On 27–28 November, the expert team of the Education Area of the Polaris Programme carried out two important working visits — to Ternopil and to the Slavuta hromada in Khmelnytskyi oblast. The purpose of the visits was to support education departments and communities as they prepare for the launch of oblast-level academic lyceums from 2027 and to strengthen local capacities in developing a modern specialised upper secondary school.
Ternopil: Consultations on Establishing Oblast Academic Lyceums
At the request of the Department of Education and Science of the Ternopil Oblast State Administration, Polaris experts Oleh Fasolia and Serhiy Dyatlenko held a series of meetings dedicated to the model of functioning of the new academic lyceums that are planned to open across the oblast.
During consultations with department leadership, discussions focused on key management and organisational decisions: network planning, student number forecasting, and defining the new roles of oblast and local levels. The experts also stressed the need for stable budgetary decisions, modern educational programmes, and clear logistics for students who will follow specialised learning pathways.
“An oblast academic lyceum is not just a new name or status. It is a transformation of approaches — from student body management and staffing policy to the quality of the educational environment. Success depends on the readiness of all levels — oblast, hromada, school — to act in alignment,” said Oleh Fasolia, Lead of the Local and Regional Education Area of the Polaris Programme.
During the visit, the team also familiarised themselves with the work of oblast institutions and held broader meetings with directors of the forecasted academic lyceums.
The second day was dedicated to discussions with hromada leadership and heads of education departments in the communities where the new lyceums are planned to be opened. They discussed timelines for the phased transformation of hromada education networks, accessibility considerations, staffing needs, and logistics.
“Hromadas want to understand what their role in this reform will be — and this is the right question. Because the quality of specialised education will depend on how effectively the oblast, hromada, and school interact,” noted Polaris expert Serhiy Dyatlenko.
Additionally, a meeting took place with Bohdan Buniak, Doctor of Philosophy and Rector of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University. During the discussion, the parties explored possible formats of cooperation between the university and academic lyceums to strengthen their capacity to deliver high-quality specialised education.
The work concluded with a final meeting where the team summarised key recommendations that the department and hromadas can already use when preparing budgets and educational plans for 2026.
Slavuta: “Live Stories of Lyceum Students” and a Look into the Future of Specialised Schooling
The second visit of the Polaris education experts took place on 27 November in the Slavuta urban hromada of Khmelnytskyi oblast and was organised for 8th–9th grade students from the Sarny hromada. Next year, these students will need to make an important decision regarding their form of upper secondary education, and the visit enabled them to see first-hand how a modern academic lyceum functions.
At the Slavuta Lyceum, the students were welcomed by the school administration. The director shared the institution’s path to becoming a classical academic lyceum (without primary and secondary school levels), the challenges encountered, and the successes achieved thanks to teamwork, investments in the environment, and a shift towards student needs.
During the tour, students from Sarny explored various educational spaces, including modern STEM laboratories, science classrooms, a facility for the “Defence of Ukraine” class, and a psychological wellbeing area. A key part of the programme involved subject-based workshops where the students could try different specialisations, see the equipment, and ask questions directly to teachers.
A valuable element of the visit was the informal peer-to-peer conversation:
10th and 11th graders from Slavuta shared their personal experiences of studying in a specialised school — how they chose subjects for in-depth learning, what helps them determine their future profession, and what opportunities the specialised lyceum model opens for them.
Polaris expert Vyacheslav Dolid emphasised the importance of such visits for helping students make informed choices about their educational pathways:
“Visits like this give children not a theoretical but a real, lived understanding of how a specialised school operates. When students can observe how learning is organised, talk to older peers, and feel the atmosphere, their choice becomes more confident, conscious, and motivated. This is the best way to support them in transitioning to specialised upper secondary education,” he noted.
In addition to the student component, a separate meeting was held for the management teams — school leaders and teachers from the Sarny hromada together with the lyceum team. They discussed the organisation of specialised learning, challenges in implementing the upper secondary school model, network formation approaches, and management decisions.
After a dynamic day of presentations, workshops, and interactions, students from Sarny hromada said the visit helped them better understand what an academic lyceum is and what opportunities specialised education offers. Many expressed a desire to continue their studies in similar institutions within their own hromada.
Both visits formed part of the systematic support that Polaris provides to communities and regions as they prepare for the new model of specialised upper secondary education. The Polaris Programme will continue supporting hromadas on this path — through consultations, analytical tools, training activities, and expert guidance.
