The Catch Up Program (CUP): improving integration of migrant children and youth in Chile.

• In Event: Accelerated Education as a catalyst for migrant and refugee integration in Latin America

Proposal

The panel will share the work of World Vision with migrant children in three communes of Chile, where the CUP methodology has been implemented to improve the integration of children and adolescents in the Chilean educational system and discuss lessons and implications for an education system that is more responsive to the holistic learning needs of all children, and particularly the most vulnerable.

During the last five years, Chile has become a destination country and a permanent residence option for people who seek a better quality of life, such as Venezuelan migrant families. As of mid 2022, Chile is ranked fourth among destination countries for the Venezuelan population in the region, with 444,423 migrants. This situation has become particularly complex in the northern regions, such as Arica and Parinacota and the Tarapacá Region, where migrants arrive daily from unauthorized crossings in situations of high vulnerability, including children and adolescents who have been mobile for long periods of time.

This has resulted in an increase in the demand for social services, particularly in the educational system where education is a right and its access is mandatory. The Chilean education system is designed for national residents, where age determines grade. Within its broader humanitarian response in the North, World Vision problematized the situation and determined the educational gap experienced by migrant children and adolescents required a solution. The Catch Up Program (CUP) offered an accelerated education approach to address learning in the northern region with the support of education professionals and in connection with their caregivers. This methodology seeks to strengthen foundational math and language skills, focuses on the development of key socio-emotional skills to improve cognitive skills, increase self-esteem and resilience, and facilitate inclusion in a new social context.

The profile of the program participants is mostly boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 12, in a migratory process or with migrant parents but born in Chile. The educational community linked to the project has recognized the contribution of the direct work carried out with the children to support integration, having received recognition and support from the Ministry of Education and UNICEF for the continuous work of this initiative.
From the early implementation of this project, important lessons have been obtained that aim to strengthen the rights of the migrant population.

This project has identified significant gaps and barriers migrant populations face in accessing places in formal education. Support from caregivers and from the professional team has been identified as a key factor contributing to better results for migrant students. Other lessons will be shared from ongoing implementation research.

Author

• Vanessa Geraldine Carrillo, World Vision International