This recognition, in the category for municipalities with fewer than five thousand inhabitants, highlights the school's efforts to transform its educational spaces into more inclusive, participatory, and emotionally safe environments. The distinction adds to three other awards granted by the same institution to educational centers in the Canary Islands.
Among the honored schools are CEIP Camino Largo in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife), which won first prize in Reading Plans for Primary schools in municipalities with more than five thousand inhabitants, and IES Granadilla de Abona (Tenerife), which received second prize in the same category for Secondary schools. Additionally, IES Calero in Telde (Gran Canaria) was recognized in the category of sustainable educational centers.
The award-winning project from CEIP Puntagorda, 'Building the school we want. A school that cares and listens. A school for everyone,' stems from a simple idea: placing students at the center of school life and adapting the environment to their real needs.
The CEIP Puntagorda initiative is developed with a participatory approach, involving the entire educational community (students, families, teachers, and staff) to foster shared responsibility in building a more connected, inclusive, and community-oriented school model. This approach not only improves internal relationships but also promotes students' emotional and social development, strengthening values such as empathy, respect, and coexistence in diversity.
In the field of sustainability, IES El Calero was distinguished for its environmental education project 'Together we are stronger,' framed within the RedECOS network of sustainable educational centers in the Canary Islands. This initiative makes sustainability a central pillar of the school's life, with activities including campaigns to reduce plastic use, the installation of a compost bin, and the development of an ecological school garden.
For its part, CEIP Camino Largo was recognized for its reading plan 'Every page, one more step on the path,' which aims to improve linguistic competence and reading habits. IES Granadilla de Abona obtained the second national prize with its reading plan 'Of follies and other stories,' an interdisciplinary proposal involving all departments of the center and utilizing multimodal readings and digital tools.
These awards, which will be presented in Madrid on May 18, position the archipelago as one of the four autonomous communities, along with Andalusia, Aragon, and the Valencian Community, present in all three award lists. The recognitions highlight the innovative work of Canarian centers in improving coexistence, promoting reading, and fostering education committed to sustainability, priority areas for the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands.
