A Discussion with Lourdes Sánchez, Principal, and Gabriela Vázquez, Vice-Principal, Colegio San Adolfo, El Dorado, Canelones, Uruguay

With: Lourdes Sanchez Berkley Center Profile Gabriela Vazquez Berkley Center Profile

May 23, 2012

Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in May 2012 undergraduate student Charlotte Markson interviewed Lourdes Sánchez, principal, and Gabriela Vázquez, vice-principal, of Saint Adolph School (Colegio San Adolfo) in El Dorado, Canelones, Uruguay. Sánchez and Vázquez discuss how and why the school joined Fe y Alegría Uruguay, the challenges they face in operating a private religious school, and the impact of the school on its immediate neighborhood.

Can you describe your work to me?

Lourdes Sánchez: This school is run by a team consisting of the principal, vice-principal, administrator, and coordinator of ministry. I am in charge of the pedagogical area. I tend to parents and coordinate activities with other schools and public institutions. If a teacher is missing, I will sometimes teach a class. Together with the vice-principal I also coordinate with the authorities concerning inspections by the public and private school system.

Can you tell me about the history of this school?

Sánchez: This school was founded in 1958, and at that time only operated in the church adjacent to the current school property. A neighbor in the area donated the land on which the chapel was built, and eventually it was partly converted into a school where classes could be taught.

Gabriela Vázquez: Classrooms were gradually added to the property. Once the number of students had risen significantly a separate building was built, and the school continued growing to the size it is at now [two buildings and the chapel].

Sánchez: In 1969 a Jesuit arrived at the school. He was in charge of the chapel and the school from 1969 until his passing in 1995, and he strongly impacted the school’s identity. When the Jesuit priest passed away, the school was entrusted to an order of nuns until 2002.

Vázquez: In 2002 the nuns were given a new mission to which to attend. At this point we were teachers at the school, and the nuns suggested we form a cooperative with laypeople.

Sánchez: Although we were all laypeople, we continued to run the school as a Catholic institution.

Vázquez: We also retained the principles and ideas which we had learned from other Jesuit priests and Father Novo.

Can you explain the term “cooperative”?

Sánchez: A group of teachers took charge of the school in a cooperative way. This meant that everyone had to make a contribution in order to keep the school running. We all continued working the same amount of hours while also running the school. There was a school principal, but the school did not have an owner/patron.

Vázquez: In reality, in the cooperative everyone becomes an owner/patron, and everyone was involved in keeping the school running.

Sánchez: When the nuns had to leave, forming a cooperative was the only means to keep the school running. The other option was closing it, so we chose to form the cooperative and keep going. Some teachers left the school. Of those teachers who had been working with the nuns only four remained. So we had to find more teachers who would join us, and the number of teachers always remained more or less between 12 and 15.

The next step, in 2009, was for the school to officially become part of Fe y Alegría. When we started getting to know Fe y Alegría, its profile and mission statement, we saw that it was very similar to what we had been living as a school and what we had learned from the Jesuit priest that had spent many years here. That made it easy for us to join the network.

What are differences between public education and religious education such as the one offered by Fe y Alegría?

Sánchez: I think the most obvious difference is that of Christian values. Here, you can let children get to know Jesus Christ and follow in his footsteps—an option not available in the public schools, which are secular.

In addition, one could say that we are able to work more closely with the children and their families, something that is not really possible in public schools. We offer many workshops for parents, and in addition the children are able to receive their first communion here, which enables us to become more connected to their families as well.

Are only Catholic children allowed to enroll at the school?

Sánchez: Not necessarily. We have children and sometimes even faculty that do not profess to the Catholic faith. It is not a condition in order to attend the school.

How many children attend the school?

Two-hundred and fifteen.

As a private school, do you receive any kind of government support?

Vázquez: In our country the private schools, whether they are Catholic or not, do not receive any support from the government. Instead we have to pay the state for certain things, just like any business.

Sánchez: The public schools for instance neither pay utilities nor taxes. We, being a Catholic school, have to pay all of the bills and all the taxes owed the state.

And how is the school financially sustained—only by the tuition paid by its students?

Sánchez: That would not be enough. That’s why it is important to find benefactors, people with more financial means that know the school, that are interested in its work, and therefore support a certain number of scholarships for students. Currently, Fe y Alegría manages all of these benefits.

Vázquez: Before joining Fe y Alegría, we had to look for people who would support us. But with just the teachers searching, we were not able to achieve a lot. And Fe y Alegría not only takes care of that. It also works on the faculty’s continuing education, which also helps us a lot.

Sánchez: This is something else which differentiates Fe y Alegría schools and centers from others. They are very invested in teacher training through both online and traditional classes.

What is your connection or relationship with the Catholic University of Uruguay?

Sánchez: We worked a lot with the university even before joining Fe y Alegría, and we have completed a project for educational quality improvement with them.

What does the educational quality improvement project entail?

Sánchez: First of all a team arrives at the school or center, and certain evaluations take place in order to identify aspects in which the center is weak—whether that be the relationship with the families, the curricular or academic quality, or the organization and management. The evaluation helps determine where the center needs support, and based on that, it determines priorities.

In our case we identified the cooperation and relationship between faculty, the management and organization, and the curricular layout as our priorities for improvement. The university supplied both materials and personnel in order for us to work on those aspects. After determining our goals we did not take the project any further for about a year, because that was the time we were going through the change of joining Fe y Alegría. Now we are working on the same project again, however by way of Fe y Alegría.

What are the biggest challenges this school faces?

Sánchez: I think the building upkeep is a very big challenge for us, because this place does not belong to us. When we started the cooperative we were given the property as a loan. One of the conditions is for us to maintain the property and take care of the necessary repairs. However, we barely have enough money to pay the faculty’s salaries and remain in operation. So of course many things have started deteriorating and many things, which need to be repaired have not been attended to. Fe y Alegría is now also working on collecting funds in order to improve the building upkeep.

Why did you choose to work in education, specifically in a Fe y Alegría school, and what do you believe education can accomplish?

Sánchez: I believe that education, even though it is not the solution to all problems, is an important path towards change. Everyone wants to change society in order to make it more just, equal, and equitable, and I believe education is the way to do that. However, we need other support as well, because education alone cannot fix everything. We cannot change everything in the four hours the children spend here every day, and we are of the opinion that other policies are necessary in order to accompany educational policy. But I believe that when every one of us chose to be a teacher it was because from our place and position we are able to transform and change something.

In addition, the two of us grew up in this neighborhood. I am not an alumnus of this school because I attended public school. However, since this was both a school and parish, we came here for Sunday school, and it was right around the corner from where I lived—it was like my second home. So, once I had received my teacher’s degree I started working here. When the school was endangered of closing we did what was necessary in order to keep it running. So in addition to all that comes with education, this school is where the heart lies; it’s my second home.

Vázquez: I started coming here as a child and completed the last three years of primary school here. Since I was given the opportunity to work here, and now that so many years have passed and I am still here, I really feel that this is where my heart lies. In addition we share the values of the gospel, the Christian values we all have. One doesn’t think one can change the world, but it is possible to make a large contribution to the families and most of all the children that are here with us.

Since the majority of education in Uruguay is public, how was this school received in the neighborhood?

Vázquez: This school has been here for so many years that it is well received. The public school in this neighborhood actually started here since we lent the teachers rooms in order to have their meetings. Many of the people who send their children here are alumni of the school. Another reason the neighborhood cherishes this school is because Father Novo spent so many years here as a priest, and he put a lot of effort into ensuring that the project grew and was open to the neighborhood and the community. So many people decide to send their children or grandchildren here because they know Father Novo. They know he is no longer here, but that the school shares his vision and ideals.

Sánchez: In addition, even though it is a private school, it is not an elitist school. So there is an acceptance in the neighborhood. I don’t know if this would be the case with just any other school, but this one is special.

There is a lot of discussion about public versus private education in this country because some private schools are only accessible to wealthy people due to high tuition fees. But that is not what happens in this neighborhood and this school.

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