WELCOME TO HRISTO BOTEV SCHOOL IN KARNOBAT, SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE
Hristo Botev School in the Southeastern Bul- garian town of Karnobat is not your average school. Classes here don’t start and end with a jarring buzz; the traditional school bell has been replaced with modern music, chosen in a student vote. When the principal appears in the hallways, he isn’t met with awkward silence: students surround him, greet him hap- pily, and even give him a high five. Ivan Stoyanov has spent most of his life at the school—twelve years as a student, eleven as a history teacher, and the last seventeen as principal—and devotes almost all of his waking hours to it today. He explains his dedication with a lesson he learned early in his academic
career—from the school janitor. “She took care of the school as if it were her own home,” he says. “She taught me that no matter what you do, whether you are a school principal or a cleaner… you have to work hard and do your best. If your heart is not in it, you won’t get beyond mediocrity.” Despite his important office, the Karnobat principal does not exude unapproachable au- thority or academic stiffness. He is a warm, kind, and friendly person who really puts the “pal” in “principal.” He encourages students to be strong, independent, and responsible, but his door is always open if they have questions about academic or personal issues.
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