Best Practice: Instituto de Educación Secundaria 'Miguel Catalán'

1. Mediation Processes (Procesos de mediación)

When carried out?
Along the last two school years
It is focussed to all the students of secondary level when necessary

Theme
There are a group of volunteer students, the "mediators", trained by an expert psychologist to mediate in conflicts among young people.
So, when there is a conflict between two students or more, the problem is passed to the mediator group who try to find a solution before this problem arrives to the staff. Along this process, the staff doesn't intervene, waiting for a solution coming from the students.
There are very good effects of this practice. It has been developed during the last two years and along this time the number of conflicts has decreased at the school. Besides, since the beginning of the practice, the conflicts tend to be solved by the students on their own.

Evaluation
The evaluation is very positive because, as it has been told, it has contributed to decrease the conflicts among the students.
It would be interesting to extend this practice to the other levels.

Is this best practice transferable to other schools?
I think this practice is transferable to other schools. Actually, there several schools in Spain developing the same practice.

2. Plugged into the sun. (Enchufados al sol)

Solar panels on the roof of the school building

It is being carried out along this school year.
In 3º ESO (12-14 aged students)

The School installed some solar panels on the roof of the school with two different aims:

1. To economize in the energy bill contributing to an environment preservation.
2. To learn and spread the use of clean energies in the lessons. There is a Unit in the curriculum of this topic in four different subjects: Technology, Social Sciences, Earth Sciences and Physics.
3. To develop a project between four Spanish schools from different parts of the country in order to make common activities with the students and raise the awareness on saving energy, use of clean energy and sustainability (ERA project).

The evaluation so far is positive.

We still need to develop more technical resources to take advantage of the data from the panels: hours of sunlight, energy produced, etc.

It is transferable, over all, to the countries in the South of Europe.
The installation is a bit expensive and it requires the collaborations of the regional or national institutions related to the energy.
School website
   

Panel exhibition, Solar Oven, Panels control

3. Litter in the classrooms.

The last two school years.
It is carried out by all students.

At the end of the daily school period the students have to leave cleaned their classroom. It will be cleaned better afterwards by professional cleaners, but at this moment, the students do a first cleaning.
Every student put its chair on the table and its part of floor have to be cleaned of papers or other kind of litter.
There is a notice board in the class room with an agenda where is shown two responsible students every week. They take care if everything is ok in the classroom. They are also responsible for turning off the lights and closing the windows.

It is not an easy activity but step by step the school is more cleaned day by day.

Every school has its own rules to prevent litter from their spaces. This one is just another possibility.


Click here to read the Litter project (year two)