North Macedonia
Center for Global Strategies is focused on education development in Macedonia. Our local name is “Koreni”, meaning “Roots”. We seek to strengthen education here by empowering teachers and schools directly, since they are the roots of the education system. The week of March 11th CGS “Koreni” welcomed a small team from Texas made up of three ladies with doctorates in education and a teenager. Each came to Skopje, North Macedonia ready to serve and pour into the local educational institutions in whatever way they could. As such we were able to work with local Macedonian schools, as well as an international school and our partner Bridges Learning Center.
The three educators held professional development sessions for school directors, university teachers, English teachers, librarians, and general classroom teachers. Many of those sessions focused on how reading can improve learning and help teachers differentiate for their students. The seminars for the school directors helped them understand how they could do more than just manage their schools; they can lead, casting vision for and guiding the teachers into more effective instruction. These professionals also took time to do some 1-on-1 mentoring with teachers, connected with a couple universities and held a seminar helping parents know how to better support their children’s learning.
At the same time, the teenager was out engaging in and giving to the community in her own way. She visited English classes in two local elementary schools, helped in the 5 and 6 year old classes at an international school, interacted with local teens, and even worked with one of the beneficiaries at a home for adults with special needs.
What a blessing and encouragement it was to host this group of ladies! We look forward to hosting them, and others like them, again in the future. Together we can positively impact the education here in North Macedonia.
Rachelle Neal