On 26 September 2025, Krasyliv hosted a meeting of senior officials of municipalities of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, organised by the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe. The participants learned about the experience of the municipality in shaping modern high schools and visited Krasylivka Lyceum.
Here, high school students from the entire municipality are able to study guided by professional educators, equipped with modern gyms and after-school clubs. According to Nila Ostrovska, the Mayor of Krasyliv, the municipality made the decision to create the lyceum back in 2021 — a strategic step:
“We were most likely the first in the region to start transporting high school students from across the municipality to a single educational institution in Krasyliv. It turned out to be a good decision, as the lyceum has been operating successfully for four years. The key is to embrace change and maintain open communication with teachers, parents and students.”
Krasyliv Lyceum already has a modern, spacious bomb shelter where students from both the lyceum and another school can stay when the air raid alarms go off, and the cafeteria also being renovated. High school students in the municipality are able to choose a specialisation, study subjects that interest them in depth, and thus make informed preparations for their future careers.
After visiting the lyceum, the participants toured the sports and rehabilitation centre, another example of how the municipality invests in youth development and the health of its residents. The centre offers swimming lessons and provides rehabilitation for children with disabilities and veterans. The next stop of the visit was Krasyliv Youth and Sports School named after a Hero of Ukraine Vadym Zeleniuk. Here, children get their start in football, handball and table tennis, and now they are even learning freestyle wrestling. The sports school changes, creating a space where every child can feel like a champion.
“The event in Krasyliv was an important platform for exchanging experiences between municipalities. We have seen that the success of a specialised secondary school is driven not only by high-quality infrastructure or educational programmes, but above all by partnerships between the authorities, teachers, parents and students. The case of Krasyliv municipality suggests that a systematic approach and open communication lay the groundwork for qualitative changes, and these kinds of meetings encourage municipalities to find their own solutions for educational development,” said Yuliia Mazur, a Policy Advisor for Municipal Management and Development the Regional Office of U-LEAD in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
The event provided an opportunity for municipalities in Khmelnytskyi Oblast to observe how a modern lyceum operates in practice, discuss the challenges involved in establishing a specialised educational institution and be inspired to implement similar solutions in their own municipalities.
