Every morning, the doors of CEIP José Pérez Rodríguez in the village of Igueste de San Andrés open to welcome students like any other school. However, its case is unique, as its classrooms are filled with just six children aged between 3 and 11. The school is part of the Rural Schools Collective (CER) in the Anaga area, along with five other schools spread across Taganana, Los Campitos, Valleseco, Roque Negro, and Las Carboneras. They work together as a team led by the teaching staff of each school.
For the past six years, teacher María José Estévez has been responsible for teaching at Igueste. She would be sad to see the school disappear over time, but the reality is that next year, one of the students will move on to secondary education, and without new enrolments, the number of students would decrease to five. “The children leave school with a lot of emotions and well-prepared to continue their education in the next levels,” she says. Far from being a drawback, she adds, the mixed group in which they are organized has many advantages in terms of grasping concepts; “it’s an enriching experience for them, they learn in a different way.”
Respect for the Anaga’s idiosyncrasy, its people, and the surrounding environment, has motivated the CER in the area to create a common project that María José describes as “family-oriented, close-knit, and very beautiful”. The educator argues that in their school, the teaching possibilities are endless: “We organize trips to the ravine or the beach, we have a garden, a magazine, and specialized teachers in subjects like Music, Physical Education, English, and French.” In the case of French, classes are practically individual since they are taught for the final courses where there are barely two students. They also have speech therapy services and the figure of a counselor. A small but complete team that moves through the different Rural Schools Collective centres.
Sharing traditions
The educator’s priority is to ensure that children grow up in a happy environment while learning and sharing traditions with the locals. In this line, the village baker participates in bakery workshops, grandparents contribute instruments made by themselves to the school, students decide how to paint the cheerful walls that decorate their school, and parents bring seeds for the garden. This last project, consisting of a thermophilic forest and an orchard, is one of the most impactful on the children. They not only work on it and have classes outdoors, but also have the opportunity to taste its fruits at breakfast. “The cost of attending this school is almost zero because, in addition to assistance with school supplies, most days the students do not have to bring food from home,” explains the teacher, who foresees that they will be fully self-sufficient in two years.
“The cost of attending this school is almost zero because, in addition to assistance with school supplies, most days the students do not have to bring food from home”
The Department of Education emphasizes that schools like this one, within the Rural Schools Collective of Canarias, are at risk of disappearing if the number of enrolled students is less than six. Another possibility is a 50% reduction in student presence. However, they recall that each specific case is always studied before making a decision. If the decline in students continues in the coming years, one of the possible solutions would be to transfer to nearby schools, in this case, in San Andrés. The threat to this CEIP could become a reality without new incoming students.
The garden of the Igueste de San Andrés school / Andrés Gutiérrez
The population of Igueste de San Andrés, a village just 15 kilometers from the center of Santa Cruz, is ageing over time. María José Estévez mentions that there are families who do not live in the area but would be interested in having their children educated at the school, but mobility is the main issue. To address this, she suggests providing public transportation for those who need it, as she states, “we have never had that option, but there used to be a bus from Igueste to the school in San Andrés years back.” An initiative that, she believes, hindered the growth of CEIP José Pérez Rodríguez.
Enrolment is now open through a promotional campaign on the school’s social media. Also, the teacher plans to place codes to scan at various locations in the area that provide more information about the education offered there.
Any initiative is valid to attract new incoming students. Professionals like her fight every year for the survival of educational centres in increasingly depopulated environments. It’s a commitment to something different, something close, and quality education.
