Istituto di Istruzione Superiore – "Isabella Morra"

The Higher Education Institute for vocational and technical studies “Isabella Morra” Matera, Italy includes two schools:

1. The Institute for Social Services (IPSS “Isabella Morra”) and
2. The Institute for Industry and Handicrafts (IPIA “Leonardo da Vinci”).

Both schools have emerged in the early’60s, with the aim to provide its students occupational opportunities on different sectors: chemistry and biology, fashion and design, social studies, business and economy (“Isabella Morra”); Maintenance and Assistance on electronics, electricity, mechanics, energetic sources and renewable energies (“Leonardo da Vinci”)
The School Staff is composed by about 130 teachers/assistants. About 750 Students, aged 14-19, attend the two schools and most of them are involved in extra curricula activities related to their course of studies.

The school is equipped with a good numbers of modern and efficient laboratories, apart from those ones concerning the Sectors of current Curricola: gym, computer, craft skills, music and performing arts, psychometric, activities developing personal autonomy and gardening.

“Isabella Morra” has always been very committed to any form of disadvantages for the integration and successful education of foreign students and person with “special needs”: a great number of highly specialized support teachers has given remarkable contributions to the development of plan personalized projects. The school is also a local support centre for drop-out students, parents in difficulties, immigrants and disadvantaged people.

Aims:

“Isabella Morra” HEI aims at giving its students real chances to be successful and achieve their tasks, offering different activities and orienteering to educational/vocational choices and to work or further studies. The school organizes internships with a number of additional hours focusing on specialist training with experts and work experience in private enterprises.

“Isabella Morra” is open to domestic and international horizons, considering its students as important protagonists at the centre of the educative process, with an attempt to exploit their passion and love for the professional future.
We work in collaboration with families, health care team institutions in order to ensure effective integration of students with disabilities.

Our Scientific and Technical Team is an essential tool to consolidate the relations of the school with the working world and to develop alliances outside school in order to improve students’ skills and competences.

The Self Assessment Team inside our school helps to monitor the implementation of the results and the level of customer satisfaction.
The current school dropout rate is less than 7%
Total failures are estimated around 10%

These are the main aims inside our school Plan of Training:
a) satisfaction of students’ needs
b) prevention of school drop out and youth problems and bullying
c) training the right to learn, the recognition and appreciation of diversity, in order to achieve the educational success of students
d) actions of development of the culture of equal opportunities
e) organization of a school service effectively and efficiently
f) implementation of a concrete collaboration between the different components of the school
g) support professional integration, but also lifelong learning
h) develop the culture of entrepreneurship
i) respect for freedom of teaching and families’ educational choice
j) increasing the awareness of European citizenship and human rights