Presented at the teachers’ conference entitled “Safe and Secure Educational Environment”. Dear colleagues, thank you for your presence and interest.
We are pleased to present the model of the environment for the development, organization, and dissemination of the state alternative author educational program at Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex, which was created as a result of forty years of development, experimentation, and diligent work of Ashot Bleyan and the Sebastatsi educational community.
The main requirement for the educational environment is one: it must serve the effective organization of the learning process, stimulate the work of both students and teachers, and at the same time be safe, well-maintained, and interesting.
Before moving on to the description of the environment, we have summarized the structure of the educational complex and the programs implemented in the educational complex on one page.
• Preschool education: development of 2-4 year olds,
• Education of 5 year olds,
• General education: Grades 1-12:
- Grades 1-6 of basic education, which operate in the four school-gardens of the educational complex: Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern (by the way, the names were not chosen randomly; this way, students, and not only students, can orient themselves when determining the 4 cardinal directions).
- Technological education for 7-8th grades in middle school
- One-year vocational guidance program for 9th grades in the middle school.
- After completing the 9th grade, students continue their education at the research school of the EduComplex or college, or outside the EduComplex, at their choice.
- Secondary vocational, primary vocational (craft) education with licensed professions
- Extracurricular education in the educational centers of the EduComplex at student’s free choice
In addition to 7 educational institutions, the educational centers, laboratories, studios, workshops, gyms, and concert halls of the EduComplex serve the curricula of all programs with full workload.
The educational environment is constantly changing and developing; it is not the student and teacher who adapt to the environment, but the environment is constantly adapted to the educational process.
In general, when we talk about pedagogy, we always consider students as the main person, but let’s also admit that the school is the teacher. Continuous education and professional development of teachers are a priority in the Bleyan school.
Therefore, our presentation page “Inclusive Environment for All: Public School” consists of two parts:
Inclusion in a broad sense is giving an opportunity….
And everyone who wants to study and work in the educational complex, both the student and the professional, is given that opportunity. Admission to the EduComplex is open to both the student and the employee.
Student admission
- Student admission is without tests, exams, and other forms of selection. The student and the parent choose the school. To confirm their choice, the student and the parent go through the Entrance Camp, which lasts from 3 to 10 days depending on the educational level. Starting from the upper grades, the entrance to the educational complex also has an off-site phase: a three-day trip. The purpose of the Entrance Camp is for the student and the parent to have the opportunity to get acquainted with the educational environment, the program, the pedagogical approaches, and then make a decision…
- Since we do not select students when admitting them to school, students with different abilities and preferences study at the educational complex. There are no excellent students or lazy ones in the educational complex… The important axis of our pedagogy is to help each child discover their preferences and develop them.
- Since the establishment of the EduComplex, education here has been inclusive. In the 2025-2026 academic year, 185 children with special educational needs are studying at the educational complex.
- In accordance with the procedure for organizing distance learning, a student living outside of Armenia for various reasons has the opportunity to receive the educational program at the schools of the educational complex to the extent and duration necessary. In the 2025-2026 academic year, we have 99 students living in different parts of the world. We can say that the family is also learning: a large group of parents are looking forward to online meetings with teachers even more than the students.
- Inclusion of foreign students whose mother tongue is not Armenian – We also consider working with foreign-language children to be inclusive education, which, of course, also requires additional effort and skills from teachers. In the 2025-2026 academic year, we have two dozen of students whose native language is not Armenian. At first, they communicate in their own languages: Russian, Chinese, English, Persian, but in a fully inclusive environment and through daily communication, they quickly learn Armenian, making it the language of their studies.
Employee Admission
Employee admission is also organized on the principle of inclusion. According to the procedure for hiring, specialists who have applied to work at the EduComplex, go through three stages of admission: acquaintance with the educational complex-training, volunteer work, entrance camp in Yerevan and travel stages. After the three stages, both the specialist and the employer make a decision.
Mentoring support
The newly hired employee receives mentoring support, working daily with a more skilled colleague.
Year-round pedagogical school
Working in professional groups at the educational complex is year-round. The teacher has the opportunity to get acquainted with the experience of colleagues not only through the open blog system, but also during face-to-face meetings, discussions, round tables, and workshops.
As with students, we value the discovery and development of preferences for teachers; for this purpose, preference clubs and creative groups for pedagogical workers operate in the educational complex: teachers’ choir, a sculpture club, a literary club, a dance ensemble, a hiking club… The teacher’s individual plan is also aimed at inclusion, combining the physical environment and remote-online work.