Re-imagine rural education in COVID-19 El Salvador

It’s almost time for us to get rid of the “pilot” in “Pilot Project”! Come the start of the next school year in January, the nearly six-month experiment of the Pilot Project will become the full-fledged methodology for all of Amun Shea. We’ve come a long way with your help on this project but we still have a big task ahead of us in the formalization and institutionalization of our methodology.   

The cornerstone of our work with the pilot project is problem- and project-based learning along with a focus on our students’ autonomy and self-directed learning. At the time of this writing, we have two classrooms, 23 students in total, that fully practice this methodology. These students make up a third of the school and represent all ages apart from kindergarten. The progress that we have made has been hugely helped by the generosity of our donors for both the internet microproject and our donors for the larger Amun Shea project.

Beginning next year, we will divide all of our students above second grade into three classrooms, all of which using the methodology developed in the pilot project classrooms. One class will contain students from third, fourth, and fifth grade, while the two remaining classes will be made up of sixth grade through high school. This organization allows us to retain the multi-grade class structure without having a classroom where the youngest students are outpaced and discouraged by the oldest students.

We have also revamped the schedule to allow time for all aspects of what we are trying to realize. Three hours every day will be dedicated to core subjects and the requirements that come along with our agreement with the Ministry of Education. Each core subject (math, science, oral and written expression, social studies, and English) will get three hours of focus each week under the new schedule.

The schedule also sets aside one hour each day of self-structured learning for the students and two hours in the afternoon for student-led clubs. Both of these additions ensure that our students have a greater level of control over their learning and more practice in leadership roles.

So what do you think of the new Amun Shea?? Let us know by getting in contact with us on Facebook. We'd love to hear your feedback!