This summer, Teach For Armenia celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a landmark gathering, Teach For Armenia Week 2025. Over five inspiring days, our community of Teacher-Leaders, Alumni-Ambassadors, Student-Leaders, partners, and supporters came together to reflect on our journey, celebrate the leadership emerging from classrooms, and cast a bold vision for the future of Armenia’s education system.

As Founder and CEO Larisa Hovannisian shared: “Education is not just about skills, it is about dignity, sovereignty, and belonging. We are not scaling a model; we are building a movement. And we’re just getting started.”

Over the course of the week, we honored our origins, looking back at the spark that ignited this movement and the moments that shaped its first decade. The celebration opened with the premiere of a feature-length documentary, which captures the story of Teach For Armenia through the voices of students, parents, Teacher-Leaders, Alumni-Ambassadors, and school leaders. It was a moving reminder of why this mission began and how far it has come. 

On the following day, we turned the spotlight on leadership journeys, showcasing change-based learning initiatives and alumni-led projects that have transformed schools and communities. The day closed with Navasard, the ceremonial transition of our ninth cohort of Teacher-Leaders into the Alumni-Ambassador community, a symbol of belonging and continuity that binds generations of leaders together.

We also amplified voices from the field, celebrating the stories of those who are driving change on the ground. Fellows, alumni, and educators shared how their journeys of growth have reshaped their classrooms and communities, while cross-sector partners reflected on the power of collective leadership. At the heart of these stories was a single truth: when students, teachers, and communities lead together, education becomes a force for transformation.

Together, we explored innovation, delving into bold new ideas that are reshaping Armenia’s educational landscape. Midweek, we unveiled the Armenia Education Initiative (AEI), a bold roadmap for the next decade that unites innovation, policy reform, and sustainable models of school transformation. Teach For Armenia also held a fundraising gala to support the next steps of our ambitious goals.

Guests and supporters visited our partner Seroond school in Zangakatun, where students, parents, and teachers together demonstrated the power of whole-school transformation, as well as the Teacher Leadership Academy and Summer Camp, where fellows are trained through coaching, workshops, and immersive experiences to become changemakers. The week concluded with a system-wide gathering that brought together educators, policymakers, and partners to chart new pathways for reform, affirming that the future of Armenia depends on the future of its classrooms.

Moving Forward

In its first decade, Teach For Armenia reached more than 60,000 students, partnered with 20% of the nation’s regional schools, and developed a network of over 500 Teacher-Leaders and Alumni-Ambassadors. Yet the deeper impact lies in a growing movement of communities who now believe that education is the foundation of national resilience, innovation, and sovereignty.

Closing the anniversary celebrations, Teach For Armenia Founder and CEO Larisa Hovannisian delivered a keynote address that captured both gratitude for the past and determination for the future:

“Ten years ago, Teach For Armenia began as a dream that many doubted. Today, it has become a national movement, proof that education can be the driving force of state-building. The next decade will be about expanding our impact and driving systemic change, about turning every classroom into a center of creativity and innovation, and about ensuring that quality education is not a privilege, but a fundamental right. Classroom by classroom, student by student, we are shaping the future of Armenia, together.”