INE bets on Transformation Projects
Instituto Nueva Escuela (INE) as a non-profit organization seeks to serve children, youth and communities in Puerto Rico in order to have an excellent public education that allows them to contribute to the common good, and with that in mind, INE bets on special projects.
After Hurricane María, with the collaboration of entities and organizations, INE's services were diversified to benefit schools according to their needs.
Since then, several special projects have been integrated which for Karla Orriols, director of INE's School Transformation office, is ''a possibility to enrich educational experiences''.
Among the existing projects is ''Astronomía al Servico'' in collaboration with Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced, Ciencia Puerto Rico and Sociedad Astronómica de Puerto Rico. Through a donation from the Astronomers Without Borders, 15 public Montessori schools received telescopes.
Telescopes are used in school communities to carry out different activities such as observation nights in which students, families and members of the community in general participate. These experiences provide an opportunity to make astronomy and science accessible to the community.
Another project that continues to grow is “Sembrando Regresamos” in collaboration with the Para la Naturaleza, which initially had 6 schools and today the project is present in 20 Montessori school communities.
The project "Sembrando Regresamos" aims to provide direct experiences in nature and seek solutions to environmental issues that affect the school community. Also it makes students and families aware of climate change.
There is also the Volunteer Program, in collaboration with the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Foundation, which seeks to support the needs of school communities. In the last year, it has served 20 schools with 63 volunteers (Bank employees) who have participated in different ways such as: painting facilities, planting crops, providing back-to-school items, beautifying green areas of the school, offering workshops and talks to families, administrative support, among other aid.
There are projects in collaboration with the AMAR foundation, which seeks to educate burn prevention in children at an early age, just as theater arts and music projects are in their initial phases.
''These projects are aligned with the Montessori curriculum. It provides Montessori guides with an additional tool to delve into different areas of the curriculum. In addition, it allows to extend the school period and offer fun experiences for children and young people,'' Karla said.
One of the many wonders that these special projects bring is the integration that they permit. They integrate the school community, mothers, fathers, volunteers and thereby strengthen the school we dream of.
The arrival of these projects brings a lot of enthusiasm to the community, knowledge and new helping hands.
The New Montessori Community School
This year begins a new project aimed at school transformation in 16 Montessori public schools.
The project consists of delving into the transformation model, through Montessori pedagogy, the shared governance methodology and the participation of families. With this initiative, a facilitator is integrated into each school community, to develop and support the necessary structures.
The week of October 24 to 28, the facilitators had an immersive session that promoted the development of a sense of community, while learning about the work done at INE, the history of the Montessori Public project, brushstrokes of the Montessori philosophy and methodology plus their roles and functions. In addition, they had the opportunity to meet mothers and fathers from the project, who talked to them about family enrollment.
