Saturday and Sunday in school!

Contrary to what happens in most schools in the world when class ends each Friday, many schools in Guatemala stay open on Saturday and Sunday. The last bell of the school week marks the beginning of a weekend full of activities and learning in 206 Escuelas Abiertas (open schools) in 14 departments in the Central American country.

Biology, Arithmetic and Spanish give way to workshops in dance, painting, sewing, chess, arts and crafts or Mayan culture, among many others. Playgrounds and courts used Monday through Friday for recess, become sports training spaces and stages for neighborhood festivals and parties.

This is one way Guatemalans have found to open spaces for social inclusion in urban areas subject to precarious infrastructure, scarcity of public resources, violence, unemployment, and a lack of opportunities for young people to be productive  with their free time.

The program's director, Claudio Magnífico (photo), explains that every weekend, 200,000 children—and adults in varying numbers—do something different and positive in these places. "Everything they do in this space allows them to discover their capabilities, their talents, connect with themselves and do something productive in their leisure time. Getting people to invest their weekends in continued learning is a challenge that we face every day, and we're winning the challenge," says Magnífico.

The neighborhood goes to school

Open Schools was inspired by a Brazilian program that has been running since 2004. Here, the program is currently run in 2,283 schools, tending to more than 1,938,763 students, according to the Ministry of Education, which coordinates the program.

The Open Schools (EA) program although inspired in the Brazilian program, adapted it thoroughly to meet the needs and cultural characteristics of the Central American country, explains Magnífico. Beyond these two countries, Chile and Argentina are the only other Latin American countries to have implemented the Open Schools program.
Open Schools aims to go beyond simply occupying the free time of children and adults from low-income communities, although it is important to taking them off the streets and keeping them out of gangs. The long-term goals include: consolidating democratic values, reinforcing self-esteem, and forming leadership.

"Education can has two sides, it can be informative and formative, the EA program is formative. What regular schools don't cover, the Open Schools do. That is: art, sports, learning about another culture (abordaje de una cultura específica). Although ours are extracurricular activities, we can automatically become part of the National Education System, and we're working toward that," says Magnífico, who says civil-society institutions and international organizations have mobilized to make EA a state program and not just an initiative of the current administration, guaranteeing its continuation.

The majority of the EA's are located in areas with high rates of violence; for that reason, the Schools try to offer tools to youth who live in these environments to develop wholistically and have access to alternative environments away from poverty, violence, delinquence, and a general lack of education and opportunities.

How it works

The Open Schools do justice to their name: they're open to everyone. From the youngest to the oldest in the neighborhood. One "school day" can bring together in the same school senior citizens in a class on handi-crafts or gymnastics and children learning to play chess or paint. The program is free of charge and offers lunch to all participants. The workshop instructors are hired for their skills, often from the community being served. Through these programs, the community learns to use the Internet, organize fairs, produce plays and write music.

"Above all else, these volunteers are very important. They're people of different ages who help with everything that we do in the Schools. They identify with the program and they create an identity that strengthens the project. They are members of te community, relatives of the participants, etc."

An Early Calling

One of the students who has been able to develop various talents within the Open Schools is Velveth Castillo, a student at the Escuela Adrián Gaudencio Martínez in Boca del Monte, in Guatemala City. At 13, Velveth not only participates in several workshops but is also a member of the Youth Council for Open Schools, which convenes young leaders from different communities involved in the program. Through the Youth Council, the youths gain tools to be able to actively participate in decisions taken in their communities and propose—and enact—solutions to their communities' problems.

Velveth also found her calling thanks to these activities. "When I finish school I want to become a journalist," she says,  with conviction and pride at having begun her career at such a such a young age, having scored her first interview with a high-profile public figure: Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

"My friend Eric Ramírez and I asked President Lula what he thought about Open Schools and he said that the young people who participated would grow up to become important leaders and would have opportunities for success. And we're already seeing that [come true] because we're getting calls to do different interviews, to contribute to the community. Whenever they call, you are motivated to follow through," says Velveth (in the photo with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom).

Also, Velveth proudly adds that she asked President Lula, "...if he were little and was attending these schools, which class he would like to take. He said he wold take computers and theater." Velveth began taking part in her community's EA in 2008. Her first classes were in English and computers. Later, she took theater, salsa, and communications until her natural enthusiasm brought her to the Youth Council.

 "The Council is made up of volunteers; they don't get a dime, they do it to help their communities. Every Saturday after Escuela Abierta we meet from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to see what we can to do for the community. For example, we are collecting money to buy medals for the kids who participate in the chess tournament or who participate in cleaning up the neighborhood," she explains. For Velveth, the objective is clear. "We're trying to create young leaders... so on Saturdays and Sundays they don't join a gang or hang out in the streets. For example, there's one kid who left his gang and who began to take computer classes and  now he's a volunteer who teaches break dance," she says.

According to Claudio, the objective is bringing the Open Schools to the other seven departments in Guatemala, where they do not yet have a presence. Places where there are surely many young people like Velveth, wanting to build upon their talents.

School Youth Councils: (Main points)

• Youth leadership
• Research on young Guatemalan's quality of life.
• Transformation of the school into an open space that serves the interest of the youth.
• Creation of a volunteer network of young people serving other young people.
• Establishing strategic partnerships with institutions and organizations that develop projects geared toward young poeple.
• In 2009, 218,191 at-risk youths gained access to alternative education projects that make them more likely to become employed and earn money.
• Network of selected communities participating in alternative youth education programs.
• Creation of public opinion that favors prioritization, investment and supporting programs for at-risk youth.
• Working model for youth programs.
• Civil and governmental authorities who contribute to innovative programs that promote the elimination of discriminatory practices toward young people. 

Photos: by Escuelas Abiertas

Translated by Danielle Renwick for Comunidad Segura

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Escuelas Abiertas