The Asociación Alianza Educativa (AAE) is a non-profit organization established by three of the top ranking private schools in Bogotá and the main private university with the purpose of overseeing the operations and educational programs of public schools serving low-income children in marginalized sectors of the city.

The AAE is participating in an innovative program developed by the Secretary of Education of Bogotá to improve the quality and coverage of education in the city. The initiative calls for the construction of state-of-the-art public education facilities on government land, which will in turn be managed by private institutions for a period of 15 years. Thus, the children enrolled in the public school system will be able to benefit from the quality of education enjoyed by private school students.  

Since the year 2000, the AAE runs five out of the twenty-two facilities built since the start of the program, benefiting more than 6,000 students. The Secretary of Education pays the managing institutions a tuition fee per student for educational services and provision of a daily light meal.  A portion of the costs of operating the AAE are borne by its member schools: Los Nogales, San Carlos, and the American school, Nueva Granada, as well as the Universidad de Los Andes- whose staff and students do pro-bono work for the project. The AAE must solicit private contributions to carry out any additional projects.

Since 2006, Genesis Foundation has provided funding to the AAE. In past years, Genesis Foundation supported the development of a specialized curriculum designed specifically for the students of these public schools. In addition, Genesis funded a 16-month teacher-training program (at the Master’s level) implemented by the AAE for its teachers and those of other educational institutions. Finally, since 2007 Genesis Foundation has supported the program ‘Super Aula’, based on an internationally recognized program, HOSTS, which offers individualized assistance to students with learning difficulties who are integrated in the regular schools.  Due to the program’s positive results, replication has already begun in other schools.

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