Mission
To influence education in Portugal and in the world
To influence education in Portugal and in the world and give children tools to develop themselves sustainably.
Raiz International Active Learning School aims to impact education in Portugal and in the world through the imprint it leaves on its HighScope students, families, and teachers.
Students, teachers, and families learn better when they do it through movement, through hands-on tasks, and through direct interactions with others and with the environment.
They then become adolescents and young adults, and at that point, wherever they study, they’ll be more confident of their worth, their mission, and their ability to lead their own lives.
Our students develop creative, critical, mathematical, and systematic thinking and problem-solving skills by getting their hands dirty. Neither are they exposed to fractions or equations solely through a computer program, nor do they learn by listening to long, boring lectures. Instead, they start with real challenges that motivate them to learn content, they participate in workshops on specific content, they discuss the material with their classmates and teachers, and only then do they consolidate knowledge through worksheets, memorization techniques, and recap techniques. Technology is an integral part of this process, working as a facilitator in its most varied expressions. Are you surprised? That’s a common feeling for people around the world before they experience HighScope. A school’s mission is fundamental in an ever changing world. Through hard work, meaningful dialogue, and steadfast dedication, Raiz pursues institutional excellence, recognizing that this approach directly contributes to the success of its community.
The teaching-learning approach at Raiz prepares students for life, to respond to academic, personal, and social stimuli in a thoughtful and structured way. The learning process at Raiz has a great impact throughout one’s life. Perry Preschool’s study, conducted by HighScope throughout 50 years, shows extraordinary results when compared to the traditional teaching approach.
The digital world and artificial intelligence are revolutionizing our world and education is part of it. As such, they are represented in our school in the appropriate quantity and quality, so they enhance learning and promote interactions with the community and with the world. We are aware of the threats that come with technology and remain attentive to guarantee its success while preventing dysfunction in the learning process.
For students to be creative and innovative, they need to live in a stimulating, simple, and peaceful environment, attentive to the details of daily life and focused on how each person can be special, individual, and unique. The support provided to each student during this process is crucial to their ability to accept errors, learn from them, and continue their journey.
Have you heard rhetorical questions on the radio or on social media right as your Monday begins, about how close you are to Friday? Expressions such as “Friday is taking too long!” Those who live this way, become stuck in the future. To live fully in the present is a challenge we all face, but we don’t all have the tools to respond to it. Your child gains these tools at Raiz: they learn to direct their attention and focus, to become fully immersed in a topic, and to truly enjoy their day. On Monday, we experience Monday, and on Friday, we experience Friday while celebrating what we conquered that week. We also accept mistakes, live them with peace, set new goals, and move forward with peace of mind. As Steve Jobs said, we spend most of our lives working. How about we learn to make choices that are truly important for each of us?
Raiz International Active Learning School joyfully welcomes all nationalities with a desire to study in an international environment. Our current community has students from several different nationalities and welcomes more every year. The movement starts with one family who quickly spreads the word.
Our students are organized in groups according to their age and the proposed learning moments, so we can respond to the best international educational practices’ index.
The educational community formed by families, students, and employees, lives in a positive and welcoming interaction environment, where each person has a very special place and where there is great respect for one’s individuality and a great support from the community to each individual, according to their needs. It is a lively and successful sharing community.
The teaching-learning process is experienced by all and adapts to families’ different life rhythms with greater or lesser schedule availability.
Parents are invited to participate in Parent Meetings with a group of guardians from the same class, where students and teachers share what’s been going on in the classroom. Students share knowledge, conduct activities with parents, and show them the process through which they learn by doing. This clarifies to parents what their children are learning and how they may support them.
In recent years, Raiz has greatly developed its international community. Families from different parts of the world and nationalities come to Raiz because of its diverse environment. This diversity of culture, ideas, and customs has been a huge asset for Portuguese children and for children of other nationalities. The integration of each new family is thought out in detail: there is a specific welcome program carried out over the first ninety days with several meetings. During these meetings, Raiz professionals share fundamental principles and experience active learning with the families. These are moments of interaction, fun, and integration that are very interesting for everyone. Throughout the year, families are invited to take part in day-to-day life, to observe the child in their context, and to take part in events and celebrations. The process of family socialization and integration is also taken care of by the educator or head teacher themselves, thereby promoting sharing between families.
The school employs a significant number of people with high accreditation, including administrators, teachers and specialized educators, therapists, and psychologists, all of whom have been trained in HighScope. It has a non-pedagogical staff team, which is fully integrated in the process, thus forming a great Raiz family.
Principals:
Principal
Principal
Principal
Principal
Pedagogical Management Team:
Pedagogical Management Team
Pedagogical Management Team
Pedagogical Management Team
Raiz is a school with pedagogical autonomy, recognized by the Portuguese Education Ministry. It is the model school for the HighScope Portugal Association, an approach with international certification. It is also part of the HighScope international schools, spread around the world.
