Our history
Some milestones to highlight:
The original team behind the Escuela Nueva (EN) model -along with former Ministers of Education Gabriel Betancur Mejia, Doris Eder de Zambrano, Rafael Rivas Posada, and Rodrigo Escobar Navia- founds Fundación Escuela Nueva Volvamos a la Gente (FEN) to adapt the EN model to urban contexts and new populations, ensure its quality, foster innovation, and promote its expansion nationally and internationally.
Building on this foundation and with the support of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), FEN adapts EN’s strategies and materials to the urban context, creating Escuela Activa Urbana (EAU) and initiating pilot programs in several cities across the country.
d
FEN designs the Escuela Nueva Learning Circles Program (CAENA) as a strategy to restore the educational service for out-of-school and displaced children and youth.
This adaptation of the Escuela Nueva Activa model -which is based on its core principles and technical and pedagogical framework- responds to the needs and realities of displaced and extremely vulnerable children, luring and retaining them and facilitating their transition to the formal educational system.
d
With the support of the Ministry of National Education of Colombia (MEN) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and with funding from USAID, FEN launches the pilot of the Escuela Nueva Learning Circles program (CAENA) in Altos de Cazuca (Soacha, Cundinamarca).
d
FEN hosts the “2nd International Congress of Escuelas Nuevas,” attended by 1,500 participants from 18 countries.
d
FEN launches its ENA Learning Guides collection for secondary education.
Renueva, FEN’s virtual campus, is relaunched to strengthen interactions within the community of practice and generate new knowledge.
FEN strengthens the presence of ENA model in Colombia and adapts its pedagogical materials in accordance with the MEN’s Basic Learning Rights.
Additionally, joins the National Program for Peace Education (EDUCAPAZ) along with six other civil society organizations.
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FEN signs a partnership agreement with the MEN to implement ENA in 73 municipalities across 11 territorial entities in Colombia, reaching more than 4,600 teachers and 78,000 students from preschool to 8th grade.
d
The III International Congress of Escuelas Nuevas is held in Bogota, bringing together an educational community of more than 1,200 participants from 18 countries.
To improve the quality of education in rural areas of the country, FEN, in collaboration with the IDB, initiates the development of a project to implement ENA in eight Normal Schools across 23 municipalities in four Colombian departments.
d
FEN celebrates and establishes Cooperation Agreements with Ecopetrol S.A. to improve the quality of education through the implementation of the ENA model in 13 municipalities across five departments of Colombia. These Agreements benefit nearly 9,000 students.
FEN signs an agreement with the MEN for the provision and training in the pedagogical use of ENA model materials for teachers and school principals of the municipalities of Turbo and Apartado (Antioquia), reaching 10,047 students and 650 teachers across 202 rural schools.
EN adapts and leads the implementation of Educar en Equidad, a socio-emotional education program for children aged 3 to 5, based on the initiative by the organization Think Equal. The program is carried out in 181 Community Homes across five departments of Colombia.
In 2022, Educar en Equidad was recognized by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) as one of the 10 best pedagogical experiences transforming early childhood in the country.
The positive results of CAENA in Colombia motivate UNICEF Mexico to implement a pilot of the program in Puebla, Ciudad Juarez, and Tijuana. In October 2021, this first international experience begins, benefiting nearly 90 out-of-school children from Central America and Mexico’s border regions.
In partnership with the MEN, FEN launches three lines of training programs reaching nearly 550 rural primary school teachers across 10 departments of Colombia.
The first is a virtual training in ENA model strategies, the second is an in-person training on ENA model tools in Vaupes, and the third is an in-depth course on communities of knowledge and practice, combining virtual and in-person activities.
To continue providing training opportunities that support teachers in advancing their professional development and strengthening their pedagogical practice, FEN launches the Virtual Professional Development Program on ENA Strategies.
In the first cohort, held during the first semester of 2024, 15 primary school teachers from 11 Colombian municipalities enhanced their instructional skills, which positively influenced their classrooms. In the second cohort, conducted in the first semester of 2025, 16 primary and secondary teachers from 10 municipalities participated.