During more than a decade public education in the region of Atacama has suffered from strikes, classrooms in bad condition and low performance results. In order to address this emergency, the Ministry of Education and the Regional Government launched the Atacama Plan, which the PUCV joined, leading key aspects, translating their public vocation into concrete actions that go from teacher education to digital innovation.
Rector Nelson Vásquez attended the launching of the plan and emphasized that its success will be determined by “addressing the fundamental problems by going into the classrooms and creating programs for teachers”. The leadership of the PUCV is translated in specific lines of work, designed by teachers from the Philosophy and Education School, the Costa Digital center and the Computer Engineering School. These actions go to the heart of the problem: the classroom and teacher management.
One off the Contributions from the PUCV is Distributed Leadership, a support and skill building program for young principals, which is of great importance since, in the words of Rector Vásquez; “for young principals, to take on the responsibility of leading and conducting a school is a very importante challenge”.
The proposal of the PUCV has three approaches: intensive diploma programs for primary cycle teachers, mentorship for novel principals, and a platform that will follow up on student progress. The diploma programs will combine face-to-face classes and online resources, while the platform will provide reading and mathematics reports, for timely decision-making. The goal is to instill stable capabilities in the 257 public schools of the region and leave a model that can be sustained without external advice.
Nicolás Cataldo, Minister of Education, justified the protagonism of the university by mentioning that “we have the utmost respect for their trajectory, and we believe that institutions with public vocation should take charge of the great national challenges”. In addition to the academic support, the ministry allocated more than 4 thousand million pesos to rehabilitate libraries, laboratories and school transportation routes.
For the Atacama senator, Yasna Provoste, the key to the plan is its governance, since “it shows a different way, where collaboration allows that the sum ends up being much greater than what each effort represents individually”. The Directive committee integrates universities, teachers’ association, and parents’ centers, and they will evaluate progress each semester.
Regarding the participation of the PUCV, José Miguel Garrido, Dean of the Philosophy and Education School, stated that this is a milestone of great transcendence and importance because “it allows us to contribute with our knowledge and talent to the improvement of public education. We highlight the opportunity to be a part of this joint effort to support the development of education in Atacama”, he stated.
The Atacama plan combines teacher education, leadership support and cultural activities that can strengthen the connection with the community. The participation of the PUCV together with the support of the Ministry of Education, the Regional Government, and various local actors, aims to generate tangible impact in the learning process of students and the re-building of trust in the Atacama school system.
Concerts for Public Education
The cultural aspect joined this unfolding. The PUCV Chamber Orchestra offered concerts in Copiapó, Chañaral, Vallenar and Freirina to launch the plan called “Through the beauty of art and music it is possible to build bridges that strengthen the social weaving”, as recalled by rector Vásquez in the city of Copiapó. Presentations brought the school community closer and underscored that educational reactivation is also related to the emotional wellbeing of students.
To this respect, Mariel Mancilla, director of Artistic-Cultural relations, stated that “art and culture are fundamental for our university within the educational context. Music is a source of inspiration, is transversal and capable of connecting with people’s emotions”, she highlighted.
Concert attendants valued the presentation of the PUCV Chamber Orchestra. “It was beautiful and touching. The orchestra is wonderful, has a fantastic sound, the interpretation of the singer was also very beautiful. It was a pleasant and beautiful surprise”, Luz Díaz mentioned.
For his part, Genaro Medina, also highlighted the activity. “I am a music teacher; therefore, I have a special sensitivity and I really liked the musicians’ interpretation”, he concluded.
By Óscar Ugarte
Strategic Communications Department
