Client Profile
Enseña Chile is based on the successful Teach for America model, recognized for creating a corps of leaders committed to improving access to excellent education regardless of socio-economic circumstances. Many join straight after finishing college, but others have gathered professional experiences outside the education sector. All applicants need to have demonstrated skills in leading and motivating teams, such as campus initiatives, community organizations or sports teams. Enseña Chile was founded by Tomas Recart in 2007 in Santiago, Chile. Enseña Chile provides quality education to 14 to 18 year old high-school students by bringing outstanding university graduates with leadership skills into classrooms of low-quality schools in poor areas for a period of two years. On a long term basis Enseña Chile is promoting a movement/network of Enseña Chile alumni that will be active at key positions in society with the possibility to positively influence a change in the educational system of Chile. Enseña Chile has adapted the model for the Chilean and Latin American context. By bringing bright college graduates and professionals to teach in underprivileged schools, they provide significant contribution to bridging the inequality gap. Although Enseña Chile believes that good teachers have similar characteristics independent of culture, the organization has been adapting the Teach for America model in the way these competencies are measured and trained, and in teacher training.
See all Development Advisory Team Projects with Enseña Chile
Definition of Problem
How can Enseña Chile create an effective network of schools? Enseña Chile is currently working to develop a network in which principals and ECh regularly work together and foster long-term relationships in which ECh would continue to supply the same schools with teachers. ECh feels they hear all the time how OECD schools share work/information, but how?
Initial Steps and Options
What are good schools in vulnerable communities doing in selection, training, and development of people? A DAT team could do a case study of vulnerable and non-vulnerable (as a control of sorts) very successful schools in these three areas. This model is particularly interesting since it would cut across departments, it would involve more people.
- Work closely with Stephen Zerfas in Chile, a recent ND graduate who is working for Ensena Chile for six months before beginning a job at GE in the U.S.
- Identify the international experiences of schools that built effective networks and learning organizations, paying particular attention to the experience of OECD schools
Definition of Success
A useful and practical guide, based on the experiences of leading organizations, doing selection, training, and development of people and/or in forging networks to promote educational excellence.