Reform of the senior specialized school: opportunities and challenges for hromadas in Sumy oblast

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    On June 2, 2026, a workshop “Reform of the Senior Specialized School: Opportunities and Challenges for the Community” was held in the city of Romny, Sumy oblast.

    During the seminar, participants discussed key aspects of implementing the reform of specialized secondary education, approaches to forming a capable network of educational institutions, features of creating academic lyceums and making management decisions based on data. Special attention was paid to the issue of implementing the subvention in 2026.

    Participants worked on key issues of education management in communities, including:

    • normative support for the activities of educational institutions
    • formation of a capable network of academic lyceums based on data
    • integration of the reform into the strategic planning of communities
    • financing the development of lyceums
    • creation of a career guidance system for children and adolescents
    • implementation of state and regional policies in the field of specialized secondary education

    During the face-to-face meeting, heads of education of municipalities in Sumy region also raised issues that are of greatest concern to communities today:

    • transformation of the network of general secondary education institutions and the powers of local governments in this process
    • ensuring the accessibility of lyceums, taking into account the condition of roads and the technical condition of school buses
    • organization of education of children with special educational needs in senior specialized schools
    • ensuring the right to complete general secondary education for students currently studying in grades 9 and 10
    • ensuring data synchronization in AICOM-2 at the level of educational institutions

    Valentyna Poltorak, DECIDE project manager, presented for partner hromadas in Sumy region the opportunities for cooperation within the II phase of the Project and outlined key areas of support for the region.

    Special attention was paid to the career guidance system. DECIDE project experts spoke about approaches to creating career guidance hubs, cooperation between schools and business, and the role of communities in helping students consciously choose their educational and professional path.

    In May, participants underwent training in a distance learning format, in particular, 43 heads and profile deputy heads of municipalities from Sumy oblast underwent training under the special professional development program “Reform of the senior profile school: opportunities and challenges for the community”. Also, 51 heads of education management bodies and deputy heads of educational institutions studied under the special professional development program “Decentralized management of education in territorial communities under the legal regime of martial law” with a volume of 2 ECTS credits and mastered over 14 topics, which allowed them to comprehensively improve their qualifications in the field of education management in local hromadas.

    Проєкт DECIDE впроваджується ГО DOCCU спільно з Zurich University of Teacher Education за підтримки Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine / Посольство Швейцарії в Україні.

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    Alla Kostenko

    Since 2010, she has been working in the Executive Committee of the Trostyanets City Council. During several terms, she was repeatedly elected as the Managing Affairs Officer (Secretary) of the Executive Committee. This shows a high level of professional trust, work efficiency, and authority among the staff of the city council, members of the executive committee, deputies, and community leadership.
    She has two higher educations: she graduated from the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” with a degree in Marketing, and from Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics with a degree in Public Management and Administration. This provided her with strong knowledge in management, communication, human resources policy, and strategic planning.
    Over the years, she has shown herself as a responsible, systematic, and professional manager who is able to ensure effective coordination of executive bodies, organization of the city council’s work, and stable functioning of administrative processes. She pays great attention to the development of staff potential, building a professional team, improving executive discipline, and introducing modern approaches to personnel management. In her professional activity, she combines strategic thinking, organization skills, a practical approach, and a deep understanding of the community’s needs.

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