Schools of Tomorrow

Context and issue

In Brazil, the national education law mandates nine years of compulsory basic education for all children starting at age six. However, despite strides in education, the country still grapples with staggering levels of inequality, particularly evident in Rio de Janeiro. Rio's favelas, in particular, suffer from lower education levels, higher illiteracy rates, and increased dropout rates compared to the national average. The Municipality of Rio de Janeiro faces significant hurdles in reaching out-of-school children (OOSC) and ensuring their school enrollment and attendance.

Solution

The Brazilian Department of Education (DoE) identified 150 schools in Rio's most vulnerable areas, labeled as Schools of Tomorrow, in 2009 due to their high dropout rates and poor learning outcomes. Aprendiz, in partnership with the Municipal Department of Education, has undertaken efforts to expand the Schools of Tomorrow program. With a focus on community involvement, the project aimed to enroll and retain 21,000 OOSC in primary schools over three years. Activities include mapping out OOSC and reasons for dropout, establishing a government committee to integrate policies and interventions, forming task forces in schools and communities to devise retention strategies, creating student communication groups to foster inclusive school environments, implementing active search strategies for OOSC, and training stakeholders in identifying and reaching out to OOSC and their families. The Department of Education has committed resources to sustain efforts in identifying and retaining OOSC, with the project surpassing its target by 1,131 OOSC, achieving 105% of its goal.

Impact

The Aluno Presente Project, spanning three years in Rio de Janeiro, focused on ensuring access to basic education for children aged 6 to 14 by identifying and reintegrating OOSC into the municipal public network. This initiative, conducted in partnership with the Municipal Education Secretariat as part of the Education Above All Foundation’s Educate a Child Program, underscores the commitment to addressing educational disparities in Rio's marginalized communities. By exceeding its target and implementing comprehensive strategies, the project has made significant strides in tackling educational inequality, paving the way for improved access to education and opportunities for Rio's vulnerable children and adolescents.

The intervention seems to have illustrated results that highlight the lessons that could be replicated to reduce the number of out-of-school children by ensuring retention rates and aim to introduce strategies that could tackle the issue related to out-of-school children. However, providing access to vulnerable areas could add uncertainty-related challenges, and sustainability would be a crucial aspect to explore in the long run.