Where teachers, students and the community build a successful school that teaches lessons for life

In the northern hills of Comayagüela, the twin city of Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa, there is an outstanding public primary school called Cerro Grande, or Big Hill. This school is keeping on track toward enrolling in lower secondary school all of its students, without exception. Its innovative approach offers students fundamental life skills while demanding high academic standards.

Almost three years ago its principal Irma López, who has been leading the school since 1997, decided to transform the school with an entrepreneurial approach that integrates vocational training with strong academic monitoring and participation of the community. I visited the school earlier this year and was able to witness that its recognized model,  has been implemented by dedicated and motivated staff, which is the key to the school's success.

Vocational training…

Boy working in after school program. Credit: Vania Salgado/GPE

The school developed a program called AGRODEM[1], which involves five projects managed by students from grade 3 to 6, who rotate every six months to be exposed to all projects. The students cultivate, process and produce agricultural products, handicrafts and dressmaking, wood products, food and beverages, and spices and herbs. Raising Tilapia fish will be next. The final products, such as a delicious type of cider, cakes, cutting boards, and fresh vegetables and fruits are sold at fairs in their community, or consumed as part of the self-sufficient school feeding program. Students do not only acquire technical knowledge pertinent to the cultivation, processing, and transformation of products, but acquire finance and marketing skills as well. They design their marketing strategies, and are responsible for the management of funds. Overall, they develop all aspects of the project in a manner that functions as an enterprise.

… innovation…

Herbs growing in old computer monitors. Credit: Vania Salgado/GPE

Technological innovation is also on the agenda. The school is located on a steep hill and consists of several levels –a challenge for agricultural activities. Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of students, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided technical and financial support to grow vegetables in recycled materials such as tires or old computer monitors, and build a green house where herbs are cultivated. The school's creativity deserves admiration. Glenis Ramos, the teacher overseeing the project, explained to us the inventive irrigation system: "It helps to stock and circulate water from a cistern to the plants by using the energy of kids when playing on a seesaw!"

… high academic standards…

Teacher Karen Galindo with girl. Credit: Vania Salgado/GPE

A multidisciplinary teaching approach was adopted at Cerro Grande. While students learn the agricultural techniques, geometry is applied in real life by using formulas to calculate the area of the cultivated ground, as explained by Karen Galindo, responsible for the academic development. In addition, high academic expectations are in place. Students' learning outcomes are carefully monitored through assessments. As a school initiative, social studies and science tests complement the officially required mathematics and language examinations. When students do not meet the required standards, a personal plan addresses their weakness, and teachers carefully monitor students with special needs. The school also established an afterschool program which allows the students to devote extra time to agricultural activities and homework.

… and teachers and community participation

Principal Irma López at wood products workshop. Credit: Vania Salgado/GPE

Teachers are required to meet high standards too. Out of the approximate 40 teachers, 30 hold higher education degrees[2]. Their attendance is mandatory during the 218 days of school, and classes are never cancelled, even during teacher strikes, an important achievement in a context of reduced instructional time in the country[3]. The participation of the community is also an essential part of the school model. They have paid the salaries of the English teachers and actively participate in school activities. For instance, some mothers prepare the meals of the school feeding program using the products cultivated by students, either at school or in their homes.

Cerro Grande School serves approximately 900 students that come from an urban middle-class background[4]. However, the school also accepts children from lower income areas, who are attracted by the school model and the safer environment. Security concerns are especially acute in Honduras, given the high levels of homicides[5], putting young Honduran males at especially high risk. This is what makes Cerro Grande stand out even more: It provides students with the appropriate educational and vocational tools that will allow them to transition more easily to adulthood and lead productive lives, instead of dropping out of school and engaging in illicit activities.

Lessons shared through the Global Partnership for Education

Cerro Grande's achievements and the education it provides to its students address security problems in their own successful way. Overall, Cerro Grande is an excellent example that teaches the international community how much can be done with little resources but great determination.

This lesson shared by one of our developing country partners is especially welcomed by the Global Partnership for Education. Honduras was one of the first countries joining the Global Partnership in 2002, and its participation has been fundamental in representing Latin America and shaping our partnership.

Sources:

Escuela Cerro Grande. Proyecto Piloto Educativo Empresarial Escuela Cerro Grande Zona II. AGRODEM (Asociación Educativa Emprendedora Agropecuaria, Delicias, Detalles, Especias y Madera). Shared on July, 2013.

Escuela Cerro Grande. Presentacion Gestión de la Educación: Experiencia del Centro Escolar. Shared on July, 2013.

Honduras' Ministry of Education (2011). Report of the Observation Instrument Stallings Method, Measuring the Effective Time in Classrooms. October 2011, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (2011). Global Study on Homicide. Trends, Context, Data. Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf

UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) (2011). Education (all levels) Profile – Honduras. Montreal: UNESCO Institute of Statistics. Retrieved from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=en&BR_Country=3400

World Bank (2013). World Bank Development Indicators. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. Retrieved from http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/variableSelection/selectvariables.aspx?source=world-development-indicators

[1] Asociación Educativa Emprendedora Agropecuaria, Delicias, Detalles, Especias y Madera (AGRODEM).

[2] Four other teachers are in the process of obtaining it. Three hold post-graduate degrees and four post-secondary vocational education.

[3] Stallings report shows that only 60% of class time is spent on instruction, and many days are lost due to strikes (Honduran Ministry of Education, 2011).

[4] Children may seem to come from a lower-income population when compared to other Latin American Countries. This is because Gross Domestic Product per capita in Honduras is US$ 2,264, indeed much lower than the average for Latin America and the Caribbean (US$ 9,578) (World Bank Development Indicators, 2013).

[5] See UNDOC (2011) available at http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf