Pioneering project in five TP high schools in Arica seeks to strengthen teaching skills and improve learning for more than 1,000 students and 200 teachers

ARICA. Fundación Luksic and SUMMA sign an agreement to carry out the Chaka project, which will work with five technical-professional high schools (TP) in Arica in order to improve the teaching skills and the quality of learning of its 1,000+ students and 200 teachers.

About Chaka’s challenge in Arica, SUMMA’s director, Javier González, points out that “technical-professional education concentrates almost half of the secondary and higher education enrollments, and this segment presents several critical knots associated with vulnerability, quality and relevance of the education they provide. For us, it is of great value to carry out this long-term implementation and we are sure that it can mean a concrete contribution to the educational process of the students and their training in skills to better face their work trajectories.”

For the project director of the Luksic Foundation, José Gutiérrez “this initiative includes the four dimensions with which we approach education projects, and which aim to improve learning, generate greater equity, contribute to improve the school environment to promote learning and integral development of the students, and contribute to making the educational offer of the establishments a concrete contribution to the educational or work trajectory of the graduated students.”

The Chaka project has been designed jointly by SUMMA and the Luksic Foundation, and will involve direct and permanent work for 5 years with the directors, teachers and students of the establishments. This is a pioneering initiative in Latin America, with a methodology of networking within the establishments and also among the 5 high schools that are part of Chaka. During this period, efforts will be made to significantly improve student learning, reduce gaps, and facilitate the acquisition of social-emotional and 21st-century skills by strengthening the capabilities of the teachers. We will also work on the incorporation of cost-effective teaching and learning strategies and pedagogical practices, such as collaborative learning and formative feedback.

Chaka is a project with a total investment of 4 million dollars. This innovative experience will generate valuable evidence, to eventually create a model to be implemented on a Latin American scale.

The educational institutions benefiting from this intervention participate voluntarily and were selected based on their results and vulnerability index, which exceeds 95%. These are the ones: Colegio Miramar, Colegio Leonardo da Vinci, Colegio Tecnológico don Bosco de Arica, Liceo Agrícola José Abelardo Núñez and Liceo Agrícola Padre Francisco Napolitano.