The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture restated today in Ponta Delgada that "it is vital to organise and, above all, to consolidate a partnership between the school and families.
 
The school, in comparison with the role of families, "only plays a complementary role," stressed Avelino Meneses. The government official spoke at the opening session of the workshop "New Strategies to Learn Math" that is taking place at the University of the Azores.
 
"The effectiveness of this partnership is essential, because it is proven that the closer the relationship between the school and families, the greater the educational success of children and young people; this is our main goal," said the government official.
 
To Avelino Meneses, there are educational tasks that families "cannot address by themselves," even though parents will "always play an irreplaceable role in the education of their children. Nevertheless, it might be replaced today by the increasingly availability of grandparents."
 
In his speech, the Regional Secretary stressed that it was the "belief" that "the future lies in education" that led the Regional Government to create "ProSucesso - Azores for Education," a programme for the promotion of school success. It is primarily focused "on the timely compliance with the goals of the Strategy 2020, which requires the eradication of early school dropout and the reduction of school failure.
 
According to Avelino Meneses, students are at the core of this strategy since "they are clearly the reason for being of all the rest." However, "no one can carry out this colossal task alone."
 
Therefore, the Regional Secretary stressed that the success of this programme is dependent on achieving a consensus" and "finding partners," namely "teachers and a vast community made up of parents and citizens."
 
Avelino Meneses recalled that the political power in the Azores has already introduced several amendments to end "the unfair accountability of teachers for all the failures of the educational system." Moreover, it has also given "more confidence and stability to the teaching profession, because teachers, not being the only ones, are, at least, the best partners of the Government in the fight against school failure.
 
The Regional Secretary emphasised the relevance of this training course taking place on the island of São Miguel insofar as "teaching of math today faces many challenges that must be overcome" for the benefit of "students' performance at school, the development of the archipelago and the country itself."