Țiriac International Foundation Supports Teach for Romania in Training Teachers from Vulnerable Schools in Brașov County

Teach for Romania, together with the Țiriac International Foundation, is launching the “Strategic Schools” program in Brașov County. Within this program, two schools will be selected to undergo an intensive process of training and mentoring, involving the school principal and at least 10 teachers in Teach for Romania’s two-year professional development program.

Teachers from these two schools will be trained to support students’ holistic development, paying attention not only to cognitive aspects but also to socio-emotional and behavioral ones.

The vision of the program is to support the two schools in becoming growth hubs for their local communities.

Teach for Romania Association, part of the global Teach for All network, has signed a three-year partnership with the Țiriac International Foundation to implement the “Strategic Schools” program in Brașov County. The program entails the systemic transformation of two schools through intensive training, coaching, and mentoring for a critical mass of teachers (the principal and at least 10 teachers per school).

The support provided to Teach for Romania through funding from the Țiriac International Foundation involves training and supporting teachers to generate visible learning progress among students, especially in key foundational competencies such as literacy and numeracy. It also aims to create partnerships for the benefit of students with the rest of the teaching staff, families, relevant authorities, donors, and funders, in order to build a culture of success in the classroom, where students feel safe and are encouraged to develop themselves.

Program investments are primarily directed toward teacher training, benefiting approximately 500 students by improving their academic performance. Another important component of the investment will go toward community projects resulting from a thorough analysis of each school’s specific educational and sports needs: teaching materials and educational kits; projects that develop student leadership; initiatives centered on parents and key community stakeholders; and the development of outdoor learning and sports spaces to support non-formal activities based on active learning through action and play within schools, with the aim of increasing children’s interest in education.

The targeted impact is a school that becomes the heart of the community, a learning hub for both children and adults, and a driver of local development, creating conditions to break the vicious cycle of poverty.

“The presence of a single Teach for Romania teacher in a school is important, but often the change occurs only at a micro level, in the class or classes taught by that teacher. If we want to improve the quality of education for all students in that community, we need to be more numerous and act together in the same direction.

This is how the idea of the ‘strategic school’ was born: a school that seeks this type of systemic change, where a critical mass of teachers, together with relevant community stakeholders, build a vision for the school’s sustainable transformation.

Experience shows that major challenges are not about why and what, but about HOW the why and the what are implemented, in a sustainable way. Teach for Romania facilitates this process for strategic schools, keeping in mind four key drivers of success, substantiated by studies conducted by McKinsey experts:

1. Anchoring in data and in teachers’ current classroom practices.
2. Building a coalition for change: authentic, coherent, and consistent communication with families, teachers, local authorities, and the local community.
3. Capacity building: rapid transition from strategy to delivery and building an implementation team.
4. Rigorous change management – adapting and adjusting based on data.

When a teacher understands the uniqueness of each student, their family context, their educational background, and is willing to offer each of them their time and resources, remarkable progress occurs.”
– Gabriela Dima, Regional Director, Teach for Romania

“We support and develop projects designed to activate communities, with the goal of increasing access to educational and sports opportunities for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, generating added value and serving as an example of social engagement. We are pleased to support Teach for Romania in the sustainable transformation of two vulnerable schools in Brașov County, with the intention of exploring local community needs, generating visible results for children, and extending them over the long term. By introducing sport into our approach, we aim to enhance children’s well-being, health, educational engagement, and life skills.”
– Andra Farcaș, Charity Officer, Țiriac International Foundation

About Teach for Romania

Teach for Romania is a non-governmental organization that for 11 years has been recruiting and training valuable individuals to become teachers, primary school teachers, and educators in Romania’s public schools, starting with the most challenging communities. At Teach for Romania, we believe that every child in Romania has the right to and can receive a quality education, alongside a teacher who believes in them.

In the 2024–2025 school year, 229 teachers are part of our program and teach in 180 schools across 29 counties. Moreover, we are pleased that, out of our community of 336 alumni who have completed the program, 195 have chosen to remain in public schools in Romania, developing and innovating their organizational culture. Our entire teaching community thus reaches over 28,000 children.

About Țiriac International Foundation

Țiriac International Foundation was founded and operates based on the belief that investments in children and young people are at the heart of a better future for Romania. For this reason, the foundation’s philanthropic mission focuses on increasing the well-being of communities in Romania by ensuring equitable access for children and young people to opportunities, especially in education and sport, as drivers of healthy and capable new generations.

The objective of the Țiriac International Foundation is the visible and measurable improvement of educational performance for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the communities where it invests. In the long term, the foundation aims to see: children with increased motivation for education; families and communities with greater awareness of the importance of education; schools with active leadership and teachers dedicated to the success of all children; and local institutions committed to supporting schools as growth hubs for local communities.