This past October 30, 2023, members ofthe international collaborative “English Program La Palma” (“Programa de Inglés La Palma”) held a working meeting which main objectives were to disseminate the findings of the joint academic initiatives accomplished over the past year (August 2022- October 2023) and strengthen the bilingual education programs based at the Institución Educativa Técnica Nueva Esperanza la Palma (IETNELP), in Buenos Aires, Tolima. Elena Navas, PhD (GHBF Co-Founder and CEO) moderated the encounter which included members from the IETNELP, the Proyecto Educativo Buenos Aires (PEBA), and the Universidad del Tolima (UT).
Luis Eduardo Reyes, MS (Director, PEBA) opened the series of presentations by sharing IETNELP’s background context statistics, and those of other Colombian top rated academic institutions’ rankings. Followed by a socio-demographic characterization of the English Program La Palma’s study population, and the rationale behind the international academic agreement. Subsequently, Elena Navas, PhD, presented the various ways in which the GHBF supported various bilingual education’s capacity building activities since the program’s inception. They included a series of STEAM methodology applied learning workshops tailored to all IETNELP’s teachers, and an international lecture tailored to IETNELP’s and UT’s faculty, and English as a second language UT’s students by Claudia Medina (bilingual and Montessori education expert, and Principal at Bilingual Montessori Lab Academy in Forest Park, Illinois, US). In addition, Dr. Navas gave a summary of the IETNELP’s high school students who were awarded GHBF’s Future Entrepreneurs Scholarships (to cover the cost of Prueba a Saber 11 preparation course) in 2022, and 2023. The 2022 awardees included Wehenlly Moncada, Karol Molano, and Sebastián Canizares. The 2023 recipients were Shirlok Moncada, Santiago Arévalo, and Laura Valentina Varón. Last, she gave an overview of GHBF’s sponsored weekend English tutoring, and test taking strategies for the “prueba Saber 11” sessions led by Rudy Galeano (English teacher at IETNELP) tailored to 10th to 12th grades students between June and August 2023.
Subsequently, Miguel Villarraga, PhD (faculty, UT) and Juan David Rico (UT student and IETNELP’s intern) shared their projects’ findings and lessons learned, in collaboration with Gloria Milena Castellanos, MS (faculty, UT) and Dixon García (English teacher, IETNELP).
According to Omar Mejía Patiño, PhD (UT’s President and a key collaborator), “For the University of Tolima, support and participation in academic cooperation and social impact projects with strategic allies such as GHBF are of utmost importance. The joint work carried out between the foundation, the teaching team of our institution and the IETNELAP has had a very positive impact not only on its students but on the entire community. The English learning and teaching skills will provide the necessary tools so that the benefited students can be more competitive in their future higher education, and professional work. Without any doubt, this project is very well aligned with our university’s objectives to the community, and the social responsibility impact our institution seeks in terms of facilitating training processes that respond to global dynamics.“
Luis Eduardo Reyes (Director, PEBA) has been a leading collaborator. He added “For the Nueva Esperanza La Palma Technical Educational Institution it is very important to establish cooperative relationships with establishments or organizations in the environment. We are truly very grateful for all the interest and support provided by the GHBF. Even though it is not a Colombia-based organization, it has set its sights on this rural educational establishment in Ibagué, managing to establish ties of cooperation with entities as important as the University of Tolima, and providing human and economic resources so that our students can achieve their dreams and life projects.”
None of the “English Program La Palma” achievements would have been possible without the support of either the IETNELP high school’s principal (Jorge García) or Jorge Beltrán (Dean of Students). According to Jorge Beltrán “Educational quality not only depends on what happens inside the classrooms, but also on the school’s openness to cooperating with other institutions, both public and private, that are willing to commit to regional development. Strengthening ties between schools and universities goes beyond being a necessity; it constitutes an invaluable opportunity to establish a dialogue of knowledge among peers, which ultimately benefits the implementation of best educational practices. This agreement not only enriches the learning experience, but also fosters a better understanding from higher education to the local context. In addition, it provides the opportunity to promote a critical view, a fundamental pillar of higher education that is worked from school. The symbiosis between school and higher education manifests itself as an intrinsic need. In this perspective, this agreement represents a transcendental effort that seeks to reduce the gaps between the public and private spheres, as well as between rural and urban areas from education. Throughout this agreement, considerable challenges were faced, and significant achievements were achieved, which expands opportunities to strengthen educational quality and relevance, strengthen collaboration and open new paths between academia, the private sector and IETNELAP.
“It is well established that bilingual education is not just language learning. Scientific studies have shown that it develops cognition, mental processes, and empathy for children for the rest of their lives. The English Program La Palma’s mission is to provide a whole child experience which considers the emotional, intellectual, physical, and social development of every child and adolescent.” said Dr. Navas. “To accomplish our objectives requires substantial human and economic resources. We invite you all to join our cause and help us improve equity and inclusion around bilingualism in our under-resourced communities.”
For additional information about our education and health/wellbeing programs, future workshops, or to donate, visit our web page: https://globalhealthbeat.org.