MEET THE Designers:
Jarmila Skáre
linkedin.com/in/jarmilaskare/
SUMMARY
I began by exploring how to support Roma socioeconomic integration in Hungary, where this minority community faces high poverty and limited opportunities. Education quickly emerged as the central barrier, so I shifted to understanding why Roma children struggle to stay in school. Through research and community insight, I found that overburdened, undersupported teachers are the key leverage point. This project proposes a scalable model that strengthens teachers with tools and training, so Roma students can feel capable, supported, and connected to their education.
challenge
Through interviews and secondary research I found that a teacher’s role can make or break whether a Roma child continues studying. Yet Roma students often describe discrimination, neglect, and a lack of support as their main pain points in school. Tracing this back revealed that teachers are overburdened and lack training in inclusive, trauma-informed methods. While effective initiatives already exist to support them, they reach only a fraction of schools. Hence the key opportunity is figuring out how to scale these efforts sustainably.
Outcome
The project ultimately took the shape of a scaling strategy that adapts social franchising to expand an existing teacher-support program. By standardizing tools, training, and quality measures, the model enables effective practices to reach far more schools. This directly addresses the core stakeholder need of overburdened teachers lacking support, strengthening classrooms so Roma students can feel capable, supported, and connected to their education.
