This project will provide personalized and extra socio affective support to at risk children in Bogota's Egipto neighborhood by meeting their distinctive needs and building on the principles of child-centered, active, participatory and cooperative learning. This will be a 1-year pilot implementation of "Circulos para ENprender", a variation of our innovative and renowned Escuela Nueva Leaning Circles program.
Many children and young people in the neighborhood of Egipto in Bogota, live in vulnerable economic and social conditions. Although these children are enrolled in school, due to socioeconomic circumstances, many children do not utilize their time effectively or wisely. This has a large and negative impact in their development. They become susceptible to a life of crime, drugs and gangs. In most cases, children are likely to dropout of school, which leads them into greater difficulties.
"Circulos para ENprener" restores basic conditions of learning in children and young people, through 2 main strategies: 1) Strengthens bases of emotional and socioaffective stability; 2) Simultaneously advances students' cognitive and academic development "Circulos para ENprender" is before and/or after school, 4 times per week. It acts as a supplementary space, for affective reinforcement and responds to student dropout, by changing the way they learn into a joyful learning experience.
This project was implemented with positive results. Students demonstrated personal investment in their education, teachers improved the quality of class time, and parents found new optimism for their children's future. However, due to lack of funding the project was discontinued. Upon reaching funding goals, we will be able to work with 60 children and young adults who live risk in dangerous and vulnerable situations.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
