{"id":98005,"date":"2026-05-25T17:23:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/sin-categoria\/de-sobral-y-ceara-a-america-latina-y-el-caribe-lecciones-para-fortalecer-la-lectoescritura-en-toda-la-region\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:48:13","slug":"de-sobral-y-ceara-a-america-latina-y-el-caribe-lecciones-para-fortalecer-la-lectoescritura-en-toda-la-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/news\/from-sobral-and-ceara-to-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-lessons-to-strengthen-literacy-across-the-region\/","title":{"rendered":"From Sobral and Cear\u00e1 to Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons to Strengthen Literacy Across the Region"},"content":{"rendered":"

Representatives from Ministries of Education, technical teams, and key stakeholders from eight Latin American and Caribbean countries took part in a technical learning visit in Fortaleza, Brazil, with the aim of gaining firsthand insight into the experience of Sobral and the state of Cear\u00e1, both internationally recognized for their sustained progress in literacy and learning improvement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The initiative, \u201cFrom the Sobral Experience to Education Policy in the State of Cear\u00e1: Lessons to Strengthen Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean,\u201d was led by SUMMA, in coordination with the Latin America and the Caribbean Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Hub (KIX LAC), and co-organized with Associa\u00e7\u00e3o Bem Comum, with support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Canada\u2019s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and Instituto Natura.<\/span><\/p>\n

The activity was framed within the commitments made by different countries in the region to prioritize early literacy and strengthen regional cooperation in education, building on the Antigua Commitment promoted during the 2025 KIX LAC Regional Meeting<\/a> held in Guatemala.<\/p>\n

In a region where eight out of ten children do not reach minimum levels of reading comprehension by age 10, the meeting sought to promote peer learning, strengthen technical capacities, and support countries in the design and adaptation of evidence-based public policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first day featured presentations and panels aimed at understanding the gaps and challenges related to foundational learning in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the key factors behind the experience of Sobral and Cear\u00e1.<\/span><\/p>\n

Javier Gonz\u00e1lez, Director of SUMMA, emphasized that \u201chumanity is capable of achieving great things when it works together\u201d and underscored the importance of strengthening not only the pedagogical core, but also the enabling conditions for learning: teacher training, time for preparation, pedagogical support, and sustained policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

For his part, Veveu Arruda, Director of Associa\u00e7\u00e3o Bem Comum and former Mayor of Sobral, emphasized that \u201cilliteracy is not a matter of destiny. It is the result of political decisions. Literacy is a challenge that transcends borders. By sharing the experience we had in Sobral and Cear\u00e1 with other countries, we strengthen a learning network among governments and institutions committed to every child\u2019s right to learn. For us, this exchange is essential to inspire possible sustainable solutions adapted to each reality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ra\u00fal Chac\u00f3n, Director of KIX LAC, highlighted that \u201cit is essential to listen to where countries stand, what progress they have made, and what their priorities and challenges are, in order to understand the experience of Sobral and the state of Cear\u00e1 from each context. The goal is to identify lessons that make sense and can be adapted to the realities of each country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The day also explored in greater depth the key elements of Cear\u00e1\u2019s literacy policy, school financing and support schemes, and the assessment and monitoring mechanisms implemented to ensure better results.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this context, a dialogue panel was held with Izolda Cela \u2014 Director of State Programs at Bem Comum, former Governor of Cear\u00e1, and former Secretary of Education of Cear\u00e1 and Sobral \u2014, F\u00e1bio Lisandro \u2014 Mayor of Salgueiro, Pernambuco \u2014, and Leuzimirtes Loiola \u2014 Implementation Coordinator at Bem Comum and former school principal \u2014, in a conversation moderated by Rafael Carrasco, Deputy Director of SUMMA. Later, Jo\u00e3o Paulo Mendes Lima \u2014 representative of Brazil\u2019s Ministry of Education \u2014; Jucineide Fernandes \u2014 Secretary of Education of Cear\u00e1 \u2014; and Lucas Alvino \u2014 Secretary of Education of the Municipality of Itapipoca \u2014 delved into the support and financing schemes that made it possible to implement and scale the literacy policy in Cear\u00e1 and Brazil, highlighting the importance of building structural conditions that sustain effective, long-term education policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, participants visited the Teachers\u2019 Academy, where further discussion spaces were held to examine the pedagogical elements of the policy in greater depth, including teacher training and support, pedagogical materials, monitoring and evaluation, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second day was dedicated to observing how public policies are translated into concrete practices within schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

The delegations visited Doutor S\u00e9rvulo Mendes Barroso School and took part in conversations with different members of the school community: school leaders, pedagogical support managers, and teachers. They also conducted classroom observations to learn about teaching strategies, pedagogical dynamics, and mechanisms for monitoring learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

The day continued with a regional exchange session in which representatives from Ministries of Education in Central America and the Caribbean presented experiences, policies, innovations, and challenges related to foundational learning and skills. Subsequently, the delegations participated in a collaborative working session moderated by SUMMA, aimed at building a shared diagnosis of the main factors that influence the development of sustainable learning. Through dialogue among technical teams at the macro, meso, and micro levels, the session promoted joint reflection to move toward a common vision that strengthens literacy policies in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third day focused on the case of Sobral and on the role of political commitment, families, and school communities in sustaining educational transformations. Rachel Castanha, Municipal Secretary of Education of Queimadas, Para\u00edba; Lira Augusta, former school principal in Sobral; and Antonia Janiele Braga da Silva, mother of a Sobral student, shared experiences on how to build and maintain community engagement around early literacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, specialists from Bem Comum explored in greater depth school management strategies, curriculum development, and concrete pedagogical practices aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the policy in the classroom. The day concluded with a final reflection session moderated by SUMMA and OECS, where the delegations worked on the development of national roadmaps to adapt lessons from Cear\u00e1 to their own contexts and move toward sustainable policies to strengthen foundational learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the closing session, Rafer Gordon, Head of Projects at OECS, stated that \u201cthese learning spaces help us reflect on how to drive change and continue moving toward better results. We leave inspired by the realization that there is no need to start from scratch, but rather to strengthen and improve what already exists.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The technical visit aimed precisely to help participating countries incorporate lessons learned and strengthen their own national literacy strategies, adapted to their local realities and challenges. It is expected that this technical visit will serve as a national roadmap enabling participating countries to incorporate the lessons learned into sectoral literacy strategies. To this end, participating countries will receive post-visit technical support from SUMMA-KIX LAC, focused on translating the lessons from Cear\u00e1 into concrete, sustainable actions adapted to their realities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about the technical learning visits promoted by KIX LAC.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Representatives from Ministries of Education, technical teams, and key stakeholders from eight Latin American and Caribbean countries took part in a technical learning visit in Fortaleza, Brazil, with the aim of gaining firsthand insight into the experience of Sobral and the state of Cear\u00e1, both internationally recognized for their sustained progress in literacy and learning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,52],"tags":[165,123],"class_list":["post-98005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kix","category-news","tag-aprendizajes-fundacionales","tag-destacada-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98005"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98007,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98005\/revisions\/98007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summaedu.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}