from Grade 3 (Eastern School-Garden, Western School-Garden, Northern School-Garden, Southern School-Garden, Middle School, High School, College).
• Sebastatsi TV and Radio – school and class editorial teams; children’s and youth magazines; professional, group, and project blogs.
• mskh.am email system.
• Electronic registration of educational information.
• Individual pages and channels of the educational complex, schools, groups, staff, and students on social networks.

Programmatic and Organizational Environment

• Open admission system:
• for children aged 2–4 and 5-year-olds;
• for students of Grades 1–9 — with entry camps;
• for students of Grades 10–11 — with an entry camp and workshops.
• Individual learning plans starting from Grade 1, including general education, student-selected courses and activities, supplementary education, and self-education programs.
• Organization of the school day without a bell.
• Academic calendar and ritualization of school life, including: daily general assemblies, weekly educational services (gatherings), concerts, calendar-based celebrations (including state holidays), reviews and festivals, ceremonies, subject-specific flash mobs, exhibitions and showcases.
• Continuity of general education programs for the following stages: ages 2–4, 5-year-olds, Grades 1–3, 4–6, 7–8, 9, 10–11, and Grade 12.
• Interconnection and collaboration among general education, vocational education programs, supplementary education, and self-education within the educational complex.
• Five educational periods (cycles) of the authorial program, each with its own organizational features, procedures, and study groups.
• Educational camps:
• winter and summer school camps;
• participation in hiking camps as a curriculum requirement for Grades 3–8;
• participation in military-sports camps as a curriculum requirement for Grades 9 and 10–11;
• creative gatherings;
• rural, local history (regional studies), festival-based, project-based, and other types of camps.

From Grade 1 — students choose preferred development courses and activity formats from offered lists:

• Grades 1–3 — 2-hour courses: Music, Fine Arts, Physical Education, Mental Mathematics.
• Grades 4–6 — 2- or 4-hour courses: mathematics, Armenian studies (local studies), basketball, handball, judo, gymnastics, table tennis, fencing, volleyball, football, horse riding, botany–zoology, gardening–horticulture, design, theatre, sculpture, metal–stone–wood processing, engineering and technical creativity, programming, cinema–photography, music (solfeggio, composition), dance and song.
• Grades 7–8 — 2- or 4-hour courses: mathematics, natural sciences (physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, geography), engineering and technical creativity, instrument-making and construction, programming, digital animation, graphic design, theatre, cinema–photography, foreign languages and translation (Georgian, Persian, Turkish, German, French, English, Russian, Spanish, Italian), viticulture and winemaking, media journalism, painting and drawing, design and modeling, sculpture, jewelry making, choir, dance and song, vocal-instrumental performance, sports (basketball, shooting, handball, judo, gymnastics, table tennis, fencing, volleyball, football, horse riding), crafts (including pottery, carpentry, gardening, cooking, tailoring, carpet weaving and embroidery).
• Grade 9 — 6-hour program including: grammar, mathematics, natural sciences (physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, geography), engineering and technical creativity, instrument-making, programming, cinema–photography, media journalism, foreign languages and translation (Georgian, Persian, Turkish, French, English, Russian, Spanish, Italian), theatre, viticulture and winemaking, painting and drawing, sculpture, design and modeling, graphic design, project work, metal–stone–wood processing, history–archaeology–ethnography, choir, dance groups, vocal-instrumental groups, sports clubs (basketball, shooting, handball, judo, gymnastics, table tennis, fencing, volleyball, football, horse riding), crafts (pottery, carpentry, gardening, cooking, baking, tailoring, carpet weaving and embroidery).
• Grades 10–12 — 4-hour programs (1–3 selected): English, German, Turkish, Spanish, Russian, Georgian, French, Persian, Armenian grammar, world history, Armenian history, geography, biology, chemistry, physics, programming, engineering and technical creativity, instrument-making, drawing, painting, composition, architecture and design, sculpture, acting and stage speech, computer graphics, animation, editing, photography, cinematography, directing and stage production, solfeggio, fine arts and design, ceramics, jewelry, tailoring and modeling, textiles and carpet-making, public catering, park and garden management, horticulture, carpentry, agriculture.

Additional choices and opportunities:

• From Grade 5 — choice of sports clubs: gymnastics, football, basketball, volleyball, handball, table tennis, fencing, shooting (from Grade 7), cycling (with personal bicycle), wrestling.
• From Grade 7 — second foreign language;
  from Grade 10 — choice of foreign languages, creative groups, and clubs (choir, “Zenith Band,” “Electronic Music,” “Hask,” cinematography, intellectual games, sculpture, sports).
• From Grade 10 — choice of course program and teacher;
  choice of study, hiking, and military-sports camp groups;
  participation in supplementary education.

Forms and organization of learning:

• Diverse formats of instruction: classroom-based, outdoor, in museums, concert halls, nature sites, and historical monuments.
• Inclusion of masterclasses by professionals from various fields, and meetings with cultural and public figures.
• Combination of in-person, distance, online, and home-based learning, aligned with 21st-century demands and individual educational needs, ensuring smooth transitions for students.
• Distance learning.
• Learning with personal computers.
• Blog-based learning (teachers’ blogs; students’ blogs from Grade 3; group blogs).
• Monthly subject-based flash mobs.
• Homework by student choice, as supplementary or self-education projects.

Supplementary and project-based education:

• Supplementary education as a component of the authorial system: year-round festival-based learning, environmental improvement and design, ritual organization and culinary practices, sports and wellness, local studies, agriculture, and technology education.
• Student-initiated self-learning projects in workshops, studios, and laboratories.
• Production-based learning.
• Learning through formulating and solving personal problems.
• Educational projects (Grades 7–9) — individual or group work.
• Research projects (Grades 10–12).

Additional components:

• Environmental care and improvement as part of learning.
• Peer teaching (“student teaching student”).
• Comprehensive Armenian language study, including Classical Armenian, Western Armenian, and dialects.
• Learning and use of regional, European, and other foreign languages.
• Local studies: walking tours, mountain climbing, expeditions, camps, ethnographic festivals, and projects.
• Environmental education.
• Technological education.
• Home economics and cooking.
• Health education and first aid.
• Care for animals and plants.
• Environmental maintenance and landscaping.
• Garden care.
• Digital literacy and computer science.
• Design and ceramics.
• Tailoring and modeling.
• Military-sports education system: clubs, camps, hikes, national games, swimming, cycling, triathlon, pentathlon, winter sports.

Other activities:

• Educational trips.
• Educational exchanges.
• Educational partnerships (“bridges”).
• Intra- and extra-school club competitions and championships.
• Therapies: hippotherapy, canine therapy, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, etc.

Assessment system:

• Alternative (authorial) assessment system aligned with state standards, including evaluation of blog work, participation and results in festivals, exhibitions, concerts, performances, celebrations, and educational projects.

Extended-day program:

• Organized in a camp-based format.

·         Year-round opportunities for supplementary education projects in the Educational Complex’s studios, workshops, and laboratories, based on the student’s individual initiative and self-learning programs.

System for Program Development, Organization, and Dissemination

• Educational Complex Council, Pedagogy Laboratory, Pedagogy Center, and professional groups operate according to their own regulations and calendars.
• State grant program: “Implementation of innovative pedagogical programs: redesign and implementation of authorial educational programs, open system for developing individual giftedness, realization of an individual’s educational demand for creative development.”
• Since 2007, state grant funds have been used for the development and improvement of the program.
• Open system for selecting teachers in the Educational Complex, implemented through stages: orientation, professional training, volunteering, and the “Entry to the Educational Complex” camp.
• Training programs for professionals applying to the Educational Complex.
• Open mentoring laboratory.
• Professional development trainings for pedagogical staff of general education schools and kindergartens across the country, based on partner requests.
• Annual creative gatherings and round-table discussions.
• Rituals and celebrations within the educational community and beyond the Educational Complex—in public spaces, cities, villages, and elsewhere.
• Concerts, exhibitions, and performances both within the Educational Complex and outside it—in halls, exhibition spaces, and public venues.
• “Bleyan Open Network”: initiatives for creating new network nodes.
• Participation in international projects and camps.
• Governing Council of the Educational Complex in operation.
• Open educational community and annual “Public Audit.”
• Publication and presentation of reports in accordance with established procedures.

General Education Programs

• Preschool education:
• 2–4-year-old children
• 5-year-old children
• Curricula:
• Grades 1–3
• Grades 4–6
• Grades 7–8
• Grade 9
• Grades 10–11
• Grade 12
• Procedures for organizing curricula
• Subject curricula
• Requirements for subject curricula
• Academic calendar for the 2025–2026 academic year
• Organization of the 1st and 3rd academic periods: guidelines
• 2nd academic period: winter camp: guidelines
• 4th academic period: June camp: guidelines
• 5th academic period: guidelines

Educational Staff of the Program

• Procedure for hiring pedagogical staff

Professional Development System

• Continuous learning teacher model: year-round teacher development school
• Professional group activities through online discussions and monthly seminars
• Professional development clubs (literature, “Mathematics” journal, sculpture, technology, sports, etc.)
• Open mentoring laboratory activities
• Year-round pedagogical club for beginning teachers
• Seasonal pedagogical camps (autumn, winter, spring, June, August) with professional training courses based on teacher applications and program development needs, including club meetings, sports, cultural, and ritual projects
• Work in the Authorial Pedagogy Laboratory: development and revision of educational programs and projects; study of methodological practices and pedagogical experience; publication in the “Dpir” pedagogical journal
• Supervision of research work of students in the research high school
• Seminars and trainings outside the Educational Complex, based on teacher choice, guided by the Pedagogy Laboratory and Pedagogy Center, with financial support from the Educational Complex or its staff trade union
• Procedure for voluntary certification under the authorial educational program

Other Provisions

• Student learning contract (sample form)
• MSKH – Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex State Non-Commercial Organization