Our history
Some milestones to highlight:
The authors of the Escuela Nueva model discovered that FEN promoted quality education through Escuela Nueva Activa (ENA). FEN adapted its strategies and elements to urban populations and new contexts and continued to innovate and promote its expansion at a national and international level.
With the financial support of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), FEN’s team designed and adapted Escuela Nueva’s strategies and materials to urban environments. The program was named Urban Active School, and its pilot project was initiated in several cities in Colombia.
The Escuela Nueva model achieved international support from organizations like UNICEF, the Academy for Educational Development (AED), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Plan International, the World Bank Group, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).
We designed 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.
Along with the support of the Ministry of National Education of Colombia (MEN) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the funding from (USAID), we started the implementation of the Escuela Nueva Learning Circles program (CAENA) in the municipality of Soacha (Cundinamarca – Colombia).
In the academic field, FEN has been a pioneer in organizing and hosting International Congresses of Escuelas Nuevas. These events have allowed us to share the progress of the ENA model in Colombia and other countries, as well as to socialize other educational experiences inspired by the model.
The first International Congress of Escuelas Nuevas was held in Armenia (Quindio – Colombia) and had the participation of more than 1,000 attendees from 15 countries.
The II International Congress of Escuelas Nuevas took place in Medellin (Antioquia – Colombia) and was attended by more than 1,500 participants from 18 countries.
This Congress served as a scenario to share the developments of ENA´s adaptations to new contexts and in highly vulnerable populations and to describe how it promotes and develops XXIst century skills.
FEN offered technical assistance to the governments of Vietnam and Mexico to initiate ENA pilots in these countries. Since our inception, we have promoted and led the internationalization of the model in several countries.
International projects have included countries like Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, England, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Zambia, and Vietnam.
FEN launched its ENA Learning Guides collection for secondary education.
We launched a collection of Elementary Basic Learning Guides for the Escuela Activa Urbana program, which includes basic areas and contents of Technology, Ethics and Human Values.
FEN started the implementation of ENA in Zambia (Africa) in partnership with the international non-profit organization CAMFED.
At the beginning of this year, Renueva, the virtual platform of FEN, was brought back to life to enhance collaboration within the community of practice focused on the various projects developed and the creation of knowledge.
FEN strengthened its presence in various departments of the country and adapted its materials to the Basic Learning Rights of the Ministry of National Education (MEN).
FEN signed a partnership agreement with the Ministry of National Education (MEN) to implement ENA in 73 municipalities of the country, reaching more than 4,600 teachers and 78,000 students from K-9th grades.
The III International Congress of Escuelas Nuevas, was held in Bogota bringing together an educational community of more than 1,200 participants from 18 countries.
FEN celebrated 30 years of history, commitment, and transformation, and launched the book “History of the Escuela Nueva Model in Colombia.”
FEN began, in alliance with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the implementation of the Escuela Nueva Activa model in eight Normal Schools. The initiative sought to improve the quality of education in 23 rural municipalities of four departments of Colombia.
FEN signed and developed cooperation agreements with Ecopetrol S.A. to improve the quality of education in 14 municipalities in five departments of Colombia, through the integral implementation of the Escuela Nueva Activa model. About 11 thousand students benefited from the initiative.
With the financial support of UNICEF Colombia, FEN developed the ENA Learning Circles program to reestablish the educational service of migrant girls, boys, and young from Venezuela and the recipient communities in a vulnerable situation. The program served 1,200 students in 6 cities: Bogota, Barranquilla, Arauca, Cucuta, Riohacha, and Fonseca.
FEN signs an agreement with the Ministry of National Education for the provision of pedagogical material and the training in the pedagogical use of ENA materials. The project covers schools located in dispersed rural areas covered by the Development Plan with a Territorial Approach (PDET). Almost 10,047 children and 650 teachers from 202 municipalities in Turbo and Apartado are covered.
In agreement with the MEN, FEN develops three virtual training processes in strategies of the Escuela Nueva Activa (ENA) model, adapted to the context of work at home and/or in the classroom. The courses are carried out through Renueva and reach elementary school teachers from multigrade schools of targeted municipalities. The training processes cover 1,780 teachers (1,000 in 2020, and 780 in 2021) and include a second phase of strengthening and deepening in ENA, in which 420 teachers who obtain outstanding performance in the initial courses participate.
Educar en Equidad is a socio-emotional education program aimed at girls and boys between the ages of 3 and 5, based on the global initiative of the English organization Think Equal. In 2021 FEN adapted and led its implementation in 181 Community Homes in five departments of Colombia. In 2022, the program was recognized by the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) as one of the ten best pedagogical experiences that transform early childhood in the country.
The good results of the ENA Learning Circles (CAENA) program in six Colombian cities, motivated UNICEF Mexico to implement a similar pilot program in Puebla, Ciudad Juarez, and Tijuana. That is how this first international experience of the CAENA program started in October 2021, serving nearly 90 children from different countries (mainly from Central America and border regions of Mexico).
With the financial support of the Ministry of National Education (MEN), we opened three lines of work that benefit about 550 primary school teachers from ten departments in Colombia. The first one was a virtual training course in ENA model strategies, the second one was an in-situ training process in ENA tools, and the third one was an in-depth ENA course that combined virtual and in-situ activities and focused on promoting and strengthening territorial communities of knowledge and practice.
To continue providing training opportunities that support teachers in advancing their professional development and strengthening their pedagogical practice, FEN launched the Virtual Course on Strategies of the Escuela Nueva Activa (ENA) Model.
In the first cohort (first semester of 2024), 15 primary school teachers from 11 municipalities participated, and in the second cohort (first semester of 2025), 16 teachers from both primary and secondary levels participated, representing 10 municipalities across Colombia.