Learning from Ilkhom Theater Artists
Pechersk School International
Published:
“Resilience is not just about enduring—it is about innovating.”
When our in-house documentary, Learning Against the War, premiered earlier this year, it captured the profound resilience required to keep an international school thriving in a war zone. Yet, that film was not a conclusion; it was a snapshot. As we navigate the autumn of the 2026 academic year, the themes we documented on screen remain our daily, operational baseline.
For the CEESA community, we often speak about ‘adaptability’ and ‘student agency’ as educational ideals. In Kyiv, they are immediate, practical necessities. Here is a look at what it takes to maintain academic continuity and community trust today.
The Mathematics of a Kyiv School Day
To understand our current reality, one must look at the numbers. From the start of our academic year on 25 August until the October break on 16 October, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded 192 attack events targeting Kyiv city alone.
Our school day runs from 08:00 to 15:15—a precise window of 7 hours and 15 minutes. While these attacks and their resulting alerts overlap unpredictably with evenings and weekends, the daytime impact is stark. With sirens frequently ringing out multiple times during the day, our students and staff can face multiple air raids within a single school day. This means that on a heavy week, up to a third of our instructional time is spent transitioning to or operating from our campus shelters.
We are not just managing a curriculum; we are managing the logistical and emotional load of constant interruption.
A Non-Interruptive Process: MAP Assessments Underground
Rather than allowing the sirens to dictate our academic calendar, we have fundamentally redesigned how we use our spaces. A prime example of this operational agility is our recent round of MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments.
Standardised testing naturally requires focus, calm, and strict time parameters. When an air raid alert sounds, pausing an exam and moving dozens of students underground could easily ruin that environment. Instead, we have designed a non-interruptive process by hosting the MAP assessments directly within our fully equipped shelters.
By proactively setting up testing stations, reliable Wi-Fi, and comfortable seating underground, we eliminate the anxiety of a mid-exam evacuation. The students are already in a secure environment. The message this sends to our community is clear: safety is our baseline, but academic progression and student wellbeing will not be paused.
Community Action Uninterrupted: The Art to Hearts Zoomathon
This same resilience extends to our community events. Recently, an increased frequency of air raid alerts threatened to disrupt our annual Art to Hearts: Charity Concert and Auction. Rather than cancelling, we adapted, transforming the event into a vibrant online ‘Zoomathon’.
The success was overwhelming. Thanks to the immense generosity of the PSI community, we raised over 190,000 UAH (more than 4,000 USD). These funds are being directed to support a six-year-old boy in need of critical brain surgery, whilst also contributing to the humanitarian needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ahead of the winter months.
Proudly student-led, the event featured everything from student-created artworks to musical performances. It was made possible through the support of our CAS Service Learning leaders, alongside invaluable input from our Parent Teacher Association and music teachers. It stands as a powerful reminder that no circumstances will stop our community from moving forward for good.
Redefining Normalcy for the CEESA Community
What Learning Against the War captured, and what we continue to live every day, is that resilience is not just about enduring—it is about innovating.
Whether it is allocating shelter hours to ensure continuous learning, moving digital assessments underground, or hosting charity zoomathons through the sirens, our focus remains fiercely human-centric. We are incredibly proud of our students, who simply pick up their laptops and continue their work, and our educators, who seamlessly transition their lessons to a subterranean classroom.
For international schools globally, our journey underscores a vital lesson: true institutional advancement is built on authentic communication, deep community trust, and the unwavering belief that education must go on.
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Data regarding conflict events in Kyiv was sourced from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Ukraine Conflict Monitor.