Portugal
EBI Francisco Ferreira Drummond
Azores
EBI Francisco Ferreira Drummond is a small countryside primary school in Terceira Island, Azores, hosting around 500 students and 70 teachers. We provide schooling, both regular and vocational, to students between the ages of 3 and 14-15 (from kindergarten to the 9th grade) in São Sebastião, a rural community where most families are traditionally involved in farming, and traditional fishery. This community, however, is very dynamic in traditional and popular culture. Our school is very well equipped in what concerns technology and classrooms for specific classes, and this year we opened wi-fi connection in some classrooms, where pupils can freely use their own mobile devices (tablets and mobile phones) in class.
We are a brand new school (opening in 2011) and our mission is to provide quality education to our educational community – around 6000 people in three small villages. In order to do that, our educational project is strongly rooted in innovation, Europe and inclusive education and we aim at promoting digital skills, citizenship values and competencies-oriented education for all.
To overcome our ultra-peripheral situation – both in the borders of Europe and far from the main cities on the island – we engaged, since 2014, in a Europeanization process, through eTwinning projects, Erasmus+ Programme, in KA1 and KA2 projects, and also becoming a UNESCO ASPnet School, with a strong participation in Portugal’s ASPnet programme and activities. We are, therefore, an experienced school in Erasmus+ partnerships. We are also a leading school in the Azores when it comes to innovation processes in education and new pedagogical experiences.
These European educational dimension activities and the advances they foster are supported by dynamic and dedicated leadership and by a set of innovative teachers, committed to collaborative work and peer learning strategies. We think our school adds value to this partnership, having experienced teachers in designing, implementing, assessing and reporting on Erasmus+ projects. On the other hand, this project enhances our European school project and there is always a lot to be learned with new experienced partners and newcomers.
