Rural School Between Intervention and Self-Sustainability: Lessons from the Six-Year Journey of the CTIL Project
The project entitled “Integrated Children and Youth for a Better World” (CTIL), implemented between January 2021 and December 2023, represents an educational initiative of strategic importance, designed to alleviate acute phenomena of social exclusion and school dropout in rural Romania. Funded through the Norwegian Grants under the “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Roma Inclusion” Program, with a total budget of approximately 1.21 million euros, the project was implemented by the “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava (USV) as the project promoter. This academic approach was reinforced through solid partnerships with the Suceava County Centre for Resources and Educational Assistance (CJRAE) and the Association for Support in the Development of Social Economy – Inclusion, Cooperative Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship (IRCAS) in Tulcea. The structural design of the intervention targeted a group of approximately 750 children and young people at severe risk of early school leaving or with special educational needs, originating predominantly from marginalized, geographically isolated rural communities, or those affected by socio-economic vulnerabilities across the counties of Suceava, Botoșani, Harghita, and Tulcea. By focusing on risk categories such as children from low-income families, Roma children, or those with parents working abroad, the program aimed not merely at a strictly academic remediation, but at a holistic transformation of the entire local educational ecosystem.”.
The major relevance of the project lay in the complexity and innovative character of its activities, specifically designed to overcome the geographic and material barriers that traditionally limit access to quality education in disadvantaged regions, such as isolated mountainous localities or the Danube Delta. The central pillar of direct pedagogical intervention was represented by the “after-school” support sub-activity, focused on supplementary preparation for 8th-grade students in core subjects—Romanian language and literature, and mathematics—with the direct goal of optimizing performance in the National Assessment. Beyond this curricular backbone, the project integrated an extensive range of non-formal activities aimed at developing the creative and socio-emotional potential of young people, including environmental education, outdoor orientation, sports, science labs, artistic activities (theater, dance, photography, music, pottery), and techniques for fostering camaraderie. Equally, long-term sustainability was ensured through parental education measures designed for 268 parents and guardians, as well as postgraduate programs and international specialization internships for teaching staff, such as the Oslo training course dedicated to the culture of democracy and inclusion—elements valued by school managers as essential for enhancing the operational efficiency of partner institutions.”.
The immediate impact of this active implementation phase (2021–2023) is eloquently reflected in the evolution of quantitative indicators regarding the pass rate (grades equal to or higher than 5) in the National Assessment across participating school units. A longitudinal data analysis highlights spectacular jumps in academic performance that directly coincide with the period of intensive assistance provided by the project. For example, Panaci Secondary School recorded a pass rate of only 40% in 2021; however, as a result of the integrated measures applied, it reached an absolute level of 100% in 2022 and 2023. Similar upward trajectories are observed at Măriței Secondary School, where the pass rate grew steadily from 62% in 2021 to 76% in 2022 and 87% in 2023, respectively. Likewise, school units such as “O.C. Tăslăuanu” Primary and Secondary School in Bilbor and Șerbăuți Secondary School experienced substantial performance peaks in the final implementation year (2023), reaching rates of 91% and 92% respectively, starting from considerably more modest initial thresholds. Even in communities with a profound degree of structural vulnerability, such as Primary and Secondary School No. 1 Manoleasa, the student success rate rose from 48% in 2021 to a remarkable 82% in 2023, indisputably demonstrating the immediate efficacy of the remedial and support programs offered by the team of experts from USV and its partners.”.
The transition to the sustainability period (2024–2026) reveals complex nuances regarding the internalization of successful practices and the resilience of the rural school system in the absence of active external financial flows. Statistical data show that in certain communities, project benefits were deeply institutionalized, generating lasting positive effects. Măriței Secondary School constitutes a remarkable example of self-sustained progress, continuing its upward curve in the post-implementation phase as well, reaching 93% in 2024, 94% in 2025, and a historical maximum of 95% in 2026. Complementarily, Panaci School managed to maintain its status of excellence, achieving a 100% pass rate in 2024 and 2026, with a slight and natural fluctuation of 92% in 2025. However, the sustainability period also highlights the intrinsic vulnerabilities of rural education, closely linked to demographic variations from one generation to another and the severity of underlying socio-economic issues. The sharp declines recorded in 2026 at Manoleasa School (down to 24%) or the severe oscillations at Drăgoiești School (which dropped to 25% in 2024 before rising to 57% in 2025 and falling back to 41% in 2026) underline that, although the project provided important methodologies and resources, consistently maintaining high standards requires a permanent systemic effort. On the other hand, cases such as “Vasile Alecsandri” Nufărul School, which after a severe regression in 2023 (14%) underwent a gradual and steady recovery during the sustainability years (41% in 2024, 53% in 2025, and 56% in 2026), demonstrate that the seeds of pedagogical and community resilience planted during the project continue to bear fruit and stabilize schools during difficult times.”.
Academic performance in the National Assessment across partner schools (pass rates >= average grade 5). The chart indicates a clear upward trajectory of the central line inside the box (median), which increases significantly from 64.0% in the pre-implementation phase (2021) to 83.5% in the direct support phase (2022–2023), proving the effectiveness of the remedial and support programs. During the implementation period, a concentration of most schools towards higher values is observed (Q1 rises to 74%), reducing the underperformance gap. In the sustainability phase, the box widens downward again (Q1 drops to 56%), reflecting the emergence of vulnerable generations or the reappearance of structural gaps upon the withdrawal of financial assistance, although the median remains at a higher level compared to the baseline (73.5% vs. 64.0%). Data source: https://static.evaluare.edu.ro.
In conclusion, the CTIL project developed by the “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava constituted a true model of best practice in the field of educational inclusion and support provided to youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Correlating the qualitative analysis of its objectives with the dynamics of academic results clearly shows that the intervention served as a vital catalyst for the growth and empowerment of young people in partner schools. It offered them not only the cognitive tools necessary to pass national exams, but also long-lasting social and cultural capital. The inherent fluctuations during the sustainability period do not diminish the project’s value; rather, they argue academically for the necessity of replicating and permanenting such integrated support models—the only ones capable of ensuring genuine equity and stable development of human capital in rural Romania.”.
Read MorePress release (RO, Monitorul de Suceava): Online conference to launch the “Integrated Children and Youth for a Better World” project at USV
https://www.monitorulsv.ro/Local/2021-03-24/Conferinta-online-de-lansare-a-proiectului-Copii-si-tineri-integrati-pentru-o-lume-mai-buna-la-USVRead More
A “life story” lived with the students of the Manoleasa Gymnasium
The meeting at the Manoleasa Secondary School
from Activity 3.4. Providing anti-discrimination education, active citizenship and the promotion of successful models for children and youth at risk of dropping out of school and/or learning and psycho-behavioral difficulties
My educational experience (Lecturer Dr. Marius Eși [1]) augmented through my participation as a trainer-expert providing health education in the project „Integrated children and youth for a better world”, financed by the call “Inclusive education for children and young people at risk” and implemented within the Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Enhanced Roma Inclusion Programme.
I say that my experience has become richer precisely because I want to reproduce some of the facts and events that took place in the framework of such an educational endeavor. From the very beginning of the meeting, when the 4th graders, my future students for a few hours, were introduced to me by their distinguished teacher, and when I felt a flow of positive energy that would last until the end the meeting.
The place of the meeting was a deeply spiritual one where the Romanian tradition is at home in all its forms: rural time and space, language rich in regionalisms pleasing to the ear, very good communication from all those involved, a beautiful simplicity and a specific wisdom.
From the very beginning of the lesson, my new students proved to be true educational detectives. They were staring at me and scanning me, at first with some curiosity, a slight panic (because their teacher had been gone for a few minutes), but at the same time, eager to know and learn more from me and even about me.
I briefly told them who I was and explained why I was with them at that moment. I spoke to them calmly, with a smile on my face, and during the speech I made another joke, well controlled by me (another subtle moment of breaking the ice), so that I could slightly attract their attention and, why nay, to relieve them of the slight tension and anxiety arising from the fact that they were at that moment face to face with any other than their lady teacher. As I was talking to them, I noticed how their faces showed smiles, they started to giggle, to laugh, to feel good.
After this first step, I moved on to deepening the previous phase, an interpersonal knowledge exercise when I asked them to write their name on a piece of paper and display it on the bench. Then I asked them to introduce themselves, tell me their name, who is their best friend, if they like school, what is their favorite subject, etc. I don’t want to tell you how eager for communication they began to become at that moment and how much they began to tell me about themselves, about school, about their joys. Every time someone spoke I made sure to reward them with a smile or a “Bravo!” full of encouragement and joy. They almost always responded the same way with a smile or a giggle as confirmation that they were feeling good.
Slowly, slowly we moved the discussion towards what was to be the purpose of our meeting, namely a discussion of the ideas of discrimination and anti-discrimination. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of them were trying to answer my questions about the idea of discrimination. I noticed that on an intuitive level they knew what it was about, they just needed, perhaps, a confirmation, some additional explanations. The surprise was all the greater given that none of these children previously knew what topic I wanted to discuss with them.
After about 5 minutes of discussions, questions and nice and interesting answers from them, I told them that I want to make some teams together so that we can play better. I gave them some colored pencils, crayons and sheets of paper and told them that we would draw and write together later after I wanted to show them two animated videos about discrimination.
Throughout watching the videos, I noticed that my new students were very attentive so that later they successfully coped with the discussion. So, after watching the videos we tried to discuss together the main idea about the message. I want to tell you that I didn’t even get to formulate the question because my students were raising their hands asking me to let them answer, the raised hand being completed at that moment with the request expressed verbally, “I say!”, “I know!” “I want to answer!” s.a.m.d. They were eager every time to answer, to communicate, to talk with me, to explain, to show me what they understood.
I was assaulted, overwhelmed, conquered by their personality, their way of being.
My intervention consisted in the fact that I confirmed most of the answers they gave me, at the same time explaining to them what they saw in the videos. Thus, I tried to explain to them what gender discrimination means, or social status discrimination, discrimination in social life or concepts such as discrimination and anti-discrimination, equality, respect, help, tolerance, kindness, etc.
The second phase then started with team work. Thus, I asked the students to try to draw together what they understand, what they imagine by the idea of discrimination or discrimination. I also recommended them to try to recall images, facts, words, sayings from the videos they saw. And this time I analyzed them very discreetly, sometimes I gave them little advice, suggestions regarding the task they had to perform. I really enjoyed seeing how they talked together, how they drew and colored together, but also how they laughed together.
After the time was up, each team presented their drawing in front of the class. Also, one of the tasks was for each member of each team to say a word or a sentence related to the given task, to the ideas of discrimination and anti-discrimination. Every time one of the students finished speaking, everyone else applauded as a form of reward. Also, at the end everyone cheered for each team.
The third phase of the didactic activity took place with an active learning method in the center of attention, namely the role-playing game. The three teams were tasked with imagining a discrimination/anti-discrimination situation and presenting it physically. Such a concrete and playful approach was a real success because the little ones like to play, to imagine all kinds of situations. And this time, after the well-deserved applause and after the smiles and joy of the task well accomplished, we moved on to the last stage of the didactic activity.
The fourth phase consisted in concretizing a moment of feedback. Thus, he asked the students to remember what they discussed and what they remembered after the activity. And this time the answers were up to the mark, the students doing very well.
The activity made the time compress and the joy remained on everyone’s faces. At the end of it, we all enjoyed a very good and tasty ice cream, parting with handshakes, with a slight regret and with the hope of an equally beautiful and pleasant reunion in the future. There would be much more to say about such an educational approach, beyond the emotions felt by each participant.
I can only say that I met some wonderful children full of life, restless in the good sense of the word, eager to know, to color, to communicate. They always tried through the behavior they displayed to express themselves in a personal way, to show what they did, what they know or what they learned during the activity carried out. It is certain that the education of children is like a flower, a flower that always needs to be watered, sprinkled with a lot of care and affection, so that it is pleasing to the eye whenever it is looked at. Let’s not forget that education can only be perfected and transmitted through the children we always have close by, beside us, as educators, because, basically, they teach us how to laugh, smile, enjoy everything moment in our own lives.
Suceava, 11.04.2022
[1] Marius Eși is Lecturer in the Psychopedagogical Department of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, “Ștefan cel Mare” University in Suceava, with over 12 years of experience and teaches subjects such as: Didactics of the specialty, Didactics of the field and development in the didactics of the specialty, Pedagogical practice.
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