Projeto Âncora is a private NGO that offers education to children from Kindergarden until 14 years old. In 2016 the school will also offer higher secondary education (‘ensino medio’) from age 14 to 18 with the aim to become a subsidized public school. The pupils are mainly from the surroundings and are representing all social backgrounds. Founding story Before becoming a school, Projeto Âncora was a meeting point, an open learning space where children and their families were invited to practice citizenship through educational, cultural and artistic activities. |
The founder of this Anchor project, Walter Steurer, even dreamt of an open learning city. After his death, the existing community wanted to keep the Anchor project alive by creating a school with a similar philosophy. The ‘Escola Ponte’ in Portugal, created by José Pacheco, with its democratic educational approach seemed to be the perfect match and soon José Pacheco was asked to build up the school.