Educational opportunities.

The Guadalupe School receives children with economical limitations.

Some of them commute 2 hours to get to school in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico.  A plan was begun with the goal of offering a real opportunity to improve their educational quality.

During eight months the teachers received capacitation and one-to-one consultancy to develop basic teaching abilities.  Then, an active educational system was designed and monitored in an constructivism way where the role of the teachers was of facilitators of the learning process instead of being the main vehicle of that process. 

The teachers were prepared to develop a new mental paradigm and to develop educational materials that will accompany during the process.  A new structure inside the classroom was also created where the children could develop more autonomy and construct their own learning.  The pilot plan was very positive in four classrooms for the teachers and the students, and then this strategy was extended to the rest of the elementary school.  The rest of the teachers received the necessary capacitation and they began to implement the changes in their classrooms. 

After one semester, 76% of the children expressed their agreement for the new way of teaching and learning.  They looked as positive the fact that they could progress and learn more and that it was more funny than before.  The opinions of the rest 24% that considered as regular or disagreeded, were vinculated directly with new teachers that had less experience and less teaching capacitation for to implement the system.

After a year of adapting the new system to the reality of the school, it has been strengthening the directive and academic coordination leadership with the aim of raising the academic degree to a higher level.

Gradually the administration and the teachers have achieved a control that has improved their capacities and renewed their vocation.  Now they are capable of analyze opportunity areas and keep monitoring by a colaborative process of mutual learning.  The democratic participation practices have improved in the school allowing a new teaching-learning process of the students. 

The sustainability is based on the development of personal and structural capabilities. The local agents are the one's that manage and keep monitoring of this process.