AVE: More than 220,000 students study in the schools where they are implemented programs with the support of Lidl Romania

AVE (Asociatia pentru Valori in Educatie) and Lidl Romania this year mark eight years of collaboration, during which 290 directors chose to implement AVE (Academy of School Leadership and Management, HumanKind, Edu Networks and, since last year, the Romanian School Transformation Program).

In 2024, Lidl supports the implementation of the Program for the Transformation of Schools in Romania with 600,000 euros. Thus, Lidl’s investment in projects in which public schools throughout the country participated or will participate, run by AVE, is 2.4 million euros. In the eight years of the partnership, 5,800 school principals and deputy principals from all over the country have participated in at least one action together with AVE: programs, projects and initiatives with the help of which they can develop their professional skills, support the progress of teachers and students .

They were trained to create action plans for challenges in their schools, received specialized advice and mentoring with private company managers, participated in workshops, had access to resources on social-emotional education, were helped to keep children connected to school during the pandemic, were involved in public policy projects.

Since 2017, AVE has awarded 30 school principals from all over the country at the Principals of the Year Awards Gala, bringing their results into the spotlight. The Program for the Transformation of Schools in Romania continues the AVE approach through which it aims to support schools 360 degrees. The project addresses all school units in urban and rural areas with the aim that each child achieves visible progress in key life skills, relevant for the 21st century. Each school’s journey in the program will last three years.

AVE aims to ensure that, in every school enrolled in the program, students know how to write, read and understand what they read, improve their level of digital skills and develop their socio-emotional skills. Progress is measured by assessing these skills both at entry into the program and throughout it. Also, the development and learning needs of teachers and principals are assessed and supported through special programs, business mentors and a suite of hands-on learning activities ready to be applied in the classroom.

By 2028, AVE aims to work with 1,000 schools, which means that every child in participating schools makes visible progress in each of the eight key competences identified by the Council of the European Union as necessary to enable personal fulfilment, a life healthy and sustainable, employability, civic engagement and social inclusion. Schools that are interested in being part of this program can still register on the AVE website www.ave-romania.ro.

“For students to be truly prepared for the future, it is time for schools to make the transition to focusing on life skills and learning (instead of teaching). Every student can do well academically when they feel supported, when they have the confidence of teachers, an environment that gives them confidence and where the adults in their lives care about their well-being, and the learning experience is personalized. Our program supports thousands of principals and teachers so that these things become a reality in schools in Romania,” said Andreea Nistor, AVE Executive Director.

“In a world in constant change, the future of a society would not be possible without education. We, Lidl, support those sustainable initiatives with long-term impact, and the Romanian School Transformation Program responds to these needs by equipping children with relevant skills for life and the labor market. In addition to the development of skills adapted to the 21st century, the Transformation Program encourages the creation of relationships of support, trust and collaboration between directors, teaching staff and students, values that we also find within our team”, said Maria Mihai, Director of Communication and CSR Lidl Romania. The Romanian School Transformation Program integrates the expertise perfected in the projects previously carried out by AVE.

For two of these – Edu Networks and the School Leadership and Management Academy – Lidl Romania was a founding partner. Edu Networks was the program through which AVE generated changes in the development of the 114 participating schools. The interventions of the program were centered on three directions of action: leadership and school management, pedagogical skills and relevant learning for students. The 3,600 teachers in the participating schools benefited from personal and professional development through access to resources, training, consultancy, mentoring, professional facilitators and new and modern working tools, as well as working sessions with the local community. In turn, 64,000 students were supported in the development of digital and literacy skills. Running over four years, Edu Networks has adapted to the needs of school communities in an organic way.

With the help of partners, educational consultants and communities of practice, new pedagogical skills were developed and transformational processes were initiated at school level. Through the Academy of School Leadership and Management, AVE aimed for the transformation of schools in Romania to begin with the main vector of change: the school director. Dedicated to principals who wanted to generate change both personally and professionally, as well as in their school, the program had two directions: the recognition and development of skills specific to the role of principal and the identification and improvement of the area in the school that needs more attention from the director and the team.

More than 270 principals and deputy principals of kindergartens, schools, high schools, state or private were guided in the process of acquiring management & leadership capacities, in identifying problems and resources for solving them, and in creating and implementing an action plan.

About AVE (Asociatia pentru Valori in Educatie)

Asociatia pentru Valori in Educatie (AVE) is a non-profit organization, whose main objective is to bring the Romanian educational system into the top 10 in Europe by 2035. AVE wants to support the transformation of the Romanian educational system into one which promotes respect, honesty, team spirit and responsibility. You can keep up to date with AVE’s actions by following the LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram pages.

About Lidl Romania

Lidl, part of the Schwarz Group, headquartered in Neckarsulm, is one of the leading companies on the food retail market in Germany and Europe. Lidl currently operates more than 12,200 stores and more than 220 logistics centers and warehouses in 31 countries. Lidl is a smart discounter that offers customers products with the best value for money. Behind the services and operations in the stores and logistics centers are simplicity and an orientation towards efficiency. The design and structure of the standardized processes are ensured by the Lidl Stiftung, headquartered in Neckarsulm.

Currently, Lidl has approximately 376,000 employees, of which over 12,000 are in Romania, where the German retailer has over 350 stores and 6 logistics centers open. The dynamism in everyday activities, sustainable results and fairness in professional cooperation build the working environment for Lidl as an employer, all over the Globe. In all its areas of activity, Lidl is a company that acts responsibly towards people, society and the environment.