In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Plaza Universitat, some children, dressed in uniform, go unnoticed as they enter an old building through a small door on the west side of the square. It is the Sant Francesc school, which is popularly known as “the school of the Filipinos”, due to the origin of the majority of students. But in these times of low PISA results it could also adopt the name of “miracle school”, due to the linguistic success that these children achieve at the end of primary school.
Despite the fact that the language of origin of the vast majority is not Romance (in addition to Tagalog, they speak Urdu, Bengali, Quechua or Chinese) and despite being a center of maximum complexity due to the socioeconomic origin of the students, they exceed the averages of the basic skills of Catalan, Spanish and English in educational centers in Catalonia. “We are above ordinary schools,” proudly states its director, Maite Fenollosa. In the rest of the skills (mathematics and science) they are in the Catalan average.
How has this miracle been worked? If we look at the studies, students of immigrant origin (including children born here but of foreign parents) and those of low socioeconomic and cultural status obtain worse results than the Catalan average. This is due to educational evidence: their worse starting position compared to the rest of the students and the lack of a sufficiently equitable policy to correct inequality (school segregation, attention to social, linguistic, cultural diversity or special needs due to disabilities).
“The majority of students who enroll, at the age of 3, have barely heard Catalan before coming. They don’t go to daycare, and when they go out, they go to restaurants or hair salons in their community,” explains the director as she walks through the spacious and bright school with classrooms with high ceilings and large windows. The building was designed by the architect Elies Rogent i Amat, the same one who built the University of Barcelona, ??in 1874. The classrooms, spread over three floors, have been repainted, redecorated, rearranged a thousand times by the Franciscan nuns or by the current educators. to welcome the students. It was a girls’ school (the artist Mary Santpere was a distinguished student).
Today, there are about nine classrooms, with 200 students from 2 to 12 years old, attended by 14 teachers. “In 2008, there were only Filipino students. There was a large community in the north of Raval. They are families that look for Catholic centers, they like the uniform, a classical education. So, in a class there could be about 22 children of this nationality and 3 natives.” Now students from families from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Lithuania, China and Latin American countries have joined, although there is still a Filipino majority. The Catalans have completely disappeared.
“When they start school, at 3 or 4 years old – others enter when they are older – they are amazed by the size of the building, the adults who speak another language, the taste of the food, they miss everything and especially their family… All of that We know it and we take care of the effect it can have on your emotional state.”
They provide them with an affectionate, playful environment, awakening their curiosity to learn, while applying a personalized and timed linguistic plan to each student. In some cases they are separated from the class in some activities (such as a reception classroom) and in others they receive reinforcement. The director considers that the key is in the training of teachers in language teaching strategies and emotional well-being. “Courses, courses and courses,” she emphasizes, “and go all at once.”
It is a job, Fenollosa continues, little by little, very planned, which requires close monitoring. The center’s linguistic project points out that it is essential for students to master the language to learn other skills and to get along in Catalonia. “Some do not let go until a year later, we look to see if it is due to an emotional issue or because they have some type of special need (such as hyperactivity or dyslexia). “If you detect it in time, you help them a lot.” They have a psychologist who visits the center two or three days a week. This is an essential resource that falls within the 80 euro fee paid by families (“those who pay”).
“As a charter school we do not have a reception classroom or early childhood education technicians, everything is done by the team of teachers thinking about the children. Our resources are scarcer than a public center, but we have very committed professionals, willing to continually train and take on challenges” (in each classroom there are 3 to 4 students with special needs, mostly autism). “And that explains our results. It is not a miracle, it is method, commitment, demand and effort,” concludes Fenollosa.
