'Cradle' of training talents in the Western region of Nghe An

(Baonghean) - With 55 years of construction and development, Thai Hoa High School is not only proud to be the first high school in the Western region of Nghe An but also has many positive contributions to the cause of education, improving people's knowledge, training human resources, and nurturing talents for the homeland and country.

Located nearly 100 km from Vinh city center, Thai Hoa High School is the first school in Western Nghe An to meet national standards. Established in 1962 under the name Nghia Dan High School, located in Phu Quy, the land with the most potential and dynamic development in the Northwest of Nghe An, Thai Hoa High School not only contributes to improving people's knowledge but also is the locomotive for training human resources, nurturing talents for the cause of construction and socio-economic development of the province.

Teachers and students of Thai Hoa High School salute the flag at the beginning of the week.

In the early days of its establishment, the school had only 110 students, divided into two 8th grade classes (equivalent to current 10th grade). Due to the lack of facilities, high school students were arranged to study together with middle school students. In addition to students from Nghia Dan district, the school also accepted students from Tan Ky, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Que Phong districts and some students from the lowlands. Although newly established, the facilities were quite simple, the classrooms were roofed with bamboo and thatch, the walls were made of bamboo and thatch, but the competitive learning atmosphere was still very exciting.

After 2 years of teaching and learning taking place in a peaceful atmosphere, from August 1964, due to the expansion of the war to the North by the US empire, teaching and learning became more difficult. To ensure teaching and learning, teachers and students of the school had to evacuate and move to many locations. After 7 moves, the school is now located in Tan Son block, Hoa Hieu ward, Thai Hoa town.

After 55 years of construction and development, teachers and students of the school have overcome countless difficulties and challenges. From only 2 classes, by the 1977-1978 school year, the school had grown to 28 classes with over 1,300 students. To meet the increasing learning needs of children in the area, and at the same time serve the human resource training needs of the province, in September 1977, the school opened a second branch with 8 classes at Co Do Farm - the predecessor of today's Co Do High School.

Then, in October 1997, the school continued to open a new branch in Nghia Thuan commune with a scale of 10 classrooms, which was the premise for the establishment of Dong Hieu High School today. Currently, despite many challenges, Thai Hoa High School still maintains its position as the leading unit of general education in the town with a scale of 29 classrooms and over 1,100 students.

Along with the development of the school, the team of teachers has continuously grown. They not only do a good job of "cultivating people" at the school, but a large number of them have become the professional backbone of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training. From this school, over 18,000 students have grown up.

Among them, many have heroically sacrificed their lives in the cause of national liberation; many have held important positions in Party and State agencies, and are generals and senior officers in the armed forces. In addition, dozens of students, after finishing their studies, have returned to their old schools, continuing the career of "cultivating people" to nurture and cultivate the future of the town... The good news is that generations of students of the school, no matter where they are and in what position, are all devoted to their homeland, to their beloved school, working hard and studying to build their homeland and country.

In recent years, with the attention and support of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An, the Town Party Committee, the People's Committee of Thai Hoa town, and the Parents' Association, the school has increased investment in building facilities as a basis for promoting educational activities to continuously improve the quality of comprehensive education. Currently, the school has a fairly spacious and impressive facility with 3 high-rise buildings and 31 classrooms and functional rooms; a library system and traditional rooms with over 500 books; 2 computer classrooms with over 50 computers; 3 practice rooms for Physics, Chemistry, Biology; 1 foreign language classroom...

In order to strive to become one of the leading flags of general education in the province, the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the school have identified one of the solutions to promote the quality of teaching and learning as improving the quality of the teaching staff. Every year, the Board of Directors of the school pays attention to and focuses on the work of fostering and training to improve the level of political theory and professional skills; attaches importance to the quality of teacher recruitment, especially giving priority to excellent teachers of the province, experienced teachers, prestigious teachers and attracting excellent students to the school to teach.

Each teacher of the school has constantly pondered, improved their knowledge, learned from their colleagues' experiences to find effective educational and teaching methods. Thanks to timely encouragement and effective implementation of professional measures, the school has now built a team of high-quality staff and teachers with 20 excellent teachers of the province, over 30 excellent teachers of the school, 19 teachers with master's degrees, 100% of teachers are ranked as good or higher according to professional standards.

During the 55 years of construction and development, 3 teachers of the school were awarded the title of Excellent Teacher. They are Mr. Dinh Ngoc Quy, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ho and Mr. Ho Trong Phu; 40 teachers were awarded the Medal for the Cause of Education; 20 teachers were awarded the Certificate of Merit for the Cause of Education in the Mountainous Region by the Ministry of Education and Training; 5 teachers were awarded the title of Talented Teacher; 17 teachers were awarded the title of Emulation Fighter at the provincial and grassroots levels. From 2001 to present, there have been over 21 cadres and teachers with initiatives and experiences at the Department level and 5 teachers with initiatives and experiences at the provincial level.

In addition, over 3,500 students passed the entrance exam to universities and colleges; 10 students participated in the National Excellent Student Competition (including 3 Third Prizes and 1 Encouragement Prize); over 650 excellent students at the provincial level, of which 170 students won first, second, and third prizes; the annual rate of excellent students is 18.5%. In the past five years, the School has always been the top unit in the province in terms of the rate of students passing the graduation exam and being admitted to universities and colleges. Among them, many students achieved scores of 25 points or higher, some of whom have become valedictorians of some of the top universities in the country.

Math class of Thai Hoa High School students.

In addition to regularly taking care of improving the cultural quality and moral education for students, the school's staff and teachers always take the lead and carry out the emulation movements "Teach well, study well", "Build a friendly school, active students"; actively deploy the campaign "Studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh" and build a typical example of "Each teacher is an example of morality, self-study and creativity"...

With the above efforts, for many consecutive years, the Party cell has been recognized as a "clean, strong" and "typically strong" Party cell; the school collective has achieved the title of "Advanced Collective" for 26 consecutive years, of which 18 years have been an excellent labor collective at the provincial level; organizations within the school's political system have always achieved the title of "excellently strong".

Since 2011, the School has achieved the title of National Standard School and in the 2016-2017 school year, it was recognized as meeting National standards for the second time. In 1997, the School was awarded the Third Class Labor Medal by the President and in 2002, it was awarded the Second Class Labor Medal. On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of its founding, in 2017, the School continued to be awarded the Second Class Labor Medal by the President.

To preserve and promote the precious tradition, in the coming time, the collective of teachers, staff and students of Thai Hoa High School pledge to continue to strive to further improve the quality of teaching and learning. In the process of development and advancement, the school hopes to continue to receive the attention of the Party Committees, authorities and the provincial education sector; the companionship and support of the Parents' Association so that Thai Hoa High School can continue to move steadily on the new path, worthy of being the leading bird of education in the Northwest of the province.

Le Thanh Huyen

(Party Cell Secretary - Principal of Thai Hoa High School)