A Strong Connection to Community

You don't need to travel to another country and study their educational systems to understand that engaging with the community is what transforms a good school into a great one. All great schools whether in the U.S. or Uruguay leverage community connections and relations to be mutually beneficial. It's just that in Uruguay this is something that is a focus for all schools to improve on, instead of say standardized tests (which they don't have nor is it tied to funding!). The old adage of "It takes a village" is true whether we like it or not.

In Maldonado near Escuela 95 there is a new community center that is working in collaboration with the school to help the whole community. They offer dance, theater and visual art workshops, they also serve as a space for community groups to meet, have discussions, and serve as an outreach center for various needs. This community center was unique as many towns use their public high schools as a community center as well. In fact, we found that most high schools are occupied with students from 7am to 11pm. Adult education starts after 6pm in most buildings.

In the photo above, Nicolas, the principal of Escuela 95 is showing us the schedule at the community center. The school collaborates with the center to have various school performances held there in order to help parents see that they too belong and can take advantage of its services.

In the picture above, parents came in after school hours to learn about how to help their children at home with some of the online tools. I thought this was so cool to see teachers and administration walking around and answering questions, as well as see the fostering of parent/child engagement.

Escuela 95 is what is called an APrEnDER school. APrEnDER (to learn in English) is a program in certain Uruguayan schools, each letter stands for a specific aspect that reflects the program's objectives and components.

• A: Aprendizajes (Learnings) - Focused on the students' learnings.

• Pr: Primaria (Primary) - Involves the evaluation of students in primary education.

• En: Educación (Education) - Directed towards the educational field.

• D: Diagnóstico (Diagnosis) - Conducting diagnoses to identify areas for improvement.

• E: Evaluación (Evaluation) - Systematic evaluation of students' academic performance.

• R: Resultados (Results) - Using the obtained results to improve educational quality.

Basically the APrEnDer program evaluates and improves student learning in primary and secondary education through data analysis, and diagnostic reports. It provides feedback and recommendations to educators and policymakers, supports teacher training, and implements targeted interventions. I equate this to Title 1 schools in Michigan. The main goal of the program is equity.