1. Ministry of Education and Science Republic of Latvia The State Education Centre (VISC) October, 2010 REvitalizing networks and New Emphasis in Transfer Preventing and facing early school leaving by sharing solutions and tools ITALY – GREECE - LATVIA

2. VISC  What is VISC? The State Education Centre is subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Science.  When was VISC established? July 1, 2009 VISC = Centre for Curriculum Development and Examinations + The State Youth Initive Centre + The National Centre for Special Education + The Professional Administration Centre

3. Knowledge, quality, accuracy, high sense of responsibility, equity, accessibility And VISC:  highly open to cooperation;  likes to work as a unified professional team;  is interested in the experience of others, and wants to share its own experience. Values of VISC

4. Head of The Centre The Curriculum Development Department The Hobby Education and Teacher In-service Training Department The State Examinations Department The General Education Curriculum Unit The Professional Education Curriculum Unit The Special Needs Education Unit The Administrative Unit The State Language Certification Unit The State Examinations Development Unit The Examinations Organization Unit Hobby and Youth Education Unit Teacher In-service and Project Unit

5. VISC activities are related to:  846 general educational establishments;  239845 students in general educational establishments;  23541 teachers in general educational establishments;  80 professional educational establishments;  36660 pupils in professional educational establishments;  4250 teachers in of professional educational establishments.  57 higher education establishments. (2009/2010 academic year; data source: Ministry of Education and Science)

6. Direction of VISC activities  Curriculum development (general and professional education);  Coordination of educational matters;  Provision of professional development opportunities for teachers;  Participation in lifelong learning projects and programmes  Development of national examinations;  State language attestation;  Analysis and preparation of data;  Coordination of hobby education;  Coordination of special needs education.  Coordination of national level subject Olympiads and professional skills competitions

7. Needs analysis interviews related to network building, management and maintainment  School selection criteria (different networking experiences)  School Typology(number of schools, primary school/ gymnasium, students’ age groups)  School context (country/city schools, public schools, economic/social environment, number of students, ethnic composition)

8. Needs analysis interviews related to network building, management and maintainment  Participants (profile, number)  Methodology (telephone conversations, e-mail exchange, project information, face-to face interview)  Atmosphere (open, friendly, honest)

9. General conclusions  Schools open and willing to involve in partnerships, understands the potential value and benefits  Partnerships – important tool for school development  Insufficient or no budget for partnerships (on voluntary basis, extra work load, personal initiative)  School management as a “flagship” or good example

10. General conclusions  Motivation (public recognition, extra money, new skills and competences)  School interaction with local municipality, community (dialogue, bias, more publicity)  Lack of skills (foreign language,project management,IT, communication)  Working load (no time for extra duties)

11. General conclusions  No “partnership expert”  Insufficient information (projects, funding possibilities, professional development)  Preventive measures taken to deal with dropout problem

12. Thank you for your attention!

13. VISC  Telephone: (+371) 67216500  Fax: (+371) 67223801  E-mail: visc@visc.gov.lv  Web page: www.visc.gov.lv