Following the 6th grade parent conferences from last week, TINFA also resumed middle school visits for the 6th graders at our partner schools after a two-year hiatus. This year, TINFA is working with partner schools in two districts, Olintepeque and El Cantel, that took different approaches to the visits.

With the Olintepeque district, the 6th grade students are going to some of their district middle schools. Some middle schools allowed students to visit classes in session while others hosted special events and meetings with teachers.

The district of El Cantel is taking a different approach. The coordinator of the Ministry of Education proposed a forum rather than individual school visits. The event was a great success with 90% of all the 6th graders at the six TINFA partner schools in the district attending. Directors, teachers, and students from multiple middle schools gathered with presentations, workshops, and activities including math, literature, art, and music. Because schools receive funding based on enrollment, the middle schools enjoyed friendly competition in impressing the 6th graders to choose their schools for the next step in their educational careers.

The director of the school, Arturo Martinez, was very pleased with the event and its impact on individual students. He mentioned that one student with a high risk of dropping out attended the event and participated in all the activities, even telling the director how much fun he had at the end of the day – a huge win!

These TINFA initiatives are quite welcomed by the ministry of education, the parents and the students. In some places it is the first time that they have such activities : 6th grade parent conferences and middle school visits. The two coordinators from the Ministry of Education are very pleased with the results. They saw the importance of their impact on the students and parents. They are both committed to replicate this activity for non-TINFA schools and organize these events again next year for the incoming 6th graders.