The Generalitat of Catalonia will eliminate two lines of I3 (previously P3) in two public schools in Tarragona. The closure has been confirmed when There are five days left to start the pre-registration period. The educational centers affected by the measure of the Department of Education are the Escola de Pràctiques (located in Zone 2) and the Escola El Miracle (Zone 4). Until this year, both schools had two lines and now they will be left with only one.
The discomfort, both among families who are about to pre-register their children and among the centers’ management, is more than evident. First, for the closure of the lines, and second, for having communicated the decision at the last minute and when the open days had already started in most centers.
The concern of families is due to the reduction in places offered It especially affects public schools. In Zone 2, to which the Escola de Pràctiques belongs, a few years ago lines from the Marcel·lí Domingo and the Escola Sant Pere i Sant Pau were eliminated.
Silvia Miquel, president of the AFA of the Practice Schoolpoints out that this year more than 50 people attended the school’s open house. «We are concerned that now these families do not want to risk betting on the school, knowing that They have left us with only 17 places for I3 and 14 of them we have already occupied with siblings from school. Knowing that there will only be three places, we are convinced that the requests from families will decrease… And what upsets us even more is that we have La Salle here next door, which continues to maintain the three lines of I3, which are 60 students.
The management of the centers affected by the closure of the lines are also concerned, since They fear that the measure will end up generating a deterrent effect and that families decide to pre-register their children in concerted centers to ensure a place close to home.
«Perhaps, seeing this scenario, “There are families who, out of fear, no longer put us as their first option and then we will no longer have the strength to be able to recover the line in the future,” dice Núria Grabiel, director of the Practice School.
Regarding the reasons for the closure of the line, from the Department of Education point out that: «It fits a group that will now be offered by the Escola Sant Salvadorwhich is a center in the same area where there are more registered families. The setting of this group is made to avoid school segregation. In addition, it must be taken into account that there are four educational centers in the school zone that maintain the offer and have enough places to accommodate pre-registrations for the zone’s registry.
Miracle School
In the case of Escola El Miracle, historically the center has always had a single line. A few years ago, and with the aim of responding to the demographic needs of the area, a further line was expanded.. “We went from 200 students to 400,” explains Araceli Luque, director of Escola El Miracle.
At first, some families and the center itself complained that this expansion was compromising their space. They were forced to use common rooms, such as laboratory classrooms, to convert them into classes. The lack of space has meant that part of the assembly hall has to be used as a dining room or that the library is, in turn, the teachers’ room. Families began to mobilize asking the Department for a solution. For its part, the center’s management decided to adapt to the new situation and move forward in the best possible way.
From the Department of Education they claim, In the case of this closure, which is done “at the request of the educational communityand in response to the demographic decline in the area. The centers of the Catalan education service in the area have sufficient supply to respond to the registry.
The family association does not agree. They say that «The AFA has not requested the closure of a line, and it has not been our demand. We are openly in favor of public school and we regret that the request for spaces to guarantee quality education has been instrumentalized to justify such a decision made without prior dialogue.
From Educació they clarify, as they have done in other years, that the offer that will be made public on the website on March 3 It is “an initial offer and at the end of the process the final offer will be published”. In short, in theory, if more demand than supply is detected in a given center, the line might not close.
Reduction of ratios
Apart from the elimination of these two lines, the Generalitat It has also reduced the ratios of public schools from Tarragona for this next course. This is a resolution that will not be made official until the 3rd, but has already reached the management of the centers and the family associations.
Last year, both public and subsidized schools, regardless of the area where they were located, went to one and offered a total of 20 places per line. This year, Educació has decided reduce the number of public places, depending on the area.
As Diari has learned, the public schools in Zone 1 of Tarragona, which are La Floresta, Ponent, Bonavista, Mediterrani, Campclar, Els Àngels, Torreforta and Riu Clar, will offer a total of 18 places per line. The centers in Zone 2 –Sant Salvador, Pràctiques, Pax, Marcel·lí Domingo and Sant Pere i Sant Pau– and those in Zone 3 –Pau Delclòs, Serrallo, Cèsar August, Tarragona and Saavedra– will make 17 places available. Finally, the schools in Zone 4 –El Miracle and L’Arrabassada–, 19. On the other hand, the subsidized centers will continue to offer the 20 places that they already offered last year.
The measure has generated certain unrest between the directions of public schools, which defend that the educational offer should be the same in both public and subsidized centers. Furthermore, they accuse the Department of having made this decision with its back to the group and without consulting
Unrest over zoning
Another of the modifications that has angered centers, families and the Tarragona City Council is the change in zoning. Until last week, Escola Saavedra and Escola El Miracle both belonged to Zones 3 and 4. A circumstance that allowed families residing in these areas to add residence points (30) to the pre-registration of both centers. With this modification, Escola Saavedra is assigned only to Zone 3, and Escola El Miracle to Zone 4.
Sources from the Department assure that this is an indication that comes from the General Directorate of Public Centers and that it was already communicated in the Local Planning Meeting – in which representatives of the City Council were present – a week ago. The decree establishing the affiliations was published in the DOGC on February 23.
