Education in Brazil received international prominence, with two Brazilian schools being selected as finalists for the prestigious Best Schools in the World Award.
The Professor Edson Pisani Municipal School, located in Belo Horizonte (MG), and the Joaquim Bastos Gonçalves Full-Time High School, located in Carnaubal (CE), were chosen. Both can win up to US$50,000 (R$250,000) each.
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The prize
The Edson Pisani School, which is located in one of the largest and oldest favelas of Brazil, gained recognition for its initiatives aimed at garbage collection and basic sanitation.
Meanwhile, Joaquim Bastos Gonçalves focuses on actions to promote students' mental health, especially in light of the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The Best Schools in the World Award is a global initiative that involved institutions from 108 countries. Created in 2022, the recognition has five categories, with three finalist schools in each of them.
The winners will be chosen by a panel of expert judges and the results are scheduled to be announced in November.
Among the categories are:
Environmental action;
Innovation;
Overcoming adversities;
Community collaboration (in which Escola Professor Edson Pisani competes);
Support for healthy living (Joaquim Bastos School category).
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Finalist schools
Professor Edson Pisani School
The Professor Edson Pisani School, located in Aglomerado da Serra, Belo Horizonte, develops work focused on the needs of the surrounding community, aiming to improve living conditions.
With partnerships and community involvement, they established an exclusive bus line that connects the favela to the subway, increasing access to health, education and employment and guaranteeing the population's right to come and go peripheral.
Furthermore, last year, the school focused on urban waste management, launching the “More Favela, Less Trash” in collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture of the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
Joaquim Bastos Gonçalves School
At Escola Joaquim Bastos Gonçalves, the emphasis is on empathy. Given the impact of the pandemic on student participation and engagement, the school launched the “Adote a Student” project.
They realized the need to address students' socio-emotional skills and, to this end, involved volunteer psychologists.
The project has been a success, with more than 40 professionals offering online support and therapeutic activities such as art, painting, crochet and beadwork.
If the school wins the award, it plans to use the funds to create an in-person reception and reception room for students, teachers and staff. The winners will be announced in November.