Brasília, November 18, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Active School is one of the educational experiments that Elaine Wolfensohn, wife of World Bank president James Wolfensohn, will get to know in Brazil during an official visit starting today. Interest in seeing the Active School, which is among the activities of the Fund to Strengthen the School (Fundescola/MEC), in Pará, sprang from Mrs. Wolfensohn, who is an educator. The couple is coming from the United States to visit projects supported by the World Bank and to hold meetings with representatives of the government and civil society.

The strategy of the Active School is especially oriented towards rural areas and constitutes a new approach to education in schools with several grades, where students from various grades study together in the same classroom. Special modular texts are provided; students can complete two years in one, according to their own rhythm; and students work together in groups and are stimulated to take part in school affairs. (DAS)