Domingo Trabalón, on his first day as mayor, received a visit from the delegate for Educational Development and Vocational Training, Francisco Alonso Martínez. Together they visited two educational centres in Zurgena: the CEIP Juan Andrés de Toledo and La Alfoquía, with the intention of getting to know the operation of the centres and, more directly, the development of the PROA+ Programme in the Juan Andrés de Toledo.
The new Mayor of Zurgen expressed his gratitude for being “the first time that a delegate of Education has taken an interest in our schools and his firm commitment, like that of the Junta de Andalucia, to support and promote the development of our town”.
Alonso said that “the educational development of the two schools in Zurgena stands out because of the involvement of the families and the Town Hall, which is committed to the smooth running of both schools”. He added that “the participation of the Juan Andrés de Toledo school in the PROA+ Programme has meant an important leap towards educational inclusion as it has improved the attention given to the students with the incorporation of an inclusive reinforcement monitor”. In addition, he pointed out that thanks to this programme, “the school has received a financial endowment that has been used for the development of educational projects in which the students have been able to enjoy extracurricular activities and workshops”.
The PROA+ Programme (Programme for Guidance, Advancement and Educational Enrichment) is designed to offer support and guidance to vulnerable students and reduce school dropout rates. This programme aims to transform education and to act especially on students with specific educational support needs because they require compensatory actions.
In the case of the Juan Andrés de Toledo school, PROA+ is focused on guaranteeing the educational success of the pupils and encouraging the participation of families in school life. The headmaster of the school stressed that thanks to the PROA+ Programme “this school year the students have enjoyed extracurricular activities, trips and workshops free of charge, such as the last one to Terra Natura in Murcia, where without the support of this type of project it would not have been possible”. He highlighted the figure of the educational monitor as a key aspect of the programme as “throughout the school day we have had his presence in the centre and he has adapted to the characteristics of our school, offering educational reinforcement to all students under the principle of inclusivity”.
After the visit to CEIP Juan Andrés de Toledo, the educational delegate went to CEIP La Alfoquía, a school that stands out for the implementation of actions and strategies that benefit students in their current and future lives. For this reason, the teaching team is implementing the Growing up in Health Plan and is committed to pedagogical and technological innovation. Based on the analysis of the school’s environment, the need to promote healthy lifestyle habits was detected, which is why they have developed activities and projects related to health, such as promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables, CPR workshops, smoking prevention, oral and dental check-ups, etc. In addition, the centre has adjusted to the new times and has prioritised the use of ICT as an educational resource for teaching. Along these lines, the centre offers the subject of Robotics and Computational Thinking, which allows students to experiment with the Scratch programme, which aims to help students understand the basic principles of programming language.
Alonso praised the working atmosphere at both centres, “where cooperation, good practices and active methodologies are part of the teaching-learning process, which has a positive impact on our students”.
