Education and Family Involvement in Mexico

UNC World View
LATIN AMERICA AND NORTH
CAROLINA SEMINAR
Monica Colin
Consul for Community
Political, Economic and
Cultural Affairs
March 24th 2015
Educational Systems Compared

USA
◦
◦
◦
◦
State curriculum standards
State adopted textbooks;
LEA purchased textbooks
High Parental involvement

MEXICO
◦ National curricula
◦ Prints and distributes
textbooks at national level
◦ Basic parental involvement
Educational Systems Compared


MEXICO LOCAL (SCHOOL ZONES/REGIONAL)
◦ Inspector
◦ Monitor and support
◦ Principals
◦ Teachers
◦ Records given to parents/data concentrated at State level
USA LOCAL (SCHOOL DISTRICTS)
◦ Local board of Education
◦ Superintendent of schools
Principals
Teachers
Students Records
School System Structure

USA

◦ Graduate & Postgraduate
◦ Undergraduate level (4 yrs)
◦ College/Certification
◦ High School
◦ Middle School
◦ Elementary K-5
9-12
6-8
MEXICO
◦ Graduate & Postgraduate level
◦ Undergraduate (4 years
minimum)
◦ Normal/Technical
◦ Preparatoria 1-3 (16-18 age)
◦ Secundaria
1-3 (13-15 age)
◦ Primaria
1-6 (6-12 age.)
◦ Preescolar
3-5 of age
School System Structure
9. EDUCATION REFORM: it sets out the conditions to improve and
modernize education.
Reforms to expand social rights for all Mexicans
The three axes of action of the reform are:
1. Make sure our students are educated by the best teachers
• A Professional Teaching Service will be created
• Clear rules were established so that professional merit is the only way
to become, remain and be promoted as a teacher, principal or
supervisor.
2. Evaluations should become an efficient mechanism to improve the
quality of education
• The National Institute for the Evaluation of Education was created
and given full autonomy
• A National Education Assessment System will supervise the
conditions and challenges teachers face every day.
3. Improve conditions for the comprehensive education of students
• The reform strengthens the autonomy of school management
• Increase the number of full time schools to give more educational,
cultural and balanced education to students.
Binational Cooperation on Education
(MoU USA-Mexico 1991)
Binational Migrant Education Initiatives:
1. U.S. – México Binational Migrant Student Transfer
Document (Binational Program for Migrant Education)
2. Binational Migrant Education Teacher Exchange
Program.
3. Program for North American Mobility in Higher
Education. ‘Proyecta 100,000’
1. Transfer Document


Exchanges information to ensure enrollment
of returning Mexican students
A binational “report card”
◦ Educational enrollment
◦ Achievement
◦ Prevent drop-out rate
Designed by the U.S. and Mexico
 For Elementary and Middle School students
(basic education)
 Available at the Consulate or internet.

Transfer Document
2.Binational Migrant Education Teacher
Exchange Program
-To reinforce knowledge about the history, culture, values,
and national traditions of Mexican-origin students who live in
the U.S.,strengthening their identity and improving their
education.
-To encourage ongoing communication between U.S. and
Mexican teachers in order to share educational experiences
that promote continuity of good educational practices.
3. Program for North American Mobility in Higher
Education. ‘Proyecta 100,000’
 Proyecta 100,000 is an ambitious and transformational
program that aims having 100,000 Mexican learners
studying in the US and 50,000 American students in
Mexico.
The goal for 2015 is to reach an academic mobility of
46,000 Mexicans in the US. With modalities as ESL
courses, pre master’s programs, and certificate
programs on specific areas.
Consulate General of Mexico
PROGRAMS AND
SERVICES FOR
MEXICANS ABROAD
Plazas Comunitarias (On site Education
Centers)
•
It is an adequate space which integrates educational
resources and actions for life and work, mainly aimed
towards youth and adults, where one or more advisors
guide the persons to use the education resources
(videos, computer, educational site, satellite television,
online courses, digital library, internet access, among
others).
Plazas Comunitarias
 The Plaza meets its purpose when it becomes a place
where people get together to share ideas, experiences,
knowledge and to be in contact with the new information
and communication technologies, strengthen education,
culture and values of the community. This is why the
participating institutions and groups must provide programs
and resources that benefit and respond to the education or
information requirements of their community.
Where can a Plaza Comunitaria be established?

Consulates

Companies

Non profit Organizations

Community Centers

School Districts

Religious Centers

Libraries

Churches
Plazas Comunitarias in North Carolina and South
Carolina.
 There are currently 10 Plazas Comunitarias in both
states.
 8 in North Carolina.
(Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Wilmington, Leland,
Vance, Hendersonville, Winton (Rivers Correctional
Institution).
 2 in South Carolina.
(Greenville and Williamsburg (Correctional
Institution).
IME Becas (Institute for Mexicans Abroad)
 Objectives
 Contribute to the development and personal growth of Mexican immigrants
by supporting their education with targeted financial resources.
 Increase the levels of education of the Mexican and Mexican origin
population living in the United States.
 Promote the employment certifications for Mexican workers or Mexican
origin that are seeking to improve their educational skills with the objective
to obtain a comparative advantage in the labor market.
 Strengthen the institutions and organization that are willing to contribute
to the educative programs that are designated to Mexican or Mexican
origin population in the United States, orient their benefits and
fundamentally the greater number of students with low income resources.
IME Becas (Institute for Mexicans Abroad)
 During 2013-2014 cycle, 6,272 Mexicans residing in different
states of the United States were benefited by this program.
 There were 44 participating consulates.
 133 students benefited in North Carolina and South Carolina
 IME Becas’s Goal for 2014-2015 cycle is to benefit 529 students
in basic and higher education.
 Partners: Meredith College, High Point University, Wake Tech,
Brunswick Community College, El Centro Hispano, LifeLong
Learning.
High School Online B@UNAM
 The Mexican government recently embraced online education in a serious way,
announcing that citizens and Spanish speakers living abroad can enroll in a virtual
High School modality offered by UNAM (Universidad Autónoma de México).

Some of the benefits of enrolling in B@UNAM are:



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Obtaining a High School Diploma in Spanish
Obtaining a full scholarship without application forms
No extra charges: books and study materials are available online
When students graduate, they will have an automatic pass to the Bachelor's online
degrees offered by UNAM
No age limit
The program includes vacation periods
Schedule flexibility: Students only need to spend 20 hours a week to study
Low Cost and scholarships
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UnADM Universidad Abierta y a Distancia
 Universidad Abierta y a Distancia de México is an
online program designed to help Mexico face the challenge
of undergraduate education of the 21st century
 Open
and distance education through IT and
communications closes the gaps in critical development
issues focused on the role of human beings
 Era of globalization and knowledge society.
 No cost
UnADM Education Model
• Student-oriented: It focuses on students as the core of education as it plays the main role.
• Flexible: Students schedule and determine their pace of study; moreover, they are free to select
the academic degree that they intend to get or that meets their personal needs.
• Inclusive: It has been designed to help individuals with motor, audition, and visual disabilities
and it gets young graduates from high school and individuals who have not studied in a long time.
• Cutting-edge technology: The program has been provided with technological infrastructure
and cutting-edge equipment to create the conditions required to optimize educational, academic,
and administrative procedures.
• Accessible: Students may conduct their activities in any place or time that fits their own
schedules.
• Interactive: The interactivity of the model is guaranteed, not only by the possibility of having
the student interacting with teachers online, but also for incorporating collaborative learning
aiming at promoting knowledge network creation among students.
http://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/raleigh/
mcolin@sre.gob.mx
919.615.3656
Twitter: @ConsulMexRlm
Facebook: Consulado de México en Raleigh