Big Beautiful Schools

After a visit to two concession schools on Tuesday, I was looking forward to seeing a public school in Bogota that could present another point of comparison.   Thursday afternoon, after visiting an Escuela Nueva site, we headed off to visit a public school that is supported by a private company – Fundación Crem Helado.  The directions we were given included getting off the bus at a certain point and asking, “Donde está la escuela grande y bonita?” (Where is the big beautiful school?) This proved to be less successful than expected, and so we had a lovely tour of the rural parts of Bogota as the bus spent two hours taking wrong turns and searching for our destination.

When we finally did arrive, the school was in fact big and beautiful.  Located high up in the hills with canals built to channel the water running down the mountain into gardens for students to farm, the school consisted of several large buildings: one for the pre-school and kindergarten, and the others for the elementary and secondary school.  There were large places for gathering and recreation.  During the presentation by the administration and representatives from Fundación Crem Helado, however, we learned the school did not always look like this or run as well. 

This visit provided a look at a different kind of partnership.  At the concession schools we saw examples of schools that were privately managed.  At this school, Colegio Rural Jose Celestrinos Mutis, the school is publicly managed and supported by a private institution. Fundación Crem Helado is just one private company that supports public schools throughout Colombia.  More and more it seems that private companies are making social responsibility a priority and recognizing that education of the community is a great investment for the entire society. 

For Fundación Crem Helado, the process begins with schools contacting the foundation and applying for the partnership.  The partnership then includes 4 – 5 years of organizational and managerial training and support.   There are several steps in the support process including:

1.    Awareness.  A one-year process where the foundation helps the school to identify its areas for improvement, make the physical improvements necessary and develop a strong sense of collaboration between the school and the foundation.
2.    Strategic Plan.  Here the school develops its mission and vision and creates a long-term plan of 5-6 years.
3.    Implementation.  Here the school develops a process map and begins working to reach its established goals.

Throughout all of these steps, the foundation also provides training manuals and monthly classes that include deliverables or homework assignments that the schools must complete and bring to the next class.  For example, one session might be on writing a mission statement and the homework is for the school to bring their mission statement.  The foundation then helps the school to revise and strengthen the mission statement that all the goals and the long-term plan will build upon. 

The school really did seem to be well-managed and nicely kept, and the students and teachers all seemed invested. However, we did not get the opportunity to see any learning taking place, and there was no information presented on student achievement (perhaps because presentations were cut short due to our late arrival).

Questions

•    What is the union’s position on schools with these public-private partnerships?  The union is adamantly against the concession schools because they are privately managed, but does this model provide a compromise that the union can support?

•    While there does not seem to be any financial obligations on the part of the school, the food that was served to us was all from the CremHelado company; therefore, some members of the group were wondering if there are strings attached in this relationship.  Are schools required to promote their partner’s brand, and if so, does this have any negative implications?

•    The foundation explained that some of these partnerships have been more successful than others.  Has the foundation identified characteristics of schools that might indicate that it would benefit from a public-private partnership?  Has the foundation identified characteristics of a school that might suggest it will not benefit from the model?

•    Other than a desire to demonstrate corporate social responsibility – what are the incentives for private organizations to assist public schools?

Kate Cottrell