Araratian Baccalaureate Schools

How to become an Araratian Baccalaureate Program School
List of Araratian Baccalaureate Candidate Schools
List of schools that applied to join the Araratian Baccalaureate
Short Overview of the AB School Leadership Professional Development Program
AB School Leadership Development Framework (Standards)

The Araratian Baccalaureate (AB) program is intended for schools that strive for changes, are ready to step on the path of ongoing development and do want to ensure new quality of education at the same time granting comprehensive and balanced learning opportunities to students.

Only schools that meet the following criteria are eligible to apply to join the AB program:

• Schools that are located in regions in Armenia.
• Schools that offer the high school program (high schools, secondary schools, colleges, etc.) and don’t fall under the special or specialized school category.

Note: We aim to roll out the program to as many regions as possible. However, if the state contains us by the number of schools, in case of more than one school applying to join the program from the same region, we will give preference to the one that more meets our requirements. If two similar schools apply, we will give preference to the one that:

• has a record of outstanding achievements of teachers and students in the past three years,
• plays an active role in the community life,
• has a larger number of students.

To join the AB program schools should go through the following phases:

1. Application – The school fills in the application form. Afterward, the NPEE team visits the school and has an interview with the school head and the team.
2. Candidacy.
3. Certification.

The applications are examined and schools that meet the requirements of that phase make it to the Candidacy phase in which the NPEE team acts as a consultant providing ongoing advice. The advice can be given in form of procedures and guidelines as well as visits by the NPEE team.

To obtain the certificate schools should carry out a number of works mostly focusing on:

• Reforms in the management system,
• Teachers trainings,
• Elaboration of documents aimed at the introduction of the AB educational program,
• Improvement of the learning environment,
• Availability of educational resources,
• Admission of students.

The certification process might last up to five years depending on how long the school remains in the Candidacy phase.

During the first three to five years the school is given a beginner’s status and gets ongoing guidance from the NPEE team. Afterwards, the school should simply maintain the changes and achievements of the previous phases and work to constantly improve them.