The beneficiaries of this project will be the students at the municipal school as well as those at the charter school.
On Monday, March 11, 2019, an agreement was signed to implement English classes in Porvenir beginning in early childhood. The agreement was made between the Regional Superintendent of Education, the Illustrious Municipality of Porvenir, and the salmon farming company, Nova Austral S.A., who was also the project’s initiator.
This endeavor aims to deliver more tools to the children of Tierra del Fuego, who Will begin having classes from Pre-kindergarten and be maintained until 4th grade, a cycle that will occur if the curricular plans are renewed by the Ministry of Education.
The children benefiting from this project are from the municipal school, Bernardo O’Higgins School, as well as, from the subsidized establishment, Maria Auxiliadora School, and they will receive English instruction from teachers whose native language is English. This year, there are 2 teachers from the United States who will be in charge of beginning this major challenge.
Drago Covacich, Regional Manager of Nova Austral, commented about the importance of providing greater opportunities to the children of Porvenir. “We are an isolated community and we should do our best so that the children of the future have such an important tool, such as the ability to effectively use a second language. This agreement lasts for 6 years. We always commit to long term projects. We have implemented something similar to the academic excellence scholarships for students in higher education and we also designate competitive funding for developing small businesses in the town. We believe that this is the way that companies should connect with their communities,“ emphasized the executive.
During 2019, the classes will extend from Pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade, and subsequently, adding 3rd and 4th grades for each establishment. Students will receive 5 pedagogical hours of English per week per grade level.
For her part, the mayor of Porvenir, Marisol Andrade, signaled that “this is a tremendous opportunity, a step forward, an an expansion for our little girls and boys from Porvenir. Nova Austral’s commitment, as a company, to social responsibility is evident in the community, and today, this example is being followed by other companies, and I think that this is the way to build community, particularly in small and remote places such as Porvenir.”
Furthermore, referring to the signing of the agreement, the Regional Superintendent of Education, Beatriz Sanchez, said that “this project gives tremendous opportunities to our students in Porvenir. I am very happy that this project will begin during the early childhood stage of development. I say this as the pre-school teacher that I am, because, effectively, children are like sponges. This educational opportunity will serve them greatly in the future.”
