Catalan, the tool of cohesion in a highly complex school

CanovellasHigh-complexity schools are today the vanguard of our education system. Where dozens of languages, histories, and expectations coexist, the harshest social inequalities and the most transformative opportunities are also concentrated. In these contexts, the Catalan language plays a decisive role: it can become the passport that opens the door to equal opportunities or, if not worked on intensively and rigorously, it can become another factor of inequality.

"Assume responsibility. Celebrate diversity. Build a school based on commitment and trust." This isn't just a nice phrase; it's also the idea that guided the development and implementation of the Plan for Educational Improvement of the Catalan Language at the Jacint Verdaguer School in Canovelles. And although it originated in a specific school, the challenge it poses is shared by all the high- and high-complexity schools in the country.

The starting point is clear and uncomfortable. A significant portion of the students he does not have a good command of Catalan at the end of primary school, especially with regard to reading comprehension and oral expression. Families have very diverse knowledge of the language, and this affects the support they can offer. And the resources are there. However, they often lack the flexibility required by the daily reality of the classroom. This picture is not unique to Verdaguer: it is shared by many schools that, day after day, work to transform diversity into an opportunity, not an obstacle.

Faced with this reality, we have decided to act. The plan we have designed focuses on the decisive moments of the stage: in the upper cycle, where gaps become more visible, we have reinforced oral and written work; in I5 and the first years of primary school, we have established early detection mechanisms to identify difficulties before they become irreversible, and throughout the school, we have incorporated our own assessment tools that allow us to monitor each student individually. But our commitment doesn't stop within the school walls. We know that language grows when the entire educational community is involved, and that is why we work closely with families, the inspectorate, educational services, and local authorities.

Inclusion is not a label

This effort would be incomplete without a firm conviction: inclusion is not a label, it's a practice. That's why we are committed to personalizing learning when necessary, adapting it to the context and real needs of each child, and to making the methodologies that work best universal so that everyone, without exception, has access to the same key to the future.

A plan like this must be measurable, because credibility is only achieved with evidence. We have set clear goals: to improve reading comprehension in Catalan at the upper secondary level by 20% in two years, to reduce the number of students who finish primary school with insufficient oral proficiency from 18% to 10% by 2027, and to use all external assessments not as bureaucratic procedures, but as pedagogical tools. This commitment to data is also a commitment to the community: families, teachers, administration, and, above all, students.

The Catalan language is the element that makes it possible for a diverse classroom to become a cohesive community. It's not about supplanting another language, but rather ensuring that everyone has a common code that guarantees access to knowledge, culture, and full citizenship. Language is, in turn, a shared space, a tool for cohesion, and a guarantee of true equality. And if the Verdaguer experience reminds us of anything, it's that diversity doesn't subtract, but rather increases when managed with rigor and commitment.

What we have implemented is just one piece of a much larger mosaic. All high- and maximum-complexity schools share the same need: to make Catalan a lever for educational and social transformation. We are not talking about isolated initiatives, but rather the need to lead a new great leap forward today, with the same determination that inspired the language immersion policies of the 1980s. That collective commitment defined a generation. Now it is up to us to renew it and adapt it to the challenges of the 21st century, with shared criteria and with the conviction that school is, and must continue to be, the true engine of social cohesion.

The Plan for the Educational Improvement of the Catalan Language is, in short, a brave and necessary commitment. It reminds us that equality is not a slogan, but a concrete, measurable, and shared effort. It tells us that language is not a wall, but a bridge.

Let it not be left to us. This must be the conviction of all the centers that support the school in the most demanding contexts. If we want Catalan to be sufficiently cohesive and equal, it will be necessary for all of us, without exception, to commit ourselves. Only in this way will the school continue to be the engine of social transformation that this country needs.