The gymnasium competes with the Kaunas city gymnasiums and faces the threat of losing the most talented students who, after completing primary or basic education, choose city schools. In order to maintain academic potential, strengthen the community, provide accessible education services for every student, we must constantly improve the qualifications of the administrative and educational staff to meet the increasing individual needs and educational challenges. In September 2024 the Law of the Republic of Education no. I-1489 Articles 5, 14, 21, 29, 30, 34 and 36 amendment and addition to the law 45 article will enter into force, which provides that each child must be provided conditions for education in the nearest education in an institution (kindergarten, school) together with their peers. As it was previously mentioned the school does not carry out selections and accepts all students living in its territory, so children with physical and mental disabilities and disorders study there, some of them have homeschooling. Since more and more students have emotional and communication disorders, teachers stated that they lacked basic knowledge of how to work with SEN students in the classroom, what methods to use in solving psychological problems or managing crises. Therefore, we decided to initiate the project with the aim to find out as many ways as possible to help the children with special education needs in the learning process and ensure the equality and quality of education. Project implementation meant encouraging of community initiatives and implementation of qualitative change for the personal growth, individual progress and positive self-esteem of all students. The Erasmus+ mobility project was needed for the following reasons: 1. High-quality training on project topics in Lithuania is expensive (for our educational institution) and often too general and fragmentary due to lack of practice, while the selected training in EU countries were intensive and specific in content, in organizations with extensive experience. The trainings we carried out in Austria, Greece, Finland and Italy and combined theoretical background with practical experience via visits to local schools. Inclusive education in these countries has rich practice, particularly in Italy where it has been a normal practice since 1992. 2. During the mobility activities, the teams were able to deepen and reflect without interruption, since they were in an environment suitable for learning (not during work or after school, there was no need to take care of the household, etc.). The teachers had a chance to concentrate on carefully selected training content and intensive sessions, visited educational institutions and schools where they shared good experiences with their colleagues and teachers as well as management of schools regarding inclusive environment creation, work management and methodologies. 3. The main working language was English and it helped to strengthen the foreign language competences of the participants, to feel part of European educational community, establish new contacts. In the course of the project 1 new Erasmus+ project was granted in 2022 and 2 new Erasmus+ projects for which Domeikava gymnasium applied in 2023 were designed together with the partners we met during the learning mobilities.
The gymnasium consists of 3 levels of primary, basic and secondary education including gymnasium classes (grades 9-12), therefore we face psychological and social problems typical for students of different age groups. For this reason, educational environments must be adapted to meet the needs of students, update and renew the competencies of the pedagogical staff. In the strategy of the gymnasium 2020-2024, we focus on the quality of general education, positive assessment of personal progress, development of social-emotional competences, implementation of the inclusive school concept, creation of a tolerant, open and cooperative modern school environment that meets the needs of every student.The 2020s was officially declared as the year of emotional well-being of children and school communities in the country which also inspired to draw more attention to the issue applying for Erasmus+ project. The gymnasium does not select students and admits the pupils of diverse backgrounds and educational potential. In 2020-2021 there were 50 students with special educational needs (1- with very high special needs, 14 - high special needs, 35 - average special needs). In 2021-2022 there were 66 special educational educational needs students (1- with very high special needs, 14 - high special needs, 51 - average special needs). In 2022-2023 there are 66 special needs students (1- with very high special needs, 14 - high special needs, 54 - average special needs). 127 students are provided with speech therapist services.Teachers' professional competences are one of the essential factors determining students' well-being at school, leading to increased motivation and higher achievements. The community of gymnasium educators is actively preparing for the implementation of inclusive education in 2024 and renewed education content (starts in September 2023), participates in the Millennium Schools project, shares experience on education innovations and organizes education in non-traditional spaces.Discussions about inclusive education and the need for its methods, the strengthening of social-emotional competences for students of different ages were constantly held during the Teachers' Council, pedagogical staff meetings, target groups, and the parents' club. Looking for more information on the topics of inclusive education and planning to initiate the Erasmus+ mobility for learning project, project coordinator Ada Micpovilienė participated in the cross-sectoral thematic seminar of International Cooperation Activities "Social Inclusion and Diversity" in Wageningen, the Netherlands (June 23-25, 2019). During the seminar, she was introduced some practices and research of inclusive education as well as effective application methods in European countries and especially in the Netherlands. In order to estimate the impact of the project activities, round table discussions were organized periodically within the school (pedagogical staff, Parents’ club members) and the local community (representatives of the schools the gymnasium cooperates with, specialists of children welfare, community members). For the selection of project participants for specific training, a project team was formed in the gymnasium according to the established criteria defined by the “Erasmus+ program selection procedure for the participation of employees and students" (order by the Principle of Domeikava gymnasium 9th of October 2020, No. V-245). The participants were introduced to their responsibility related to strategic decision-making, implementation and quality assurance; availability of professional competences; employee motivation, initiative and knowledge of a foreign language. All mobility participants made commitments to prepare materials needed for dissemination and be able to use the necessary technologies. The selection date and criteria were announced on the gymnasium website, presented during regular meetings. Each stage of project organization was presented to the gymnasium and the local community, gymnasium partners.