- Please mention about the school and its mission/vision and various infrastructural facilities.
The Escola Americana de Vitória was inaugurated in 2018 in the city of Vitória, at the headquarters known as the “little house,” a small building that welcomed 12 students on its first day of class. In 2020, one of the largest economic groups in the state of Espírito Santo joined the school’s Board, making investments to expand the headquarters to accommodate students from early childhood education to Brazilian high school. Today, the school operates in the Gymnasium of Clube Álvares Cabral, an important symbol of the state of Espírito Santo. The school features 21 classrooms, a multipurpose sports gym, cafeterias, a library, a music room, an art room, maker spaces, an innovation and science lab, a playground, a multipurpose space, various communal areas, and students have access to tennis courts, a soccer field, and a swimming pool for swimming lessons, which are located at the club.
Our mission is to inspire and motivate our students in the pursuit of excellence in academic and personal development for them to be their best versions in an increasingly interconnected world.
We aim to be a globally recognized international school in local and global education.
2. Kindly mention about the prominent personality of the school and his/her role in the development of the school.
In our school, the entire community plays a significant role in the development of the students.
3. What new services or activities did you establish at your school?
The Escola Americana de Vitória offers a sports program called “After School,” which allows students to engage in sports activities after the regular school shift. We offer a variety of sports, including Basketball, Capoeira, Futsal, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, and Volleyball.
Furthermore, our school is recognized as an Apple Distinguished School, as we use Apple tools to teach computational thinking to students from the 6th grade of elementary school onwards. We also provide academic support to help students improve their English language skills and excel in subjects where they may face challenges.
4. Please mention what steps are you taking beyond the traditional curriculum to ensure overall development of the students?
The Escola Americana de Vitória (EAV) follows the guidelines of the National Base Common Curriculum (BNCC) of Brazil, and is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Culture – MEC for local accreditation purposes. In addition, the school follows the American Common Core Standards which assists the BNCC in aligning the changing focus of educational work from merely content-based curriculum to one that focuses on the development of the student as a person and citizen. At EAV students learn how to communicate in English and Portuguese, using both languages proficiently according to the different age groups and contextualized in the school learning environment.
The methodology used in EAV is socio-constructivist, which proposes knowledge building through a relation between the student and the place where we live. Socio-constructivism at EAV is based on project-based methodology, which enables the students to learn through coexistence with other people in a historical, cultural and social process that lasts for a lifetime. With this, they experience the applicability of what they’re learning, according to John Dewey’s principle that states that “education is not preparation for life, it is life itself”.
The continuous assessment of competences and skills in EAV exceeds the traditional one which generates only grades based on subjects contents. Our model allows us to continuously assess, through evidence observation, the processes and products made by students. Performance is analyzed in a qualitative and personalized way, self-assessment and the metacognitive process – the learning process awareness – are promoted, objectively explaining the advances and needs for improvement, in addition to fostering the autonomy of students along their learning path.
EAV follows international best practices that show the importance of the ways new learning is connected to twenty-first century needs, the exploration of new spaces, technological resources, innovative and entrepreneurial actions, valuing bilingual and socio-emotional learning. All these practices together enable students to make their life projects possible while they are developing into their best version of themselves.
5. What steps does the school take to motivate and develop the students’ interest towards education?
EAV students are protagonists of their own learning, living collaborative and autonomous experiences, based on interdisciplinary projects, which encourage curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, self-management, and effective communication.
Our proposal is to integrate classroom learning into the real world, preparing citizens to progress in an increasingly interconnected world where the professions of the future are still unknown.
EAV is dedicated to exposing students to a global learning context, preparing them in several languages, with a broad cultural understanding that will allow them to confidently enter a globalized market. Language proficiency and an understanding of different cultural structures allow progression in an increasingly connected world.
6. How are you providing financial assistance to the students in need?
EAV is a partner of Instituto Ponte, a non-profit organization that enables socially vulnerable young people to access quality education in private institutions.
7. What makes your school unique?
In the school’s daily routine, immersion in the English language takes place from the first days of school, and students from all grades are in contact with the English language. In addition, the school uses project methodology and international curricula that promote improving skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and self-management. EAV works with inclusive education and encourages students with specific needs to achieve their goals. Additionally, EAV welcomes students with high abilities, providing individualized support to enhance their skills and motivate them in pursuit of their goals. And most importantly, our school is welcoming, and we act in connection with the family and the student throughout the school term.
8. What are some ways you keep up with changes in education trends?
The school’s leaders actively participate in education and innovation events to shape and bring the best of the global education market to students and their families.
9. Please enlighten us about the school’s major awards/achievements, its accomplished/renowned alumni, remarkable collaborations, and major accreditations.
Several EAV students have won prizes in international olympiads, such as the Copernicus Math, science olympiads, and astronomy olympiads.
This year, 2023, EAV will be certified by Fieldwork Education, an organization that provides an international curriculum for schools worldwide for children between the ages of 2 and 14.
10. Kindly elaborate about the future plans of the school in the same.
Escola Americana de Vitória is to expand its operations in the capital with the construction of its second campus in the Vitória/ES airport area. With a total area of more than 42,000 square meters, it is one of the first projects to occupy the airport site, as provided for in the Zurich Airport company’s real estate development plan for land in the region. The EAV Campus Aeroporto will be home to middle school and high school classes.
In the first phase, there will be 21 new classrooms, including a Science Laboratory, a Design Laboratory and an Arts Room. There will also be a sports complex with a soccer field, indoor sports courts, tennis courts and sand courts (beach tennis and volleyball).
In 2024, five new classrooms will be opened at the EAV Campus Álvares. “The expansion of the Álvares Campus and the construction of the Airport Campus fulfill our commitment to leaving Espírito Santo a legacy of a complete international school, from kindergarten to high school,” says Americo Buaiz, president of the Group.
And the founders intend to go further in this aim of investing in education. EAV Campus Aeroporto has already been launched with the proposal to offer high school scholarships, starting in 2025, to outstanding students who cannot afford to study at EAV. “These will be scholarships offered by the sponsors to those students with high academic performance whose family income would not allow them the opportunity to study at EAV,” announces Mariana Buaiz, the school’s vice-president.