The Challenge Addressed
E-school Project addresses one the most acute challenges in education systems worldwide today - teacher shortage.
It ensures equal access to quality education through online teaching in more than 100 rural remote schools of Armenia facing persistent teacher shortages. The project ensures continuation of learning of more than 10 000 students.
Why the Practice is Innovative
What makes this practice innovative is its structured, mentor-based ecosystem.
Instead of relying on individual teachers working in isolation, the project selected and established a national network of Mentor Schools with strong digital and pedagogical competences.
Experienced teachers from these schools are trained as mentors and supported by experts from the National Center for Education Technologies.
These mentors continue mentorship of teachers of their schools providing continous support and capacity development in digital teaching.
Over time, Mentor Schools have evolved into community resource centers, actively gathering teachers from their communities, building their online teaching capacities, and later helping them to deliver high-quality online lessons to rural schools with teacher shortage.
Digital technologies in this project are not used merely to transmit lessons. They serve as tools for collaboration, mentoring, formative assessment, and quality assurance.
Regular feedback loops, lesson observations, and performance monitoring ensure that online teaching remains effective and continuously improves.
Type of Integration and Key Competences
The project actively promotes school-to-school cooperation, linking urban with remote rural schools.
As a result, Mentor Schools increasingly act as local leaders of digital teaching and learning practices within their communities.
Role of the Teacher/Trainer
Experienced teachers from Mentor Schools are trained as mentors and supported by experts from the National Center for Education Technologies.
These mentors continue mentorship of teachers of their schools providing continous support and capacity development in digital teaching.
Mentor Schools gather teachers from their communities, build their online teaching capacities, and help them to deliver high-quality online lessons to rural schools with teacher shortage.
Type of Learning Activities
The project uses online teaching, supported by mentoring and digital technologies.
Activities include collaboration, mentoring, formative assessment, lesson observations, regular feedback loops, and performance monitoring to ensure that online teaching remains effective and continuously improves.
Impact of the Practice
The project has steadily expanded, reaching about 250 rural schools and 400 teachers nationwide between 2021 and 2025.
Teachers involved report increased confidence in online and learner-centred pedagogies, stronger professional cooperation, and a deeper sense of responsibility for educational equity.
For learners, the project has safeguarded access to consistent, high-quality education regardless of location, ensuring equal acces to quality education for all.
Potential for Replication
The practice demonstrates the potential of a national network of Mentor Schools to support digital teaching, teacher capacity development, and educational equity.
Mentor Schools increasingly act as local leaders of digital teaching and learning practices within their communities.
Innovator: Raisa Avetyan - National Center of Educational Technologies