SUMATE Foundation from Hogar de Cristo, Chile.

For over 30 years, its mission has been to reshape negative experiences of education exclusion and transform vulnerable children’s and youths’ lives out of school. It offers quality ad-hoc education to complete 12 years of school, including vocational job training to acquire skills as tools to start over and pursue life projects.

In 2023, 1,656 students were part of the SUMATE Network in Chile, 712 through reentry educational schools, 784 in socio-educational programs, and 144 in reentry classrooms.

REENTRY SCHOOLS

There are four reentry schools: Betania, Padre Alvaro Lavin, Padre Alberto Hurtado, located in Santiago, and one in Concepcion, southern Chile, named Nuevo Futuro, which will cease operations in December 2024 due to a lack of financing.

SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, CHILE

The SUMATE Foundation’s mission is one of the most challenging in education. It works through 10 programs, welcoming over 1,600 children and youth yearly from vulnerable segments, most of whom come from very low-income families and have experienced education exclusion.

Socio-educational programs are crucial to the SUMATE Foundation’s approach. These are Non-Formal School Education and a planned alternative for children and youths who are disengaged, frustrated, or disappointed in returning to school. The skilled, committed SUMATE teams visit multiple neighborhoods, parks, sports fields, etc., to contact them and their families, offering socio-educational support through personalized tutoring or group training spaces. This approach aims to re-engage them with formal education and foster positive life changes.

 REENTRY CLASSROOMS.

The SUMATE intervention is one of the most complex in education in Chile. They work with children and youths at risk; many have experienced extensive childhood traumas, deprivations, and social exclusion.

The Reentry Classroom program works with the above segment. It is set up within regular public schools to help students transition back after disruption, offering an educational proposal. A classroom is assigned, making it easier and more accessible to the target student population. Each student has a personalized learning plan to bridge academic gaps and align with regular classroom standards.

In 2023, participants in this SUMATE program were 144 young people aged 11 to 22 in 15 classrooms, 90 men and 54 women: 2 of them were homeless, 20 were diagnosed neurodivergent, another 20 had mental problems, 26 lived in state protection residencies, and two were in programs of the national juvenile justice system. From all the above, 41% did not have family support to study, and 55% declared they consume drugs.

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