Community at the Core of New Public Education
A groundbreaking public education initiative, first launched in 2018, is fundamentally reshaping the educational landscape by embedding democratic participation at its heart. More than just a plan to improve academic quality or administrative management, the New Public Education project champions the active involvement of school communities as the key to its legitimacy, relevance, and long-term sustainability. The new standard for public education is one where students, teachers, support staff, and families all have a voice in shaping the future of their schools.
This commitment to participation is formally established from the very beginning of a new Local Education Service’s (SLEP) implementation. Under Law N° 21.040, the first step is the creation of a Local Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the regional government, municipalities, and local families. This committee plays a crucial role in selecting the future executive director of the SLEP and overseeing its strategic management to ensure accountability to the community.
Expanding Democratic Engagement in Schools
Once schools are officially transferred to the new system, participation deepens with the formation of Local Public Education Councils. These bodies are designed to represent the unique interests and needs of each educational community. The councils are primarily composed of students, teachers, education assistants, and parents, all of whom democratically elect their representatives.
In the coming weeks, 17 Local Services are set to hold elections for these councils, with nearly 500,000 people eligible to vote. The largest group on the electoral rolls is parents, with 300,000 individuals, followed by 150,000 students, 30,000 teachers, and 20,000 education assistants. Voting will take place across 1,173 schools managed by the 17 participating SLEPs. This marks a significant expansion from 2024, when seven SLEPs held similar elections with roughly 100,000 participants. Officials expect this year’s turnout to grow substantially, reflecting the increasing consolidation of community involvement in public education.
These councils are not just a bureaucratic formality; they are the engine of a system that understands public education is built from the ground up, not imposed from the top down. This process isn’t merely about casting a vote—it’s about creating genuine platforms where the voices of those who live and breathe the school environment every day are heard, transformed into concrete proposals, and enacted as collective decisions. This collaborative spirit extends to the creation of key policies, such as the National Public Education Strategy, whose recent update was shaped by input from nearly 4,000 stakeholders across the system.
A New Approach to Tackling Bullying
In parallel with these systemic reforms, innovative new methodologies are being developed to support students directly. One such initiative is the “Bull3D” project, which held its first transnational meeting online on January 27, 2025. The project’s main objective is to introduce a new educational support tool that uses narrative-based, 3D-printable puzzles to prevent bullying among students. The initiative aims to address the widespread lack of resources available to psychologists and teachers for tackling this persistent issue.
The project will produce three distinct puzzles, each designed for a different educational level—primary, middle, and high school. The puzzles focus on personal image projection, exploring how students see themselves, how they perceive their relationships with others, and their place in a social context. To equip partners with the necessary technical skills, a Blender 3D modeling course was held online in July.
International Collaboration Drives Innovation
From September 16th to 18th, representatives from the project’s partner institutions gathered in Santa Maria Da Feira, Portugal, for their second transnational meeting. The group included development entities like ASPAYM Castilla y León from Spain, GAMMA from Romania, and Rosto Solidario from Portugal, as well as educational institutions from each country.
During the meeting, the teams conceptually designed the 3D-printable puzzles, incorporating a needs analysis from the participating schools. They also evaluated the summer’s Blender modeling course, discussed the methodological handbook on bullying prevention, held a hands-on 3D modeling workshop, and reviewed the project’s social media outreach and quality control.
“It is enriching to hear different perspectives from various cultural approaches and to leverage the knowledge of all participating entities,” stated teachers from the Salesianos Villamuriel school, who are involved in the project. “For this reason, we consider it essential to take everyone’s opinion into account, from both an educational and a psycho-pedagogical point of view.” This collaborative, international approach demonstrates a shared commitment to developing modern solutions for today’s educational challenges.
