Families from Mataró denounce that the Department of Education plans to close one of the two I3 lines initially planned at the Germanes Bertomeu school, in the Rocafonda neighborhood, and that it has already transferred the decision to the center. This would mean going from 36 to 18 new students at the school, considered highly complex and where the aim is to combat segregation. During the official pre-registration period, the center received 22 first-choice applications, to which we must add another 9 second- and third-choice applications. The department, for its part, assures that there is no official decision made, given that the volume of pre-registrations received and the preferences of families are still being assessed.
The families point out that the rules of the game have been changed in the middle of the pre-registration period, given that until last week Educació did not inform the school management of the decision to eliminate one of the two lines, as confirmed by sources from the center. “The period began with a number of places and now we find that many of us who put it as a second or third option may be left out,” denounces Lara Ybargüengoitia, spokesperson for those affected.
The center is located in the Rocafonda neighborhood and is considered highly complex. An educational project is carried out there to combat segregation that families applaud, and which could now be affected by the elimination of a second line that the school has always had, they point out.
“The center is located in an environment with many recently arrived families, it is a school that in Mataró has many families who reject it because of the neighborhood in which it is located,” highlights Ybargüengoitia. “To fight against segregation and ensure family diversity, no line should be closed,” he adds.
In this sense, both the center and the families defend that the second line could be maintained, given that with 22 applications in first option and another 9 in second or third, the project would guarantee the viability of having two classes per I3 course. In fact, they highlight that a similar situation occurred last year with the Llàntia school, also in Mataró, where the closure of one of the two lines was finally confirmed despite having received more late requests.
Due to the fear of being left without this option, families have mobilized and this Monday they meet with the management of the Territorial Services and with the Councilor for Education of Mataró, Bea Delgado. The department maintains that no decision has been made, and that the situation is being analyzed based on the pre-registrations made and the demographic situation of the center’s environment, with the date of June 10 to confirm the final assignments.
