Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
DIRECTORY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Claudio X. Gonzalez Guajardo
President
David E. Calderon Martin del Campo
General Director
Roberto Sanchez Mejorada Catao
Antonio Prida Peon del Valle
ACADEMIC COUNCIL
Miguel Basaez Ebergeny, Gustavo Fabian Iaies,
Bernardo Naranjo Piera, Roberto Newell Garcia, Harry A. Patrinos,
Federico Reyes Heroles, Alberto Saracho Martinez.
STAFF
Cintya Martinez Villanueva
Associate Director
Adriana Del Valle Tovar
Director of Communications
and Mobilization
Jennifer L. ODonoghue
Director of Research
Fernando Ruiz Ruiz
Manuel Bravo Valladolid
Ivan Barrera Olivera
Research
CONTENTS
IMPLEMENTATION, IMPLEMENTATION,
IMPLEMENTATION!
OUR FOCUS
IDEI
CHILDREN FIRST
ABC AWARD
4
7
12
19
26
32
5
10
16
22
29
35
TESTIMONIES
What do people think of us?
STRATEGIC LITIGATION
(MIS)SPENT
IMPLEMENTATION,
IMPLEMENTATION,
IMPLEMENTATION!
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND THE GENERAL DIRECTOR OF MEXICANOS PRIMERO
Before the approval of the 2014 Federal Budget, our report (Mis)Spent
placed the waste that prevails in education spending in the public debate.
This study proposes a series of actions to establish order in the use of
resources and to profoundly transform the way Mexicans money is
spent on education: without changes in spending, there will be no
education reform.
The results revealed by PISA 2012 reinforce the need and urgency to
implement reforms that will have an impact on learning. In support of
learning assessment and accountability, we submitted the results attained
by Mexico in PISA 2012 to public opinion, and we proposed that the
government establish concrete goals in order to speed up the pace,
since the world will not wait for us.
We insist that the passage of new laws is only the beginning. We must
truly and completely implement said legal reforms. Competitive
examinations for teachers, principals and supervisors are forthcoming
towards June of this year and the universal compulsory evaluation of
teachers, with consequences, is set to begin in 2015.
TESTIMONIES
Sergio Sarmiento
Journalist and writer
Mexicanos Primero has been a brave organization that has embraced the fight for one
of our countrys most important values: quality in the education of our children.
As a mother concerned with the environment surrounding my son, Mexicanos Primero has represented the
best forum for guidance and support, for informing me, and demanding and understanding the issue of
education. We needed an organization like this one; I hope they will soon be represented in the entire
Mexican Republic. As parents, we must commit ourselves to participate and improve.
Juan Carlos
Romero Hicks
Esperanza Nuri
Pelcastre Lopez
Maribel
Ruiz Barroso
Parent
Lower Secondary School No. 44
Ignacio Ramirez Tijuana,
Baja California
Mexicanos Primero is an example of organized citizenry. Its what happens when a group of people becomes aware
of the countrys gravest problems and accepts with solidarity that the problems are theirs too. In the task of building
the Mexico of our dreams, everyone has an important and unique role, but among the people, those who fight to
guarantee the right to quality education for all will always stand out, since this is the most effective way to achieve this
transformation. At the Education Commission, we have found inspiration for our work in this initiative, and
collaboration and good examples, like the ABC Award that is bestowed every year and that reminds us that the great
teachers, those who transform lives, those that leave indelible prints on the heart and the mind of every student, are
many and they are everywhere. I want to congratulate all of you for your work, the Board of Directors, the General
Directors office, the Academic Councils and the entire staff of Mexicanos Primero, for your achievements, for your
work, but especially for your spirit of service and solidarity in the service of all.
TESTIMONIES
In Mexico citizen participation constitutes an important part of the advancement of our country. Im
convinced that a clear example is Mexicanos Primero. Its work has made clear to all that the right to
education doesnt only consist of building schools, but in building a culture of respect and quality towards the
students. Without a doubt, this organizations initiative is a call to parents, educators, governments and news
media to promote quality education for our sons and daughters. Let us each embrace our individual
responsibility.
Jeff Puryear
Vice-President of Social Policy
Inter-American Dialogue
Project Director
Education 2020
Santiago, Chile
Isidra Franco
Moreno
Supervisor
School Zone No. 17
San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato
II North Regional Delegation
It has been an honor to work with Mexicanos Primero in recent years. The efforts to improve the quality
of education, achieve greater equity and stop segregation are challenges that are being repeated in all
of Latin America. It is civil societys role to maintain the sense of urgency for the necessary changes, and
this is why this labor of mobilization and generation of proposals and debates has an immense value. We
have worked with Mexicanos Primero, shoulder to shoulder, to further an agenda of change through the
Latin-American Network for Education, in 13 countries, and as of 2014 it will have the support of the
European Union in order to carry out a series of programmatic and regional communication actions.
As long as there are individuals with moral authority, interested in prioritizing the debate on education above
all else, with the necessary perseverance so that the study, analysis and open and constructive criticism of the
state of education in our country can give voice to the citizens in support of the right of girls, boys and youth to
quality education, Mexico has the possibility of becoming a great power. Due to your work, we have seen great
changes, and Im sure you will achieve many more that are still lacking!
Journalist
Mexicanos Primero is an excellent example of how leaders of civil society can organize and work effectively
to improve public education. What is most noteworthy are the factors that have led to its success: strong and
respected leadership, talented personnel, a commitment to careful and trustworthy analysis, and effective
communication. Bringing together this perfect combination, Mexicanos Primero has become a key figure in
the education policy debate in Mexico, and an inspiration for civil society groups in other countries.
The work that Mexicanos Primero has done with the PEC-FIDE program has been very important for
our students. Thanks to their efforts we have access to diverse materials and we make visits to other
schools, and this has allowed us to know that we are not alone and has given us the opportunity to
change our path, if we were mistaken, or to proceed, when we were on the right track.
We consider that the follow-up carried out with PEC-FIDE was very correct, without limiting itself to
only receiving financial accounts, but also focusing on the impact on student learning, directing our
efforts towards those students that most needed. The observations and recommendations that we
received in timely fashion were very useful for our success; we consider the program a success in our
school zone, for the benefit of our students.
Matias Reeves
Adriana Perez
Caedo
Esthela Damin
Peralta
Legislator
OUR FOCUS:
What do we do?
1. RESEARCH AND STUDIES
OUR HISTORY
What do we propose?
We propose two central goals for 2024 that would transform the Mexican education system:
Demand that the Executive Power recover attributions and resources at the federal and state levels in order to implement, without
exceptions, the reform of the Third Article of the Constitution.
Improve working conditions for educators in order to have good
teachers and principals, fully committed to the right to learn of girls,
boys and youth.
OUR HISTORY
Our principles
Our principles are a series of convictions that include:
government.
9. The school is a project of the community, not its
reflection.
Mexicanos Primeros actions and results, six years after its creation.
Project
1.
Index of Inclusive
Education Performance
(IDEI)
2.
Strategic
litigation
Results
-Effects directly attributable to the project, evaluated for their relation with what was laid out in the
Annual Plan, and for the evidence it provides of the teams endeavors.-
We identified the efforts made by the 32 Mexican states to include girls, boys and young people in learning
opportunities.
We made public the general lack of action on the part of the governments of Oaxaca, Guerrero and
Michoacan to guarantee the right of young people to learn.
We contributed to making state authorities focus on actions geared toward better results.
We activated our right as citizens to turn to the Judicial System when the right to education is violated and
when the performance of the Executive and Legislative powers is remiss or insufficient.
3.
Children
first
We mobilized citizen demand so that children in Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan could return to school
and manage to conclude the school year.
Backed by 201,000 citizens and 71 civil society organizations, we demanded a timely response from the
President of the Republic and state governors.
4.
(Mis)Spent
We socialized the concepts of (Mis)Spending and non schools as well as proposals for improvement.
By means of public and private presentations in Michoacan, Jalisco and Nuevo Leon, and at the countrys main
universities, we stimulated public debate on education spending.
5.
ABC Award
We promoted the recognition and social appreciation of Mexican teachers committed to quality education.
6.
Assessment
and learning
We contributed to placing Mexicos education results in PISA 2012 within the realm of public opinion and
proposed concrete goals for advancement.
Through the news media, we worked to build awareness of the implications of cancelling the ENLACE test;
likewise, we publicly demanded that the SEP and the INEE propose a tool that would replace the ENLACE
assessment in 2014.
Teachers we
learn from
7.
Outreach
and collaborations on
relevant themes
10
We consolidated a Latin-American citizen agenda for education, through the Third Annual Meeting of the
Latin-American Network for Education (REDUCA).
Through Mexicanos Primero Michoacan and Jalisco, we contributed to promoting citizen participation in
education at the local level.
Impact
- Effect on the public, changes in attitudes, decisions or actions of other actors.-
State
Stewardship Teachers
Spending
Autonomy
Set the terms of discussion so that education authorities assume their responsibility for
offering quality services and developing their own initiatives for improving education
results in their localities.
Establish the agenda to make valid claims in courts of law in favor of the right to quality
education, and define the objectives that have not yet been reached by the Legislative and
Executive powers.
Set the terms of the discussion, establish the agenda, and generate urgency so that
children are not left without schooling and the reform of the Third Article of the
Constitution is fully implemented.
Set the terms of discussion and contribute to establishing the agenda so that the Federal
Government adopt proposals for correcting (Mis)Spending in education.
Establish the importance of the results obtained by Mexico in the 2012 PISA test in the
public agenda, and make clear the serious consequences in terms of transparency and
accountability of the cancellation of the ENLACE assessment.
Set the terms of discussion and establish the agenda for active participation and
contribution so that all girls, boys and youth of the region can exercise their right to
education.
Establish the Latin-American agenda for 2014, geared to offering solutions to some of
the main education challenges of each country.
11
(IDEI)
12
IDEI
secondary school.
The IDEI has two principle objectives: identify the ranking of each
state in terms of its efforts to improve education, and promote
13
IDEI
14
IDEI
141
IDEI
IN NUMBERS:
15
STRATEGIC LITIGATION
To defend the right to quality education!
Jesus Silva-Herzog,The
Judicial Lever, Reforma,
February 25, 2013.
16
New injunctions vs. those who dont teach classes, La Razon, February 14, 2013.
STRATEGIC LITIGATION
E
e activated our right as citizens to appeal
to the Judiciary System when the right to
education is violated and when the
performance of the Executive and
Legislative powers is remiss or insufficient.
Aprender Primero A.C. (Learn First), an
organization we established to defend the right to education, presented
litigation at the Second District Court for Administrative Affairs: a
demand for a court-ordered injunction against the authorities disregard
in the face of continued diversion of education resources, identified year
after year to the detriment of our childrens right to learn.
Based on the concept of legitimate interest, instantiated in the
Constitution since 2011, the suit was entered to ensure the legal,
transparent and efficient use of the resources that we Mexicans
contribute to education, so that they may be used to guarantee the
right of our girls, boys and youth to quality education.
17
STRATEGIC LITIGATION
Faced with the SEPs refusal, we presented an appeal to the IFAI,
asking that they review the case.The IFAI determined that, in virtue
of its relevance to the public interest, the information requested
does not represent personal data, and it ordered the SEP to deliver
the majority of the information. However, the IFAI decided to
classify the relation between the name of the evaluated teacher
and the grade he obtained on the exam as reserved for three
years.
In response to that decision, we filed a demand for a
court-ordered injunction against the IFAIs reserving of that
information. As of today we are still awaiting a decision.
The IFAIs response to Mexicanos Primeros
request for information
Even though the case is still unresolved, and our point about the
diversion of resources has not yet been studied in depth by the court,
the issue has been placed in the public forum, making visible the fraud
and the corruption embodied in the support, in billions of pesos, of
the leadership of the SNTE and the CNTE, and also of other misuses
of education funds. Other examples have been presented to the
responsible authorities, who have continued to ignore the issue.
Moreover, we presented a second suit in 2013. In this case, we brought
a lawsuit against the Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI) for
its decision to reserve (withhold) the results obtained by teachers
participating in the Universal Evaluation of Active Teachers and
Principals in Basic Education in June and July of 2012.
With the goal of learning the results obtained in the Universal
Evaluation, of verifying that the authorities carried out the exam in a
regular, consistent and justified manner, and also of confirming that the
information was processed in a correct and replicable way, on
November 5, 2012, through the Federal Governments INFOMEX
System, we requested the database of the results of the primary school
teachers who had participated in the evaluation.
The Public Relations Unit of the SEP provided three answers to our
request: 1) It published an aggregated database of the general diagnosis
and recommendations for training of the participants; 2) It provided
information about the cut-off point for each level of diagnosis; and 3)
It denied access to the results obtained by each teacher because it
would induce an inadequate interpretation of said results and because
the Information Committee of the SEP had already, in advance of the
evaluation, determined that that information would be reserved.
18
STRATEGIC LITIGATION
IN NUMBERS:
85 nationwide
CHILDREN FIRST!
19
CHILDREN FIRST!
and in hand with other organizations of
civil society and actors interested in
education, we closely monitored the
implementation of the reform to the
Third Article of the Constitution (the Law
of Teacher Professional Service, the Law of
the National Institute for Education
Assessment and Evaluation, and the reform of the General Education
Law), to ensure it was carried through in accordance with young
peoples right to learn.
The Children First campaign spotlights the situation that children are
experiencing in Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan, where the CNTE
20
that state lose 1 of every 4 days of classes. We called upon parents and
citizens of Guerrero to not abandon their children, to not turn their back
on the working teachers, and to defend the fundamental right of young
people to quality education.
With the participation of Deputy Esthela Damian Peralta, a legislator of
the Party of the Democratic Revolution, we highlighted the untruth of the
arguments of the CETEG, demonstrating instead that the reform protects
the free and public status of education.There is nothing in the reform that
mentions payment of school fees and much less tuition; what the reform
seeks is to improve the teaching profession and the quality of education in
our country.
CHILDREN FIRST!
In view of the shared concerns of citizens and opinion leaders, we
published newspaper spreads, infographics, television segments, viral
videos and interviews in news media to inform the public about the
critical situation and invite all Mexicans to join the initiative.
One of the first results of this citizen pressure was that the children
of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan returned to classes and were
able to finish the school year. However, it was a very rushed school
year that put the girls, boys and youth of those states in a situation of
marked disadvantage; that is why the Children First campaign is still
ongoing.
CHILDREN FIRST!
IN NUMBERS:
141
21
(MIS) SPENT
Mexicanos Primero has just published (Mis)Spent, a report dealing with the enormous challenge of redirecting
public monies in order to promote quality education. The report presents data that generate concern: if we consider
benefits and salary, teachers receive an average of 513 days of salary, for 200 effective working days. The challenge
of improved spending implies undoing the capture of the education budget. Taxes earmarked for this purpose must
recognize the merits of teachers and schools that positively transform the lives of Mexican children.
22
(MIS) SPENT
23
(MIS) SPENT
We approached university students studying political science,
economics and law, aiming to build awareness of the importance
of the issue. We presented (Mis)Spent at the National College of
Economists, at the Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology,
the Illustrious National Bar Association of Mexico, the Center for
Research and Teaching in Economics and the Monterrey Institute
of Technology. We also shared the main findings with Mexico
Presente and the Education Council of the Business Coordinating
Council.
24
Presentation of (Mis)Spent
to students at ITAM.
(MIS) SPENT
denounced in the news media, and once
again, we exhorted the CNTE, specifically
the Section XVIII in Michoacan, to change
their intimidation tactics and authoritarian
attitudes, which are so contrary to
advancing the conversation about the
changes necessary in education.
With (Mis)Spent, we focused light on the
budget and its application at the federal
and state levels, we extended proposals
for redressing spending problems, and we
established a public presence, especially in
states in crisis, so that the right to
education is not silenced.
Presence in
news media.
(MIS) SPENT
IN NUMBERS:
205 impacts.
11,500
2,430
25
ABC AWARD
Teachers we learn from
Call for nominations to the ABC Award 2013 disseminated by the Ministry of Education of Tabasco.
Today is a day for recognizing not only the success and the quality of the
work being done by the prize-winning educators, but also for
acknowledging that experiences of this kind are being replicated all over
the country. I heartily congratulate the teachers, both men and women,
that constitute today the network of ABC Award winning educators;
we may not have wings but we do have dreams enough to fly.
Prof. Rafael Sampedro Martnez, technical-pedagogical advisor from
Huauchinango, Puebla, and winner of the 2012 ABC Award.
26
ABC AWARD
ne of the foundational concerns of
Mexicanos Primero is the dignification and
professionalization of our teachers. It is our
conviction that the teacher is the fundamental
community agent for assuring young peoples
exercise of their right to learn. Caring for and
recognizing our teachers must be the starting
point for education reform.
With this conviction, the ABC Award calls upon our national conscience
to recognize and value teachers, principals, supervisors and
technical-pedagogical advisors that are inspirational examples for their
students, colleagues and communities.The prizes motto is Teachers we
learn from, because they teach us about consistency, perseverance and
going beyond ones context.
Through a nationwide call for nominations, candidates presented
evidence of their merits, professional trajectories, practices and capacity
for innovation.Through interviews - with their students, colleagues and
immediate superiors - and field observation by researchers not linked to
Mexicanos Primeros, from an initial pool of 500 candidates, the Award
Jury selected seven winners from the states of Chiapas, Jalisco, San Luis
Potos,Tamaulipas,Veracruz and Zacatecas.
One of the characteristics of this editions winners is their vision for
excellence and spirit of transformation; they are one step ahead of the
pack, not waiting for external factors to create changes in their
environments, and in this way, they do not simply reproduce the
contexts in which they work.
In 2013, we celebrated the sixth edition of the ABC
Award in the Chapultepec Castle, with the participation
of guests of honor: Eduardo Backhoff, councilor of the
27
ABC AWARD
support from the Chilean organization Educacion 2020 and
continued assistance from Mexicanos Primero, the teachers
participated in a meeting with 52 outstanding Chilean principals and
educators, in which they exchanged experiences and established
networks. In their visits to public and private schools in the Chilean
capital, they met with the teaching community to exchange best
practices. When they returned to their communities, the teachers
shared what they had learned with peers and superiors. They
continue to stimulate change through their work.
The ABC Award Michoacan celebrated its third edition in 2013, and
Mexicanos Primero Jalisco, recently established, joined in the effort to
honor outstanding teachers in that state as well, considering in
particular challenges and opportunities at the local level.
ABC AWARD
500
IN NUMBERS:
24 impacts.
7
2 radio interviews. 3 television interviews.
12 blogs and web portals.
newspaper and opinion articles.
28
29
Newspaper spread,
December 5,
2013.
30
The world will not wait for us press conference, December 4, 2013.
PISA
IN NUMBERS:
42 nationwide impacts.
ENLACE
IN NUMBERS:
40 nationwide impacts.
8
4 radio interviews.
3 television interviews.
27 impacts in blogs and web portals.
31
OUTREACH
The Latin-American Network for Education (REDUCA), made up of organizations from thirteen
countries in the region, united for the purpose of guaranteeing inclusive and quality education for
the children and youth of Latin America, shares with Mexicanos Primero their vision of the urgency
and priority of the reforms that favor inclusive, equitable and quality education, an unalienable
right of every human being.
REDUCA Declaration, November 8, 2013.
3232
Meeting with the Governor and the Secretary of Education of the State of Jalisco.
33
OUTREACH AND
COLLABORATIONS
IN NUMBERS:
28 nationwide impacts.
34
Guarantee the correct implementation of the reform of the Third Article of the Constitution throughout the entire nation, without
exceptions. Implementation, implementation, implementation!
Socialize the importance of the development of girls and boys under five years of age, so they can attain their maximum
educational potential. Study of Early Childhood Development.
Evaluation and follow-up of the commitment of authorities to put an end to the illegal payment of salaries for non-educational
commissions. Dissemination of (Mis)Spent.
Position the contributions made by the 32 states to guarantee quality education in the public opinion. Diagnose, Demand and
Propose: IDEI 2013.
Launching of Mexicanos Primero Sinaloa.
Involve and mobilize citizens in favor of education through observance, in June, of Transparency Days in Basic Education and,
in July, of the first Competitive Exam for Teaching Positions.
In the second half of the year, report on the initial training and selection of teachers.
35
BALANCE SHEET
36