Entrepreneurship and Savings 2024-2025

At EDUCA, we are carrying out the 2024-2025 school year, marking the 15th year of implementation of the "Entrepreneurship and Savings" program. This year is particularly significant as we have incorporated public schools into the program, thus expanding our reach and impact.

The implementing team, consisting of Sahian, Maxine, Patricia, and Jhoseline, has maintained constant visits to the 27 beneficiary schools, providing both in-person and virtual feedback to teachers on the implementation of the new contents of "Entrepreneurship and Savings." These sessions take into account the learning objectives for each grade level and the socio-environmental entrepreneurship proposals presented by secondary and high school students.

During these visits, dialogue spaces were created for coordinators, allowing them to identify achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement during the first semester of the school year. The coordinators learned about the work plan from February to June, and 80% gained insights into the characteristics of a situational leader and the maturity levels of their teachers. This is essential for guiding the development of socio-environmental ventures and assigning tasks to meet the established objectives.

Specifically, the students of "Entrepreneurship and Savings" have carried out the following activities:

• Initial assessment: A diagnostic assessment was conducted to determine students' level of knowledge, which will allow for a comparison at the end of the school year to evaluate the program's impact.

• Setting savings goals: In some schools, students have begun defining their savings goals, both individually and collectively. To manage their personal savings, they used the simulator "Achieving My Savings Goal," analyzing their budget and making financial decisions to reach their objectives. This simulator enables students to set personal and savings goals, consider their monthly income and expenses, and determine the time required to achieve their goals.

• Concepts covered: During this first semester, topics such as goals, savings, income and expenses, budget balance, budgeting, responsible consumption, financial health, investment, credit, insurance, and banking institutions have been addressed. Additionally, students have identified their talents and leadership qualities.

• Identifying income and expenses: Students have analyzed their sources of income and expenses. Some receive weekly money from their parents or guardians; however, those who do not receive any income have opted for in-kind savings strategies, consciously using resources such as water, electricity, and gas, which helps reduce family expenses. Additionally, those with the opportunity collect materials such as PET, paper, and glass to reuse, recycle, or sell.

• Elementary students visit the Interactive Museum of Economics: Primary school students visited the Interactive Museum of Economics in Mexico City to reinforce the concepts reviewed in class.

These activities reflect the commitment of EDUCA and school communities to fostering solid financial and entrepreneurial education, adapted to the realities and needs of students, promoting a positive impact on their socioeconomic and environmental environments.

As September marks the back to school, at EDUCA we launched our Entrepreneurship and Savings project for the 2024-2025 school year.

These are some of the activities we carried out:

A) MEETING WITH COORDINATORS

The meeting was held virtually, with the participation of 19 coordinators from 23 schools located in Chihuahua, Mexico City, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Nuevo León, and Querétaro.

The meeting lasted 2 hours, during which the work plan for the 2024-2025 school year was presented.

B) TEACHERS TRAINING

Four virtual training sessions were held for teachers, tailored by educational level, with the aim of introducing the methodology of Entrepreneurship and Savings which is based on a competency-based approach, and the new materials developed for each grade following the program’s curriculum update.

A total of 93 teachers were trained, amounting to 8 hours of training, with 2 hours for each educational level.

•Early Childhood: 13 preschool teachers from 7 schools located in Mexico City, State of Mexico, Jalisco, Morelos, and Querétaro participated.

•Children: 38 elementary school teachers from 12 schools located in Mexico City, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, and Querétaro attended.

•Teens: 31 middle school teachers from 14 schools located in Chiapas, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Nuevo León, and Querétaro participated.

•Youth Section: 11 high school teachers from 5 schools in Chihuahua, Hidalgo, Jalisco, and Morelos attended.

C) WORKSHOP ON MONITORING AND EVALUATION WITH AFLATOUN

EDUCA participated in the II Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop organized by the Aflatoun Americas Committee, aimed at sharing successful practices that help promote the quality of financial, social, and entrepreneurship education programs implemented by organizations in the Aflatoun International Network.

Nancy Pérez, Director of Programs at Fundación EDUCA, presented the monitoring methodology and the tools used to evaluate the entrepreneurship projects designed by the more than 4,700 students participating in the “Ahorra y Emprende” Program.

The panel featured Maclovio Olivares from Care Peru, Sergio Quintero from Fundación Coogranada Colombia, Ana Campodarve from Aflatoun International, and Ana Yris Guzmán Torres, Regional Representative and Director of Nuestra Escuela. Representatives from 31 organizations across 9 countries attended.

D) AFLATEEN TRAINING

Coordinators of the Entrepreneurship and Savings Progject participated in the virtual Aflateen training, which lasted 10 hours. This training was organized by Aflatoun International for partners in the Latin America and Caribbean region, aiming to introduce the new Aflateen materials for young people aged 13 to 16, covering topics related to self-awareness, rights and responsibilities, body and choices, finances, career, and entrepreneurship.

Twelve organizations from six countries attended.

As this is the first school year with the project updated contents, we want to share some testimonials from teachers about the new materials:

"These new guides are easier to understand than the previous ones and come with very good resources. The adaptation and innovation are appreciated. I really like the organization and structure." José Gerardo Brigada Hurtado, Teacher from Líderes del Siglo, A.C. High School, Jalisco.

"This project will make learning much more dynamic. We have just joined the implementation of the program with EDUCA, and we are very excited. I appreciate the opportunity, and I know that these contents will make all the projects implemented at the school much more dynamic" Norma Sarvelia Meléndez Rodríguez, Academic Coordinator  CECyTEH Plantel Tetepango, Hidalgo.