PriorityGO – Vision and mission of the PRIGO schools

PriorityGO is a unique trademark-protected approach to education which is based on the combination of individualization of teaching, modern didactic methods and respect for the challenges of contemporary society.  Within this framework, the PRIGO schools focus not only on theoretical education, but especially on the practical applicability of our graduates in later life. Emphasis is therefore placed on the cultural educational traditions in our region and especially on the high quality of teaching with priority given to the development of actual skills over the fulfillment of a formalized qualification framework.

The philosophy of the PRIGO schools is therefore clearly defined and is constantly adapting to the dynamical development of society. We know who we educate and how we educate them. Like our pupils and students, even we make mistakes that we try to learn from. At the same time, we learn from the best as we cooperate with more than twenty foreign schools from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France and other countries, not only in the form of mobility, but especially by sharing examples of good practice.

Principles of PriorityGO

1. 1. School for life as it will be
      We have a vision. A vision to be a school for life as it will be. We derive from the values applicable in the Czech cultural environment. We use the good elements of our educational system while inspiring ourselves by examples of good practice from abroad. The Czech educational tradition is applied in a way to meet the needs of the 21^st century as well as the role of the Czech Republic in the European and global area. We strive to educate creative personalities with a strong sense of adaptability and flexibility who will be able to prove themselves successful in life both at home and abroad. Our teaching and balanced offer of extracurricular events include sports activities, cultural activities, and activities necessary for everyday life, such as courses of housework and crafts.
   2. Personality development
      We have a mission. It is based on the premise that boundaries of one’s development are in fact just the boundaries of people’s minds. We do our best for our pupils and students to invest their efforts mainly in developing skills in the areas in which they are good at, not wasting their potential in areas where their possibilities are limited. We teach our students to work with mistakes and embrace both their strengths and weaknesses. We support the development of creativity, which we consider to be the basis of personality development. Similarly, we make efforts to contribute to the personal development of our teachers. We then find harmony by identifying suitable groups of teachers and pupils so that their mutual interaction is compatible with their personality characteristics and learning goals. Our schools further focus on the development and education of talented individuals, in other words, those whose capabilities significantly exceed the average. Nonetheless, an emphasis is always placed on openness and equal opportunities.
   3. Critical thinking
      We are not afraid to use our own reason. Therefore, we consider the development of critical thinking as the basis for preparation for future life. We emphasize modern didactic methods, the development of transferable competencies, an active approach to the notion of feedback, self-evaluation, and self-reflection in teaching. We advocate for independence in decision-making and assuming responsibility for our actions. We teach pupils and students not to rely on first impressions, to navigate through the flood of information and work with them appropriately, and, not to take over mainstream opinions without thinking. We encourage the students to build their own qualified opinion while using a critical distance and reducing the superficiality of information. We enhance the natural curiosity and desire for knowledge, as well as comprehensive development with a suitable mix of school and extracurricular activities. Our goal is an education aimed at lifelong learning and preparation for future life, where it is necessary to critically gain and process information and where it is desirable to respond flexibly to dynamic changes of the needs of society.
   4. Individualization
      We are unique. Teaching in our schools is highly individualized and it includes personal and career counselling, which allows us to develop each person’s unique abilities. We limit the traditional frontal teaching methods to a reasonable minimum and apply elements of foreign good practice instead. We do not perceive the process of individualization merely in terms of decreasing the number of pupils or students educated by a single teacher. Contrarily, the opportunity to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each student and educator lies at the heart of this process. We engage in active work to develop the individual needs of our students in order to achieve their maximum applicability in further studies and life. We apply a supportive and friendly approach to every student since we understand education as a public service and mission. However, we educate our students to reasonably respect authorities, the rules of common conduct and tolerance towards other members of society. We promote the development of skills in the field of etiquette.
   5. Mentoring
      We learn intergenerationally. We provide a unique opportunity to transfer intergenerational experiences between our schools, which cover the entire education system and include children from two years of age to senior students at the university of the third age. We create opportunities for developing intergenerational respect and exchanging experiences within and among all schools. Older pupils and students become mentors of the younger ones, which makes it possible to increase the quality of the educational process and boost their own sense of responsibility. Similarly, mentoring takes place between individual groups of teachers. We advocate for the development of natural respect between the generations through informal events for all age groups.
   6. Project approach to teaching
      We support responsibility and teamwork. We apply stimulating teaching methods such as discussion, problem solving, or real-life simulation in teaching. Beyond that, however, we also build on complex methods which combine various didactic elements, especially those aimed at developing critical thinking, cooperative teaching, and project teaching. Taking part in projects helps our students to better understand current challenges and the cultural-historical development of society. The project approach to problem solving is directed for use in later life and work – for this purpose, we intensively rely on practical training. Additionally, we support creative and sometimes even slightly unconventional or risky projects, which allow us to grow.
   7. Smart school
      We follow the current trends. We are aware that the school itself is no longer the sole or main source of information, and that its role is to some extent assumed by the online environment in the present time. We focus on the use of modern technologies in terms of teaching and in terms of our study field offer, but always in line with the study goals and the personality development of the student. We are a smart school. Our priorities are connectivity, electronic communication, and transparency. We use mobile devices and the Internet environment not only as a part of teaching, but also in all other activities associated with attending the school. Meanwhile, our goal is for technologies to become a natural part of life, a tool for solving problems and simplifying work and life in general, not as a mean of consuming free time and replacing one’s personal social ties. We emphasize education aimed at safety in the use of technologies.
   8. Internationalization
      We learn from the best. We consider it crucial to develop an overlap of education achieved at home towards a foreign experience. In most of our study programmes, we offer an alternative of the entire programme or some of the subjects in a different language and the language competences are further developed during extracurricular activities. We support international student exchanges and internships abroad during and after graduation, while we make efforts to help our students in finding a work engagement abroad. International mobility of pupils, students and teachers is therefore at an above-standard level at our schools. We include teaching about other cultures and customs, including their limits in our domestic setting, through the participation of students and teachers from abroad in our schools.
   9. Ethics
      We respect traditional values. Therefore, in accordance with the traditions in our cultural area and especially with regard to the challenges of the surrounding globalised environment, we focus on formal and informal transferring of experience and moral postulates into education, always with regard to the degree of the specific study and the student’s age. We support charitable and volunteering events. We guide our pupils and students to respect normative systems, such as law, morality, and religion, and to understand the significance of social values. Despite that, we always choose a balanced, rational, and non-dogmatic approach.
   10. Sustainability
       We are humans. Not only do we educate our pupils and students to respect one another but also to respect the surrounding environment. With an appropriate mix of educational, and in particular volunteering extracurricular activities, we guide them towards sustainable behaviour, environmental consideration, and the understanding of global issues – always with a non-dogmatic and sensible approach based on the awareness of social responsibility. We support the extracurricular activities of pupils and students, especially those which help them to assume responsibility for their surroundings, enable them to understand the role of public life and active participation in it.

PRIGO Strategic Board

Members of PRIGO Strategic Board

Presidency of the Board

prof. JUDr. Ing. Igor KOTLÁN, Ph.D. and Ph.D.
Chair

JUDr. Pavel PETR, Ph.D., LL.M.
1st Vice-Chair

doc. Mgr. Ing. Zuzana MACHOVÁ, Ph.D.
Deputy Chair

Members

Tereza ADAMČÍKOVÁ
Secretary

Ing. Linda FOLTÝNOVÁ, DiS.
Ing. Rudolf MACEK, Ph.D., MBA

PRIGO Programme Board

PRIGO Programme Board (PPB) is the main conceptual body that is the guarantor of the constitution of the PriorityGO rules. This council is an advisory body and acts by the Strategic Board of PRIGO. It has ten members. It usually meets twice a year and enables an independent evaluation of the principles on which PRIGO schools are built. According to the Regulations, the external members of the PRIGO Programme Board are appointed from among recognized figures of the decision-making sphere, primarily from the field of education or the social field. These are personalities whose life attitudes will guarantee the formulation of the PriorityGO principles in accordance with the challenges of the 21st century while respecting the traditional values on which our civilization circuit is built.

Executive management of the PriorityGO agenda is entrusted to the chairperson of the PRIGO Programme Board, Zdenka Maralíková (zdenka.maralikova@prigo.cz).

Members of PRIGO Programme Board

Internal Members of PRIGO Programme Board

Ing. Zdeňka MARALÍKOVÁ
Chair of PRIGO Programme Board

prof. JUDr. Ing. Igor KOTLÁN, Ph.D. et Ph.D.
Chair of PRIGO Strategic Board

JUDr. Pavel PETR, Ph.D., LL.M.
1st Vice-Chair of PRIGO Strategic Board

doc. Mgr. Ing. Zuzana MACHOVÁ, Ph.D.
Deputy Chair of PRIGO Strategic Board

Ing. Linda FOLTÝNOVÁ, DiS.
Member PRIGO Strategic Board

External Members of PRIGO Programme Board

P. ICDr. Libor BOTEK, Th.D.
Dean of the Diocese of Ostrava, Ostrava-Opavian bishopric

Mgr. et Mgr. Lukáš CURYLO
Deputy Governor, Moravian-Silesian Region

Mgr. Bc. Pavla GOLASOWSKÁ, DiS.
Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic

prof. Mgr. Jaroslav MILLER, M.A., Ph.D.
Deputy Member of the Government at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

Ing. Zbyněk PRAŽÁK, Ph.D.
Vice Mayor of the statutory city of Ostrava