The passage of time of our high school is necessarily identified with the long and winding path of generations of students and teachers from Gorj, permanently animated by the living flame of love for books and the nation.
Without forcing history, we can conclude from the start that the emergence of the Secondary School for Girls, after the First World War, was preceded at the county level by ample qualitative accumulations in this direction.
The first girls' school operated in Tg Jiu since 1855, with C. Savoiu Surcel as its initiator. He offered to provide land and undertook to build the premises. For the endowment with furniture, the Tg Jiu City Hall launched a subscription list and the first director was Adela Kaise, who quickly established herself through pedagogical talent, organizational spirit and management.
In 1876, prefect Ghita Magheru, the grandson of General Gh. Magheru, a revolutionary who supported the Pasoptist movement, transformed the Savoiu boarding house into a Secondary School, also granting 10 thousand lei from the Prefecture budget for maintenance and equipment expenses. He also sent Ecaterina Urziceanu, apparently the daughter of the renowned teacher C. Stanciovici-Branisceanu, to Germany for qualification and improvement. This is how the Normal School for Girls, called the Institute, began its activity, with a boarding school for 30 students. Five girls from each grade were admitted, who attended four gymnasium classes and one complementary pedagogy class. The first headmistress was Ecaterina Urziceanu, the school operating from 1872 to 1882.
On these valuable traditions, but also with the support of personalities of that time such as: Gh. Tatarescu, C. Angelescu, Traian Lalescu, Vintila Bratianu and others, the Secondary School for Girls in Tg Jiu was born in November 1921.
The management of Tudor Vladimirescu High School, from which most of the students in grades II-IV came, was tasked with carrying out the preparatory work, forming the teaching staff and distributing the hours, and the School Committee was tasked with administrative issues, establishing and paying the staff, approving the budget, collecting school fees and purchasing the premises.
In the first year of its existence, 1921-1922, there were 100 students in grades I-IV on an extra-budgetary basis, which is why the ministry did not accept the proposal, formulated by the management, that the school be named Prince Mihai, reasoning that it operates on the basis of the School Committees Law, and therefore not having a definitive character.
Regarding this moment, the director Archir Iancu reported in 1922 to the Ministry of Education: The school was founded in November 1921 on the initiative of the parents and with the help of the teaching staff. local teacher. The existence of such a school in the locality is a felt need, since there is no school in the county for the education of girls and parents were forced to send their children elsewhere with great sacrifices. Only the poorest girls go to vocational school, and the normal school for girls created by a draft law, during the time of Minister Negulescu, remained only on paper due to the lack of premises.
The school operates with five classes, of which classes I-IV have operated since its establishment, and the V class, classical-modern, has been operating since the current year, following the approval of the ministry. The five classes are attended by 143 students, all of Romanian nationality. The school does not have its own premises and operates after lunch in the premises of the Primary School for Girls, no. 1.
All the rooms of the premises are currently occupied, so for the development of the school in the future, the first thing needed is premises, which is not available in the locality. The teaching material is largely borrowed from the boys' high school. Physics and natural science experiments are also done there. Last June, we obtained good results at the end of the year and we only had one repetition. The parents ask and hope that the school will be taken over by the state, since they cannot pay high fees. Considering that Gorj County is a strong center of the purest Romanianism, the sacrifices that the state would make with this school would be amply rewarded.
Also for the first year of the school's existence, we draw your attention to a series of minutes, located at the Gorj Branch of the National Archives in an unnumbered file. We learn, on this occasion, that the president of the School Committee was elected on November 4, 1921 Mihail Nitescu, president of the court. On December 16, 1921, it was stated that “The High School should be equipped with teaching materials that are currently completely lacking and it was decided to intervene with the Prefecture and the City Hall to receive the necessary funds.”
The first directors were Silvia Dumitrescu, teacher of Romanian and French at the Professional School for Girls, and Iancu Archir, teacher at the “Tudor Vladimirescu” High School. “The ceremony of closing the school year,” the latter wrote, “took place on June 18, 1922, at 10 am, in the beautiful garden of our city. The celebration was held with the local boys’ high school, since both schools have the same music teacher. A joint program was established, with productions at both schools, consisting of mixed and separate choirs, declamations and national dances by a team of girls. The military band of the 18th Regiment gave the honors to the awardees and sang the dances. Before the dances and after the dissertation of an 8th grade graduate, the undersigned made an account of the school and distributed the prizes. () We recalled the circumstances in which the girls' school was born, the difficulties faced by education in the locality due to the lack of teachers, highlighting the contribution of the teaching staff to the cultural upliftment and education of the youth, and especially the pedagogical experiences made with the small classes of the girls' school and the way we understand how to provide education to women.”
For the same 1921, we draw attention to the finalization of a dispute regarding the distribution of drawing and calligraphy classes between a male and a female teacher. “At a girls' school,” the minutes emphasize, “a teacher cannot function except in the absence of a female teacher. So, since there is a teacher in this specialty in the locality, the calligraphy and drawing classes are distributed by right to her.”
From another document we also find the names of the first teachers of the school: Fr. I. Malaiescu (religion), G, Ardeleanu, I. Stanculescu (French language) Pscheidt Albrecht (German language) Gr. Dobrescu, deacon C.V. Danau (Romanian language and history), Ghenadie Demetrescu (mathematics, geography), Archir Iancu (physics, botany), I. Molan (music), Elena Demetrescu (calligraphy, drawing), Felicia Roibanescu (gymnastics), Elena Dobrovicescu (housekeeping), Maria Doicescu (work)
For the year 1923, on the occasion of the establishment of the Inspectorate of Region VI (Dolj, Gorj, Valcea, Romanati counties), a table with the teaching staff is requested from which we find more details regarding the teachers in the school: Fr. I. Malaiescu, graduate in Theology, permanently at the Boys' High School, Gh. Ardeleanu, graduate in philological sciences, titular French language, I. Stanculescu, doctor of letters, titular French language, ) Pscheidt Albrecht, graduate in history and geography, substitute German, titular professor Boys' High School (Bukovina) Fr. Dobrescu Victor, graduate in theology, teaches Romanian language and history (including at the Normal School), Fr. Pompiliu Tascau, graduate in theology, Romanian language, Dumitrescu Ghenadia, graduate of the Academy of Commerce, mathematics, substitute teacher and at the vocational school, Andrievici Virginia, graduate in natural sciences with capacity exam, natural sciences, physics and geography (also teaches at the Boys' High School), Constantinescu Ion, graduate in letters, history, geography (substitute teacher and at the Boys' High School), Archir Iancu, graduate in physical-chemical sciences, natural sciences and physics (definitely at the Boys' High School), Vasilescu Sivastra, graduate in historical sciences Bucharest, Romanian, education (vocational school director), Demetrecu Elena, graduate of the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, drawing and calligraphy, Roibanescu Felicia, graduate of the Academy of Commerce in Vienna and the Higher School of Commerce in Romania with capacity exam, gymnastics (seconded from Botosani), Doicescu Maria, graduate of the vocational school, gr. III, Bucharest, manual work, Georgescu Natalia, graduate of the Normal School of Household, Gr. II Bucharest, housekeeping, Marcali Hugo, Latin (substitute, Boys' High School), Molan Ion, graduate of the Conservatory, music (principal, Boys' High School)
Gradually the school passed to the state budget, becoming a secondary school of the second degree. The number of students increased, reaching the point that in 1924-1925 361 students attended the courses. Not having its own premises, it operated in different buildings until 1941, when by Decree Law 53, the Tg Jiu City Hall was authorized to donate a building to it. In the following years, the material base was developed and the building was expanded under the coordination of the architect and builder Luigi Pittini.
From September 1, 1928, as a result of the provisions of the new education law, the school will operate with 7 classes, under the official title of Tg Jiu Girls' High School.
On February 11, 1937, by Royal Decree no. 378, it was given the name "Ecaterina Teodoroiu" Girls' High School.
The inspection reports, much more concise at the time, reveal the quality of the teaching staff, as well as its capacity to eliminate those who do not meet the requirements. In one such document, dated May 15, 1924, the principal Sevastia Vasilescu, who was assistant in chemistry, French and mathematics, makes pertinent assessments of the students' level of knowledge, as well as useful recommendations where appropriate.
The press of the time does not leave the remarkable results of this school unnoticed. We find, thus, that in the 1931-1932 school year, 267 students were enrolled, of whom 11 withdrew, 206 passed, 46 retaken and 4 repeated. The situation of the award winners by class is presented as follows: class I a, pr. I, Tascau Iulia, pr. 2nd Patrascoiu Lucia, Catut Gabriela and Sbenghe Janeta, 3rd Fr, Ceausu Edmeea and Popescu Iulia; 2nd class Fr I Victorian Aura and Rogojanu Dorina, 2nd Fr Tigareanu Ileana, 3rd Fr Vasilescu Alexandrina, Voiculescu Amalia and Giurconiu Eugenia; 3rd class Fr I Catut Elena, 2nd Fr Popescu Stanca, 3rd Fr Staicu Maria Olga; 4th class Fr I Rogojeanu Marcela, 2nd Fr Ionescu Ecaterina, 3rd Fr Pitia Maria; 5th class Fr I Barbulescu Elisabeta, 2nd Fr Angelescu Aglae and Barbulescu Emilia, 3rd Fr Popescu Pavel Maria; 6th class Fr I Barbut Aurora, 2nd Fr Danaricu Teodora, 3rd Fr Tascau Ileana and Trantea Daniela; 7th grade, first prize and the honorable award Plesuianu Ileana, who throughout the school was the first prize winner, also having the highest average in high school, second prize Barbulescu Lucretia and Trantea Georghita, third prize Dogaru Filofteia and Radulescu Georgeta.
On the other hand, severe measures were taken against those who violated school regulations, such as the case of student Mateescu Florica, expelled from school in 1923 "for theft and lying" or student Dumitrescu Eugenia expelled between February 8-14, 1922 "because of insubordination towards the Directorate and because she violated the regulations by going out on the street dressed as a boy"
The school is present at the cultural and commemorative actions and events that take place locally: the celebration of the coronation in Alba Iulia, in 1922, Heroes' Day, the tribute to the battle of the Jiu Bridge, the inauguration of the monument at Schela dedicated to the passage of Mihai the Brave through the town, the actions initiated by the Cultural League, etc. As an example, we emphasize the great success of the school's artistic groups obtained in front of spectators from Petrosani, Timisoara and Chernivtsi, in 1925.
In the years 1944-1946, material difficulties were encountered in the development of the educational process because the premises were requisitioned by the army. Even under these conditions, the teaching staff showed a desire not to interrupt the educational work and to make themselves useful. Together with the students, to the needs of the country. During such actions, clothing items are made for soldiers, heroes' graves are cared for, medicinal plants are collected, and teachers and administrative staff work as nurses at military hospitals and the "Red Cross".
After the education reform of 1948, the school will be called the Girls' High School, until 1953. From 1953, until 1961, the year of its merger with the "Tudor Vladimirescu" High School, it will be called the Girls' Middle School and will have a schooling duration of 11 years (1948-1953), 10 years (1953-1957) and again 11 years (1957-1961).
From this year, a period of discontinuity begins, which ends in 1970. Then, on March 29, 1970, the ceremony of awarding the the name of “Ecaterina Teodoroiu”, the former Secondary School No. 2, which was located in the building of the Pedagogical High School. The event, accurately described by the daily newspaper “Gazeta Gorjului”, had in the foreground teachers such as: Vasile Romanescu, Emilian Semenescu, Gheorghe Lazaroiu, Constantin Pruteanu, Dumitru Ciocarlie, Gheorghe Cilniceanu, some of them linking their destinies to this flagship unit until the end of their careers.
The “Ecaterina Teodoroiu” High School has benefited from the current building since 1970, and since 1977 it has become the Industrial Energetic High School, affiliated with I.E. Rovinari. In 1999 the “Ecaterina Teodoroiu” Energy School Group is divided into a high school unit with a theoretical profile, the “Ecaterina Teodoroiu” Theoretical High School, and one with an industrial profile, the Technological High School No. 1. By the address of the Ministry of National Education no. 44572/18.02.2000, the Gorj High School of Justice is informed that by Order of the Minister of National Education no. 3009/04.01.2000, the change of name of the “Ecaterina Teodoroiu” Theoretical High School into the “Ecaterina Teodoroiu” National College, headquartered in the municipality of Tg Jiu, 1 Decembrie 1918 Street, no. 25, was approved.
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THE MISSIONof the National College "Ecaterina Teodoroiu" is to ensure an educational environment favorable to the harmonious development of all its direct beneficiaries, by promoting competition, competitiveness and performance.
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Our VISION is to provide all students with access to a quality education, which will make it possible to achieve the maximum potential for each of them, in order to prepare them for a successful professional path and train them in the spirit of national and universal values.
THE VALUES that guide our work:
- involvement
- collaboration
- competence
- competitiveness
- responsibility
- integrity
- respect
- perseverance
Currently, the educational offer of our College maintains its theoretical specificity, aiming at both in-depth training in the field of mathematics and computer science, and the diversification of areas of interest related to the study of natural sciences and philology.
Since the 2011-2012 school year, we have introduced a second class of natural sciences, taking into account the increased demands of graduates of medicine and pharmacy on the labor market.
According to the opinion polls conducted, there would be a desire from parents and students to increase our offer with at least one class of philology, something that is impossible to achieve due to lack of space.
The intensive computer science study program at our College offers graduates the opportunity to obtain a professional skills certificate, recognized by the Ministry of National Education, at the end of the 12th grade.
Through the classes in the common core, the extensions and optional courses offered, students acquire additional knowledge and skills that facilitate their admission to prestigious faculties, especially technical ones, A.S.E., the Police Academy, the Military Academy, etc. More precisely, our graduates acquire solid knowledge, which allows them to pass the entrance exams of any faculty they choose, in the country and abroad.
During the years of study, students at C.N.E.T. develop a series of socio-cultural skills and communication and adaptation skills, which facilitates their integration into modern, European society. Compared to graduates of other theoretical high schools, they abundantly demonstrate the high level of training they received during the four years of high school studies, develop their creative side of personality and prove the acquisition of leadership skills, becoming flexible, independent and more open to changes around them.
The attractiveness of our educational offer is enhanced by the remarkable qualitative performance of all teaching staff, the climate of responsibility and professionalism, the adequate material base, the very good relationship with partners in the local community, the engagement of all execution and decision-making factors in organizing the instructional-educational process, thus ensuring the achievement of good and very good results and guaranteed success in the socio-professional evolution of each graduate.
Presentation made by prof. dr. Nichifor Gheorghe