Novas Rotas - Learning Community is a public school, in São Miguel island, Azores. "The School of our Dreams", dreamed of for 10 years, meaning a new way. It was born from civil society and culminated in a public petition that reached the Regional Assembly, signed by more than a thousand people. Today this dream is a reality. It corresponds to the will of a group of people who wanted children to learn in a different way. A public school, for all, a place of well-being, in harmony with nature!
Local
Portugal
Ponta Delgada Municipality
Vila de Capelas Parish
São Vicente Ferreira Parish
Fenais da Luz Parish
House of the People of Capelas
House of the People of Fenais da Luz
Mainly rural
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Querer é Saber Associação Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Mafalda Last name of representative: Fernandes Gender: Female Nationality: Portugal Function: President of the organisation Querer é Saber Associação Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rua da Formação Profissional, nº12, Capelas Town: Ponta Delgada Postal code: 9545-100 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 912 820 955 E-mail:quereresaberassociacao@gmail.com Website:https://novasrotaseducacao.wordpress.com/
NOVAS ROTAS - Learning Community (NRLC), is a public school, launched in 2018, integrated in the public education system of the Azores, with its theoretical matrix based on the Education Sciences that underlie pedagogical innovation. This school differs from other schools in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Portugal (Azores is considered an ultraperipherical region of EU), by seeking to be a Learning Community (LC), made by students, parents and guardians, educators (operational assistants), tutors (teachers) and the community where it is inserted. Everyone learns cooperatively with each other and helps with the development of the children as a whole, through Holistic Education, proposed by the Global Alliance for Transformative Education (2000), forming them into citizens with the skills defined for 21st century students, which are governed by specific values: Honesty, Respect, Solidarity, Love and Equality (these values were defined by the LC itself). The project is managed by the LC Council, the Project and Pedagogical Coordination Council, and the Core Council. The school has 59 children, and because of its alternative organisational model, instead of classes organised by years of schooling, the children are divided into 3 groups: Preschool; Initiation - until they complete their alphabetisation; and Autonomy group - already have enough autonomy to initiate projects. It also includes 3 operational assistants, 8 tutors (2 educators and 6 teachers) and 4 collaborating teachers. It is based on the Communication-Relationship Paradigm, which means that it takes into account the affective dimension of learning, therefore, the children have tutors instead of teachers, who establish a privileged relationship with them. This school, through its cultural project, strengthens the cultural identity of the territory where it is located, considering the multidimensional context and acting at various levels: territorial, natural, social, artistic and heritage.
Humanism
Citizenship
Education
Community
Cooperation
Humanism, Citizenship, Education, Community and Cooperation - embodied in the project values, guide the educational action and are present in both: the organisation (no classes, nor lessons, nor children divided by years of schooling - children learn in heterogeneous groups); in the pedagogical model with the selection of essential learning appropriate to their development and in articulation with the various subject areas. The procedural and continuous assessment, instead of tests, where the evidence of learning is collected during the activities.
The role of parents/guardians, contrary to conventional structures, where there is only formal representation of the parents in the school Assembly, all parents/guardians participate in the activities. In addition, they have a seat in the Community Council, which is held monthly and whenever necessary, where lines of action, community intervention projects and training sessions are defined (both parents/guardians and tutors have a continuous training programme, such as Mindful Parenting, Positive Psychology and Scholar Coaching). They are the ones responsible for expansion, improvements and maintenance works in the school building, they help in the development of some children's projects; they promote sports and other activities, as volunteers; when there is a lack of operational assistants, parents come to help in the cafeteria, playground and cleaning. They organise to facilitate the life of some families in need, by driving their children, in buying lunch vouchers, clothes, shoes and food; they are concerned about environmental sustainability (the level of solid waste in the children's snacks has been greatly reduced) and about healthy eating. Independent evaluation reports of this LC and some studies at masters and degree level taken by the universities of Azores and Lisbon, state that its practices are commendable and an example for other schools to follow.
OFICINA DOS SONHOS (Room of Dreams) is totally made of Cryptomeria wood, measuring 50sqm, with mountain and sea view, and it was built by 40 people in 2 months, during summer break - 15 volunteers, parents, families and people from the community. It was built to give more space to students. This is an example that illustrates how the main objectives of the project were implemented and achieved. It took a lot of solidarity, mutual help, humanism, a spirit of citizenship, respect and appreciation of each other's differences, education (learning and application of construction and interpersonal skills) and cooperation among everyone to achieve the common objective. The volunteers came from all over the world through the Workway Cultural Exchange platform; parents prepared the meals, took care of the children, developed fund-raising campaigns; organised building materials. As the number of children is growing and with the objective of extending the educational program to the 9th grade, the community has already organised itself and designed the project for the construction of a sustainable school built with environmentally friendly materials - ECO SCHOOL. This implies the active participation of all: the architectural project was designed by parents who are architects, carpenters and engineers; children are already developing projects of green roofs, in collaboration with the Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa (Técnico is the largest School of Architecture, Engineering, Science and Technology in Portugal) and other participants are raising funds and signing cooperation protocols with public and private entities. This school is a place of freedom and innovation and that’s why it stimulates its cultural environment, in which children have the opportunity and freedom to carry out significant and diverse learning experiences, in accordance with the principles of democratic management of spaces and teaching resources, continuing to integrate the cultural project.
NRLC has built a truly inclusive education context, promoting greater involvement of parents and guardians in the educational project in the sense that it has substantially increased school-family cooperation and school-community collaboration (municipalities, houses of the people, cultural and recreational institutions, museums and town halls). Today, 59 children from different social strata attend the project, some with serious developmental/learning problems and the majority comes from the village of Capelas. The school is public and all children from the area of residence can be integrated, whenever there are vacancies. This school has included children with special educational needs, foreign children who came to school without being able to speak Portuguese and also Ukrainian children from a programme for welcoming war refugees. The management of the school is done through the Cooperation Council where the parents have the decision power, thus guaranteeing cooperation, mutual help and solidarity. The management of learning is done by the children themselves when they establish their Individual Work Plan, biweekly and daily, selecting the skills to be developed in each learning unit. Mindfulness dynamics, social solidarity initiatives, such as the Christmas basket, food collection, and help for abandoned animals, are some pedagogical tools used in NRLC. Children create in a cooperative way, where each one contributes with the skills they have, regardless of their age. The Council for Educational Cooperation is a weekly meeting with all children from the Initiation and Autonomy groups and is an essential pedagogical tool for the promotion of citizenship, because it is in this council that students' rights and duties are decided and solutions are sought to manage conflicts and make community interventions, for example, improving the outside spaces, helping a family in need, raising awareness in the community for healthy eating, preservation of the environment.
This is a project that places people at the centre of its development, who creatively design the space, who build the project in its broadest sense, from the physical to the emotional space, being themselves the architects of well-being. The families and their dynamics, the tutors, and guests, consolidate the practices of the project. Starting from a sense of individual and collective awareness to the practice of positive parenting; from understanding to the will to contribute to the common good, this learning community is today an example. People who came together, mobilising wills and desires for a more conscious, organic and complete education. It was only through the involvement of this large group of people that, for example, a parents' association was born, which currently responds to the problems not only of the NRLC, but also of another 13 schools, located in 8 different parishes, in a total of 1276 children. An example that illustrates the power of this association, was the collection of 236 devices (computers and tablets) at the time of the pandemic, ensuring distance learning to all those 1276 children.
Also, because children didn’t have where to go after school, NRLC, along in a partnership with House of the People of Capelas and Norte Crescente Association, started extracurricular activities which permitted children to spend some more time in contact with the project and its approach. Regarding the methodology, many teachers from different schools have visited the school and taken many of its pedagogical devices to their educational contexts.
Teachers, parents, students, the School of Capelas, the Regional Government, the Town Council, the surrounding parish councils, Quinta do Norte and Norte Crescente Association, The University of the Azores, are the main stakeholders to have an impact on the implementation of this project. Besides the institutional collaboration with the School of Capelas and with the host, ‘Norte Crescente Association’, the project counts on the collaboration of ‘EXPOLAB - Centro de Ciência Viva’, the ‘Family Therapy and Systemic Intervention Centre’ and ‘Ciência Divertida’, a project of the responsibility of Municipal Council of Ponta Delgada together with ‘TETRAPI - Educational Activities’, present in all schools of this Municipality. The Municipality supports the project by providing equipment and by supporting the transport of children to the extracurricular activities, which operates in the Parish Councils. "The role of education centred on the students and the common space for all activities is very motivating for the children". NRLC also counts on a lot of occasional partnerships, in the context of a participatory community, focusing on the support to Extracurricular Activities. There is a pool of volunteers who most assiduously collaborate with NRLC. "We have volunteers, a Philosophy teacher, an artist, and foreigners for English" (NRLC Former Coordinator). There are also stakeholders involved in a way that allows the valorisation of Arts, Culture e Heritage such as, Carlos Machado Museum Schools Network UNESCO, Anda&Fala Cultural Association. Training takes place by contacting ‘Modern School Movement’, ‘Live Education Network’ and the areas considered a priority. Visits to the Ponte School, ERA Project and internships in the ‘Âncora Project’, mean the existence of a cultural and learning exchange between Azores-Brazil. There have been studies at Master's and Bachelor’s degree level at the University of the Azores and the University of Lisbon.
José Pacheco is an educator, anthropologist and pedagogue and a great promoter of democratic management in education in Portugal. José Pacheco began a relationship with this project even before it was born, a relationship he maintains to this day. In 2015, a pedagogical meeting was held in Ponta Delgada, "Talks with José Pacheco", where some educational challenges were discussed. The need arose to present a pedagogical innovation project. Thus, a group of teachers, educators, technicians and parents was formed, interested in developing the project. The elaboration of the project involved: specific training, contact with similar projects and specialists in Education Sciences. Later, the project was presented to the Regional Directorate of Education. Several phases were developed aiming at the dissemination of the project, such as, its integration in the Regional Programme ‘ProSucesso’; the preparation of a Public Petition that was submitted to the Legislative Assembly; the publication of various articles and reports in the local media; various auditions with entities with responsibility in the area of education; the public presentation of the project at various events and in some schools; the presentation of the project to the Capelas School Pedagogical Council, in March 2018. From the beginning, the team invested in its self-training, through contact with: ‘Modern School Movement’, ‘Live Education Network’, training actions in the areas considered a priority for the development of a project of this nature as well as visits to the Ponte School, ERA Project and internships in the ‘Âncora Project’, which meant the existence of a cultural and learning exchange between Azores-Brazil. Besides this, there have been some studies at master's and bachelor’s degree level at the University of the Azores and the University of Lisbon which demonstrates it as a pioneer project in the region and an example to be followed by other schools.
There’s an active involvement of parents and the community. The organisational logic and teaching model allows all children to learn in a holistic way, at their individual pace. The methodologies used and the specific dynamics undertaken are intended to be in line with the purposes of the LC, such as working together, in open areas, in an interdisciplinary way and continuous curricular articulation, in a horizontal and vertical logic. There are no classes, nor lessons, nor children divided by years of schooling - children learn in heterogeneous groups, guided by their tutors. Several pedagogical methodologies ensure pedagogical differentiation, their self-regulation of academic learning and emotional management, such as, the Individual Work Plan and the Roadmaps Study, the Barometer of Emotions for each one to understand their state of mind. The continuous assessment, instead of assessment tests, where the evidence of learning is collected during the development of the activities. In addition, there is a change of concepts. Thus, ‘teachers’ become ‘tutors’, ‘operational assistants’ become ‘educators’, punishments cease to be punishments and are called ‘consequences’. It provides children with a secure and affectionate learning environment, in which they have freedom to play, create, dream and above all, to like to learn. We want to challenge other schools to get out of their comfort zone and evolve, approaching not only the Digital Era but also the Age of Experimentation, of exploring knowledge. "Every plant grows how it is allowed to grow". This proverb helps us to understand what the word 'Autonomy' represents for the project. Children have pedagogical devices/tools that support learning, that help them to learn without the need to be told what to do. The main added value of this project is to pursue well-being and happiness, humanism linked to the maximum expression of responsibility for the 'self', for the 'other' and for the 'whole'.
In the reports produced by the Monitoring Committee, carried out by the Regional Directorate of Education, it is stated that "a pedagogical innovation project of this nature can bring important contributions to enrich the diversity of practices in other schools. All education systems breathe better when they have teachers and managers who embrace audacity and deconstruct what seems rigid in order to offer richer and more challenging educational experiences to students”. Embracing a pedagogical innovation project is always a challenge that requires vision, courage and resilience to adjust the theoretical framework to the demands of the reconfiguration of the educational practices of those involved and of the specific contexts. It also implies having the support from political decision makers and from the executive boards and pedagogical councils. In our case, all this came together, from its conception, to its authorisation and consequent implementation. A project that focuses its practice on Holistic Education needs to start by raising awareness in society in general, to present the project to several schools, to mobilise teachers and parents and to meet with political decision-makers, along with constant training of the teaching team that was joining the project. After the awareness-raising phase, implementation began. The methodologies used and the specific development dynamics undertaken in the respective learning spaces are intended to be in tune with the purposes of the LC, such as working together in open areas and in an interdisciplinary manner. NRLC has already served as a model for several initiatives: Eu Aprendo - São Jorge island, Olhar Poente - Terceira island and Horizonte Azul Faial - Faial island. We conclude that the implementation, within a public school, of a pedagogical innovation project of this nature can bring important contributions to enrich the diversity of practices of other schools, including the School of Capelas which hosted NRLC.
Children learn in heterogeneous groups, without classes or levels. There are 3 groups: the Pre-School; the Initiation and the Autonomy. The methodology is set to increase cooperative project work, by developing the pedagogical devices for their active participation in the democratic management of the school and in decision making. Tutors are promoters and supervisors of educational paths and learning processes, they implement teaching practices that facilitate the participation, which are linked to the pedagogical differentiation. In this organisational model each child has a tutor and works according to the activities with all the other teachers. They work collaboratively, which guarantees interdisciplinarity and integration of Knowledge. Children learn through different pedagogical devices: Educational Cooperation Council, Responsibility Groups, Reflective Rounds, Projects, Study RoadMaps, Individual Work Plans, Specialist Moments (which may lead to a direct lesson, according to the needs of the group). Children create their councils, learning how to live in Democracy and experience citizenship. In the Reflection Circles, for example, they learn how to solve their problems and the value of individual and social responsibility. Children learn by communicating their projects to their peers and/or the community. Another methodological example is the Roadmaps study, where they plan and assess their work for the week and day. They’re assessed in a formative, systematic, procedural and continuous way in the regulation of learning and, at the end of the year, according to the legislation in force. Learning by doing, enhances a permanent focus on investigation, exploration, search, discovery, research and reflection. By promoting a collaborative culture between the educational agents and by establishing cooperative dynamics a greater alliance is built between the school and the families/community.
Creativity is an increasingly valued skill that gives us the ability to solve and face the challenges of today's society. Therefore, children learn in a way that facilitates the creation and the search for creative solutions, through life and academic projects, responsibility groups and community intervention, for example, in the scope of the ‘Entrepreneurship Academia’ children developed a platform to support lonely elderly people and in the 'Eco-Wrap’ Project, in the area of environmental sustainability, they presented a local production line of beeswax wrap to replace adhesive paper, which won ‘I9Açores - Academia Jovem de Ideias Inovadoras’ Prize, in 2022. The concern with marine life has driven local and international partnerships with the SurfRider Foundation and Expolab - Living Science Centre. Currently, as part of a worldwide project, 'Precious Plastic', children are researching transformation and production processes with plastic waste. 'Araucária' is another example, consisting in an agroforestry project involving children, parents and some local partners, which won ‘Sempre Sustentável 2022’ Prize, from Crédito Agrícola Bank. NR believes that the more perspectives included in the project, the richer it will become and welcomes volunteers from all over the world through the Workway Cultural Exchange platform. The genesis of the project seems to demonstrate the role of networking and the importance of cooperation, thus oriented in the framework of Education for Sustainable Development. By viewing the challenges posed to the school by today's society as an opportunity that can actuate in the framework of achieving an education for all and leading to the formation of autonomous and participatory individuals, responsible, respectful of themselves and others. This makes it possible to be able to live in a Knowledge society, having creative thinking to move forward on the path of SDG 4 (UNESCO, 2017).
In 2015 "José Pacheco Talks" initiative gave birth to the idea and the 10 people group was formed. 2016 and 2017 are the Mobilisation and Dissemination phase and Professor José Pacheco comes to Azores to provide training. In 2018 the Approval and Implementation and a Public Petition collected 1052 signatures, in the small island of São Miguel. There’s the approval by the Pedagogical Council and Assembly of Schools of Capelas and by the Regional Directorate of Education. Parents/guardians rehabilitated the space, at Quinta do Norte, through partnerships with local companies and Tutors undergo training in Brazil, in the Âncora Project. José Pacheco returns to São Miguel to give more training, with the participation of more than 60 people. Capelas Parents Association is launched representing 13 schools (1276 children) of which NRLC is part. In 2019/2020 NRLC becomes A National Case Study and is introduced in the Report on the State of Education in Portugal; ‘Oficina dos Sonhos’ is built; External evaluation from University of the Azores takes place. In 2021/2022 NRLC joins the National Plan of Arts and a new room, ‘Oficina do Coração’ is added to the project. In 2023 the Eco-School Project had already been presented to the Regional Government and partners. NRLC has several distinctions: Eco-School Environmental Education for Sustainability Award; Gentil School Award; Child Friendly School Award; Solid Waste Separation Award; Azores Sustainability Primer; Healthy and Sustainable Food Prize, awarded by the Eco-Schools Association; join Network of UNESCO Associated Schools. Overview in numbers: 2018/2019 - 38 children, 29 families, 5 tutors, 1 assistants, 45 visitors; 2019/2020 - 43 children, 33 families, 7 tutors, 3 assistants, 25 visitors; 2020/2021- 50 children, 35 families, 7 tutors, 3 assistants, 16 visitors; 2021/2022 - 57 children, 42 families, 8 tutors, 3 assistants, 50 visitors; 2022/2023 - 59 children, 43 families, 8 tutors, 3 assistants, 21 visitors.
NRLC wishes to continue its path towards sustainability, having already started the design and conception about the next step: becoming an Eco-School, so it can function in an ecological building and be able to inspire society in general and the educational community in particular to change the current paradigm of civil construction to green construction. At the same time, the children will be made aware of the urgency of introducing new forms of construction. It also stimulates the acquisition of multiple learning in the various curricular areas and encourages the connection of the students and their families to the cooperative work developed during the construction process, which is more environmentally friendly and values more sustainable living practices. In strict relation with the methodology already developed, the logic of respect for the whole is sought, through minimal impact on the landscape and the natural environment. To this end, bioclimatic strategies are adopted in the construction of the Eco-school, in the creation of healthy spaces and prioritising sustainability at all stages of the planning and execution process. In addition to all the strategies to be adopted in the architectural project, an attempt will be made to involve the community in general in its construction, through volunteer programmes, the integration of young people or groups linked to social entities and by promoting courses and workshops on sustainable construction techniques. With these lines of action, spaces will be created for meeting, sharing, interaction and simultaneously, actions of environmental awareness and education. NRLC, which already signed the Azores Sustainability Charter, may contribute to the preparation and education of people with environmental awareness in a logic of necessity and ethical obligation towards the planet and future generations.
