Las Culturas School is placed in an residential area in the outskirts of the city, very close to a salt lake. It is surrounded by two urbanisations absolutely different:
-Around the main entrance of the school, we have some new semi-detached houses, with people of a medium social level, most of them retired people from nothern countries.
-Around the secondary entrances of school, we have some old semi-detached houses, with people of a medium-low social level. There are also retired people from nothern countries, but also families from Morocco, South America countries and other places, families that have less economical resources. A bit further, still in this area, there is another group of better houses again.
Nevertheless, although most of the children are from that area, we have four buses (that is 216 pupils) that come from other locations of the city, with a medium-high social level. So we can say there is a mixture of social circumstances, people with no economical problems, whose parents are doctors, teachers at university/ high schools/ schools, doctors, nurses, business owners... and others in hands of social services (around 10-15 families).
School facilities:
In the year 2006 we occupied the building of school (years before we were in pre-built classrooms). The school has got four big playgrounds (one for 3-5 children, one for 6-8, one for 8-10 and finally another one for 10-12). Also it has got a gym, a “pilota valenciana” yard, a library, a computer room, a music room, a specific needs room, and a quite big school dining room, where more than 450 people eat each day. We have our own kitchen and cooks.
In the area of 3-5 Education (that is “Educación Infantil”, there are 9 classrooms, each of them with their own bathroom inside, a computer and a big TV). In the Primary Education area, distributed in 3 branches, we have 6 classrooms in each branch, also with a computer and a TV.
We also have small rooms with Interactive Boards (we do not want them inside the classrooms).
Talking about school dinners, there is a big part of the students who are granted by Conselleria and they only pay around 45 euros/ year for school dinners. Then, we have a little part of students granted in a 70% (they pay around 200 euros/year) and then, again an important part of people who are not granted (we pay around 750 euros/year). Conselleria does not allow schools to ask more than 4,25 euros/day for dinners, that is the maximum.
The four buses I mentioned before are absolutely granted by Conselleria.
School Staff:
Most of the teachers in our school are “interinos”. That means that they have not a fixed place in our school, so we change teachers year by year. The advantage of this is that we always have different teachers who enrich school, normally young people, full of energy and new techniques, good at languages and with previous experiences in Erasmus, as students or as teachers. There are some of these teachers interested in repeating in our school and participating in the programme, but I am not going to write down their names, because it is not sure that they can be here next year.
Nevertheless, there is a group of teachers who are “definitivos”, that means, that we have the place in Las Culturas. From that people, these would be in charge of the programme:
-Headmaster: David Valentín Puertas de la Plaza.
-Secretary and English teacher: Catalina María Rodenas Jiménez.
-Chief of Teachers and P.E. Teacher: Luis Peñafiel Escámez.
- Speech Therapist: Estefanía Vázquez González.
Apart of that, there are some people working in school who could be responsible of other areas of the project:
-The nurse of school: María Martínez. Now she is responsible of the meetings with the health centre, to form the teachers and pupils.
-The coordinator of ladies in charge of school dinners: Eduardo Tovar.
-The lady in charge of buco-dental health, and other important aspects of health like hygienic correction of children and other million things (she is the best of school): Laura Martínez Casanova.
Students with problems at Maths or Spanish Language:
-In the exams all the students from la Comunidad Valenciana do, we have got 78 points from 100, at Maths. Around 86% of the children in each classroom have success at Maths. The rest have special support to reach the normal rhythm of the school year and the objectives stablished by law.
-But talking about Language, in those exams we have got 48 points from 100. The reason is that many children have not acquired the language yet. Anyway, around 77% of the children in each classroom have success at Spanish Language. The rest attend special programmes, depending on the necessities they present: if they are not Spanish, they have got extra-lessons of this language, and if they are Spanish, they can be given support inside the classroom, or can go with another teacher in small groups for special help.
Also, we have extra-lessons in the afternoon to help children (aged 8-12) who are motivated towards learning but do not have any help at home.
Teachers formation:
Each teacher decides which courses are interesting for him/ her. Most of young teachers are learning English, in order to have the B2 certificate.
In school we have had a course about First Aids (when an accident happens), and in April and May we are going to have another course about epilepsy and another one about diabetes. It is the health Centre of the area which organizes them and they have not got a name. They do not give the teachers any certificate.
This year most of the staff is being trained in emotional intelligence and conflict resolutions. The title of the course is: “ El docente: facilitador de la convivencia en el aula”, that is “The teacher: the procurer of the coexistance in the classroom”.
Other courses we have taken are:
-Metodologías inclusivas: aprendizaje cooperativo y aprendizaje basado en projectos. Inclusive methodologies: cooperative learning and project based learning (PBL)
-El estudiante sordo: la atención especial en edad escolar. The deaf student: special attention at school age.
-La motivación como recurso en el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje en todas las etapas. Motivation as a resource in the process of teaching and learning at all stages.
-Atención a la diversidad. Attention to diversity.
-El Desarrollo de habilidades sociales en el aula. Developing social skills in the classroom.
-Curso de tecnología de la información en educación: Aplicaciones y estrategias docentes. Course on information technology in education: applications and teaching strategies.
-El maestro como mediador en conflictos. The teacher as conflict mediator.
-Diseño de ayudas docentes. Design of teaching aids.
-Estrategias de prevención e intervención ante dificultades de aprendizaje a través de historias dramatizadas. Prevention and intervention strategies in learning difficulties through the dramatized story.
-Conflicto y negociación. Fundamentos y enfoque ético. Conflict and Negotiation. Foundations and ethical approach.
- Comenius Multirateral: “Water Quenching and Bridging Classrooms”. Comenius Multirateral: “Water Quenching and Bridging Classrooms”.
-Projecto Deportivo de Centro. Sports School Project.
-Projecto para el Éxito Escolar. School Success Project.
-Mejora de la competencia lingüística en inglés. Improvement of the Lingüistic Competence in English.
-Compentencias emocionales del profesorado en su práctica docente: propuestas innovadoras. Teachers' emotional competences in the teaching practice: innovative proposals.