An international school in Ukraine has launched a fundraising campaign to support its provision of education in the country.
Pechersk School International (PSI) is promoting the campaign with the release of a moving 20-minute documentary that captures the story of the school over the past nine tumultuous months.
The goal of the campaign is to raise $2.5m towards providing support for student and community wellbeing, including additional staffing and expertise in counselling and other support services.
It will also fund the ongoing creation of a temporary facility on the campus of the American School of Warsaw, as well as the upkeep of the school facility in Kyiv. They also need to construct a bomb shelter back in Kyiv. Funds will also be used to find new ways to promote the school and attract future students.
Pechersk School International was opened in 1995 with just 47 students but by 2021, had close to 550. The school is an accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, serving international and local families in Kyiv.
On February 24, 2022, the school was forced to close its campus as a result of the war and it is now temporarily based on the campus of the American School of Warsaw, Poland, where it provides education to 85 students who have relocated from Ukraine to Poland. It provides online learning to those still in Ukraine and Avenues: The World School has given students use of its online learning platform. PSI aims to reopen its Kyiv campus in August 2023.
Rachel Caldwell, director of PSI, said: “This campaign is about PSI going home to Kyiv and supporting the restructuring of Ukraine. Families will need an international school like PSI; a strong community with an exceptional learning programme. We want to be there to serve that community and to help with this fundamentally important effort, not only for Ukraine but for the rest of the world.”
PSI is not the only international school in Ukraine, however. School Management Plus has heard updates from David Cole, principal of the British International School Ukraine on several occasions since the war began. He spoke of the difficulties of running a school in a war but also the resilience and resolve of staff, students and families to keep education running thoughout.
The appeal from PSI comes as Russia has started a sustained assault on Ukrainian infrastructure, leading to power outages as the country plunges into winter.
