History
We are the school we dreamed of when we were kids!
We dreamed it would be possible to learn by doing, to leave behind endless hours sitting on a chair, in front of a table, listening to the teacher, and doing worksheets on paper or on a computer.
A sharp mind and a kind heart are always a fantastic combination.
We dreamed it would be possible to have more than a self-evaluation at the end of the trimester. We designed an evaluation environment that placed children at the center, engaging them daily through active participation, parent-teacher meetings, and continuous improvement discussions.
We thought it would be possible to leave the four walls, laugh, jump, and learn within the environment with our friends and our teachers, making this collaborative approach an integral part of our learning experience. We also wanted to transform field trips, so they stop filling in gaps or simply entertain and become recurring learning moments.
We envisioned a learning environment that balanced relaxation with structure—a space that could promote both success and individual growth.
We based our dream in Sebastião da Gama’s poem “Pelo sonho é que vamos”. In 1995, we took off on a great adventure to study learning approaches, observe practices, and make decisions in the United States. When we returned, we were determined to emigrate and begin our dream overseas. However, challenged by our family to create and build that dream in Portugal, we decided to take on the challenge and, with everybody’s help, Escola Raiz (the current Raiz International Active Learning School) was born.
Years later, one of the principals, Margarida Silveira Rodrigues, Psychologist, would accept the challenge to continue her studies in Ypsilanti, United States, and become certified as a HighScope Teacher, and after as a HighScope Trainer.
With a consolidated HighScope approach in the school’s educational practice, Raiz took another step in implementing quality and excellence. That way, parents always felt assured that their children were in a school that did not mix approaches, trends, or adventures but had a studied approach which had been researched and experienced for over 50 years: the HighScope approach.
Several factors were fundamental to our success: Raiz combined Margarida’s (Principal) innovative leadership and Luís’s (Principal) wisdom and determination, uniting their vision with a dynamic, young team committed to making a difference through an educational approach grounded in proven methodologies.
Who better than the parents and students themselves to talk about their school, Raiz?
With serenity, we lived through the crises that shook the whole country, we went through intense and decisive moments that made us stronger, more competitive, more sympathetic, and more grateful.
We know we made a dream come true: we voiced what so many professionals, parents, and children dreamed of, and we contributed to a better world. We significantly impacted education in Portugal and thus, we see our traces everywhere.
We revolutionized the classroom concept, the uniform concept, the teacher-student, student-student, and school-family interaction concepts.
With Sebastião da Gama’s poem in mind, we took another challenge. We looked at the wonderful Portuguese and foreign universities that keep up with our ever changing world and thought it would be important for students to have the opportunity to develop their entire educational process – until they become 18 years old – in an active learning environment, which promotes success, autonomy, and self-esteem. An environment in which each student develops their full potential, believes in their own realization, perfects study and work methods, decides their academic and professional path with individual support, and lives happily. We accepted the challenge of looking at current students knowing that their challenge is to study today to be prepared for jobs they will take on and do not yet exist. In this scenario, flexibility is the key word that one does not create sitting in a classroom facing a board – whether it be clay, white, or digital. We thus began consulting for other schools who wanted to say “Yes” to change, to active learning, to a socioemotional environment, and to the construction of knowledge. In an ever changing world, with faster changes propelled by the crises we’ve experienced, it has been fundamental to build partnerships and look for new answers so we can get to more children in a wider spectrum, until we reach high school. We need to join schools, work together, and break with the transmissive approach!
This is how we created Raiz International Active Learning School!
