Escuela Fiscal #217 – República de Panamá

The Front Gate of Escuela Fiscal #217 – República de Panamá

Students in one of the air conditioned classrooms

The República de Panamá Public Primary School is in the Sauces area of Guayaquil. The principal of the school, Dalila Tapia, is a participant in my FUNEAP course. I have visited three public schools in Guayaquil, and this school is in better condition than the others. The school has 12 classrooms, with 36-48 students in each classroom, and a total of 515 students. Two of the classrooms are air conditioned; the remainder have just bars on the windows with no glass. 

Main Courtyard




The classrooms surround an internal courtyard area, there is a second paved sports area (miniature fútbol field) behind one wing of classrooms, and another small unpaved playground area with limited play equipment. The school also has a computer classroom, and although there were many computers in the room, only a handful actually worked.



Open Air Classroom



The school does not have a special education teacher, but it practices inclusion and has 1-3 students with diagnosed learning problems enrolled in each classroom. The government supports a diagnostic center through which students enrolled in public education may receive a free diagnostic evaluation. The diagnostic center is understaffed, though, and lacking in resources. If I understood correctly, they said there were two diagnosticians at the center, which provides services for the entire city of Guayaquil.



Fútbol Court and Bathrooms



Left-to-Right: Maria Elena, DOBE (counselor) at Colegio Americano; Susana Mata, Ministry of Education; Me; Elisa Espinosa, Ministry of Education; Dalila Tapia, School Principal/Rectora; Louisa, Ministry of Education; Norma Villao, Ministry of Education; Paola Vásquez, Ministry of Education