Fundación Escuela Nueva and GeoPark seal an alliance to strengthen rural education in Tauramena

In partnership with the Fundación Escuela Nueva Volvamos a la Gente (FEN), GeoPark is working to improve the quality of education in seven rural locations of the Centro Regional de Investigación Educación y Extensión (CRIEET) in Tauramena, Casanare. This project benefits more than 250 boys and girls in primary education, strengthening their learning and development opportunities.

The Fundación Escuela Nueva (FEN) is a non-profit organization recognized nationally and internationally for its educational innovations and its commitment to improving the quality, relevance, and efficiency of education. Its pedagogical approach - Escuela Nueva Activa (ENA) - transforms the classroom and the way of learning, promoting active, cooperative, and student-centered learning. Through this project, ENA is being implemented in seven rural locations of the CRIEET, which receive educational materials, training, and teacher support to strengthen four key components:

1. Curricular: provision of Learning Guides and pedagogical materials that will help students foster active and cooperative learning.
2. Management: promotion of autonomous educational institutions, organized to offer high-quality comprehensive education.
3. Teacher training: promotion of the continuous professional development of teachers, transforming their role and empowering them as key agents of change.
4. Community: strengthening the relationship between teachers, students, and families to integrate the entire community into the educational process.

This project, which is aligned with the global development agenda by promoting quality education, includes strategies such as experiential workshops for teacher training, provision of pedagogical materials, follow-up for each teacher, remote support, monitoring, and evaluation to improve educational practices and student learning.

With a total investment of $470 million, the program reaffirms GeoPark's commitment to the social development of the territories where it operates. Aníbal Fernández de Soto, Manager of Nature and Neighbors at GeoPark, highlighted: “We are pleased to work hand in hand with such a prestigious organization as the Fundación Escuela Nueva Volvamos a la Gente on a project that, in addition to contributing to improving educational quality, will reduce gaps in rural education, fostering the creation of a legacy of prosperity for the region.”.

For her part, Clarita Arboleda, Development Manager of the Fundación Escuela Nueva Volvamos a la Gente, mentioned: “It is very gratifying to work together with an entity like GeoPark, which invests in proven educational solutions with evidence to help improve the quality and equity of education, which are fundamental for the progress of our country.”.

To close the year, the pedagogical team of the Fundación Escuela Nueva conducted visits to the classrooms of the CRIEET to observe and provide feedback on teaching practices. In the first semester of 2025, the Achievement Day is planned, an event in which students and teachers will present to the community the results and significant experiences derived from the implementation process of the model.

GeoPark will continue to promote initiatives that, like this one, contribute to fostering better living conditions for its neighboring communities, facilitating access to quality education as a basis for the sustainable development of its neighboring communities.