Modelo Pionero drives innovative education outcomes in Chile

Humanities Room – Liceo América de Los Andes

We supported the design and construction of a new building for San Esteban Mártir School in Lo Barnechea, serving the most vulnerable students and located near our Los Bronces operation. For this project, we successfully leveraged 80% of the investment.

Making significant strides

In Chile, we set a clear goal for our education outcomes: “By 2035, 75% of schools in our areas of influence will rank among the top 20% in their region”, meaning we would triple the number of schools in the highest-performing group. In 2016, only 24% of schools were in that group. By 2025, 40% have already reached this target, marking a significant step forward.

Schools in the Modelo Pionero network have shown remarkable progress. By 2025, participating schools developed more than 450 student-led projects, some of which received significant recognition and third-party funding for implementation. These projects were showcased at the Modelo Pionero Fair, which attracted over 1,500 participants, highlighting the programme’s role in fostering creativity and community engagement.

Modelo Pionero Fair 2025

One example is the project “21st Century Orthotics,” developed by 10th-grade students from Liceo América in Los Andes

This approach is driving measurable improvements in student skills. An impact evaluation published in 2025 revealed that schools participating for two years achieved learning gains equivalent to an extra half semester in reading and math compared to the control group, with a notably greater impact in math for girls. Students have also improved their scores on the Higher Education Access Test and increased university enrollment.

Finally, since 2018, Modelo Pionero has demonstrated a strong ability to build partnerships and mobilise resources, securing over $5 million through public and private collaborations to improve educational quality.

Award-winning innovation

Thanks to all these achievements, Modelo Pionero has been evaluated and recognised as a national and regional benchmark in educational innovation. It has received distinctions such as the Best Educational Innovation Award from the United Nations Global Compact. In addition, it was a finalist for the 2025 Avonni Award, Chile’s most prestigious innovation prize.

Also, thanks to the programme, two teachers from participating schools have also been finalists for the Global Teacher Prize Chile. Furthermore, students from these schools have earned numerous awards for their projects – one of the most notable being the Los Creadores Award for a residential water filter designed and implemented by students. This achievement gave them the opportunity to present their project at MIT in the United States.