On October 13, 2017, Oksana A. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, Head of the Educational coordinating Council (IECC) of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) took part in the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of “The School of Joy” Lviv Primary-Junior Public School, which was established in 1997 due in part to the close cooperation between educators in Ukraine and the diaspora.
Lyubov Tchuba (1955-2005), the first principal of the “The School of Joy” and a member of the Institute for Teacher Professional Development (ITPD) IECC stated in her memoirs: “As real change started happening in the city’s educational environment, we wanted to move away from the system of numbering schools and decided to give the new school a name – “The School of Joy”. Today, this name and the school’s image have become deeply intertwined. Instead of a serial number, the school has its own name, an educational vision and a road-map for its development… And, it all began in 1991 when Oksana Wynnyckyj, a teacher of Ukrainian heritage from Canada arrived in Lviv.”
Today, the accumulated experience of “The School of Joy” is being shared with the rest of Ukraine. Former teachers of this school have become principals and are the driving force behind changes and transformations in the educational system of Ukraine. The school’s graduates are involved in various NGOs and are at the forefront of Ukraine’s reforms.
Founded in 1992, ITPD-IECC has, in addition to sharing contemporary teaching methods, worked with educators in Ukraine to implement systemic organizational techniques based on democratic principles, all the while understanding the need for personal learning and growth when teaching in a changing world filled with disinformation.
“We are very pleased that “The School of Joy” is successful and honoured that the ITPD-IECC was an integral part of this school’s formation and played a role in the changes and transformations that are currently underway in the educational system of Ukraine,” stated Nadia Luciw, Director of the ITPD-IECC and former Head of IECC (1998-2008).
In the photo from left to right: Maria Logush, Larysa Fita, Lida Sabadylo, Olya Vasylkiv (“The School of Joy” principal), Oksana A. Wynnyckyj-Yusypovych, Lesya Vasiuta, Lyuda Zemba, Viktoriya Chorniy at the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of “The School of Joy”
