Guiding Statements – Gimnasio Moderno

The guiding statements express the pedagogical and humanistic philosophy, curriculum, and evaluation approach of both teachers and students at Gimnasio Moderno. They serve as the compass that guides the various actions of the stakeholders involved in this school. This pedagogical and humanistic philosophy was designed by the school’s founder, Agustín Nieto Caballero, over a century ago and remains relevant through the updating of these principles to the new educational environment we live in.

In this school with over a hundred years of existence and great recognition in Colombia, many of the country’s political, economic, cultural, and sports leaders have been educated, leaving a mark. Above all, Gimnasio Moderno has become a reference point for other educational institutions that observe it closely. The school symbolizes a culture, a way of being a child and a young person, of being a teacher in a particular historical context, of uniting a community where alumni and parents play a leading role. It is a beautiful place with trees and English-style buildings, located in the north of Bogota, considered a cultural heritage site by the Colombian State.

These guiding statements have been organized into 13 sections to provide readers with an overview of the major educational principles of Gimnasio Moderno. In the first five sections, we provide a summary of our educational identity, how we see ourselves, and what we aspire to be in the near future. We emphasize the model of the human being and society we want to build.

In sections six and seven, we focus on the students and describe the profile of the graduates we want to see leaving our classrooms. We also list the awards that our founder, Agustín Nieto Caballero, established to recognize and value students who leave a moral, self-improvement, and leadership imprint on the instruction.

The educational model and our vision of high-quality teaching and learning are presented in sections eight and nine. The explanations in these sections are important because they reveal the curricular DNA of Gimnasio Moderno and the clockwork of its daily functioning.

We also explain why the school decided to adopt the position of establishing school researchers, who question reality from preschool to grade 11. There are three curricular spaces where students develop investigative skills: Projects, PBL (Problem-Based Learning), and independent project research.

The last three sections address the perspective from which Gimnasio Moderno assumes a global citizenship stance, its understanding of Well-being, and summarize the guidelines of the Strategic Development Plan 2018-2023. Global citizenship competencies have been adapted from various UNESCO documents and, of course, from CIS. The well-being policy was defined during the pandemic period (2020-2021) and served as a key axis of emotional support for both students and teachers. The Development Plan is an ambitious proposal for changes over five years aimed at positioning the school at the forefront in terms of teacher training and infrastructure.

Gimnasio Moderno is a Colombian private bilingual (Spanish-English) school inspired by liberal and humanistic values.

It was founded in 1914 by the renowned educator Agustín Nieto Caballero and a group of freethinkers of the time, such as the Samper Brush brothers, Tomás and José María, under the influence of ideas from figures like Maria Montessori, Ovidio Decroly, and John Dewey, among others.

Gimnasio Moderno is a pioneer in Ibero-America in implementing ideas from the Active or Progressive School. It belongs to the Gimnasio Moderno Foundation, a nonprofit and ownerless entity dedicated to education and the construction of a better country.

To educate well-rounded individuals with ethical values, leadership skills, social and environmental awareness, and a sense of hope based on positive psychology, prepared to face the challenges of Colombia and the world and to build a better society.

By the year 2027, Gimnasio Moderno will be a Latin American benchmark in the recontextualization of the Active School through didactic and pedagogical strategies of inquiry-based teaching and learning, such as classroom projects and Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Additionally, it will promote the integral development of students and teachers through new perspectives on Colombian and global culture. Through the cultural agenda and other extracurricular activities, local and external events, school journalism, cultural center activities, the Teachers’ School, it will work on teacher training and innovation with the purpose of contributing new perspectives, ideas, and visions to the changes that education needs to consolidate and develop its leadership in the nation and the continent.

At Gimnasio Moderno, we work towards developing students who contribute to a more equitable and inclusive society, where diversity and alterity are recognized and where the following values are promoted:

Peace
Democracy
Ethical Values
Social equity
Environmental sustainability

1- “To educate, not just instruct“. We strive for human excellence through the development of our two educational pillars: character and thinking.

2- “The teacher shapes the school“. The role of teachers is vital at Gimnasio Moderno. We believe that the quality of education depends on their example, the environment they create, and their ability to accompany students’ development through dialogue, interaction, affectionate demand, and inspiration.

3- Discipline of Trust. We educate with affection and trust, relying on reasoning rather than fear, allowing students to gradually develop autonomy and a personal sense of responsibility.

4- Active School and social interactionism. We believe that the child is a valid interlocutor and the owner of their learning process. Learning happens through doing, interacting, and experiencing, with the teacher’s guidance and the influence of the environment.

5- The spirit of the school: Our environment of freedom, affection, humanity, camaraderie, joy, and humor, the harmonious and beautiful relationships we establish, and the support network built within the school leave a lasting impact on everyone who passes through. Our spirit enables us to adapt to changes with enthusiasm without losing our foundational principles.

TITULOS EN ESPAÑOL DECLARACIONES ORIENTADORAS

1- Ethical Values: Values denote the degree of importance of something. Ethical values guide individuals’ behavior and actions towards what is right and desirable. In our school, these values include integrity, honesty, respect, kindness, empathy, non-violence, and solidarity.

2- Autonomy: The ability to think for oneself, make thoughtful decisions, and take responsibility for them.

3- Leadership: A good leader is someone who knows themselves, constantly works on personal development, knows how to relate to others and work in teams, and has the ability to positively influence their environment based on ethical values and personal strengths. Leadership is a skill that can be developed and is associated with building a better society at Gimnasio Moderno.

4- Character: The set of personality traits, including ethical values, strengths of being, internal resources, attitude, and habits. These characteristics enable individuals to face and overcome different situations in life.

5- Thinking: Thinking encompasses concepts, processes, and metacognition. There are different types of thinking, such as critical, logical, scientific, empathetic, creative, and divergent thinking. At Gimnasio Moderno, we emphasize the logical and representational processes that students should engage in during their school development. We strive to develop different cognitive levels so that students can gather information, understand, analyze, transfer, evaluate, and create, thus enhancing different dimensions of learning, mastering fundamental concepts, and generating metacognitive processes and self-regulation strategies.

6- Communication: The ability to express oneself appropriately and assertively in different contexts. It includes skills in written, oral, and reading comprehension of various discourses.

7- Innovation and Creativity: The ability to create and solve problems in a novel way.

8- Socio-Emotional Competencies: Competencies to become aware of emotions, express and regulate them, self-knowledge and self-valuation, appropriate relationship building and coexistence with others, and cultivating individual and collective well-being.

9- Social and Environmental Sensitivity: Awareness of the impact of decisions on others and the environment, and willingness to contribute to their improvement.

10- Global Citizenship: (See definition further ahead).

At the end of each year, the Board of Teachers at Gimnasio Moderno honors and recognizes the best students by presenting them with three individual awards and one collective award during the Solemn Closing:

Effort Personal Cup: This award acknowledges the student who, through diligent fulfillment of their duties, perseverance, disciplined actions, and academic and personal achievements, has made significant progress in their educational and formative process. Additionally, the award values that the student has generously shared their accomplishments and projects themselves as an example of overcoming challenges and humility to their peers.

Character Plaque:This award recognizes the student who has distinguished themselves throughout the school year by demonstrating respect for human dignity and treating others well. This conviction is the result of self-awareness and the firm development of their autonomy. This character leads the student to live with chivalry and simplicity, honesty and without hypocrisy, with a desire to serve without falling into servility, with tolerance but without giving up leadership, with a sense of camaraderie but far from any complicity, with a versatile spirit but clear in their principles. They are detached from any desire for protagonism but proud of themselves.

Excursionist Plaque: This award highlights the right balance between physical qualities and the spirit that should distinguish a good hiker. It is characterized by a joyful, enthusiastic, supportive, and adventurous spirit, which is reflected in the close dialogue the student engages in with the environment, new cultural conditions, their peers, and teachers. All these qualities that the student possesses flourish within the grounds of Gimnasio and come to life, particularly during excursions when they face situations that demand utmost care, high responsibility, the best sense of respect, and can only be prudently navigated by a character formed in temperance and nobility.

Companionship Cup: This award is given to the class that exemplifies the Gimnasio spirit and its collective values, such as healthy unity, a sense of coexistence, belonging, and loyalty. These collective values should have been built on tolerance, solidarity with the problems of others, respect for unshakable principles, and commitment to common causes. The class’s value system should have led its members to forge strong bonds of friendship and develop fair mechanisms for resolving conflicts.

TITULOS EN ESPAÑOL DECLARACIONES ORIENTADORAS (1)

Our educational model is based on the principles of Active Schooling from a Progressive approach. It takes into account the new developments in the fundamental role of teachers, the proposals of social interactionism, the Discipline of Trust, the maxim “Educate, not just instruct,” and the creation of a unique and special environment permeated by relationships filled with affection, warmth, humor, and closeness.

Active School in the light of the 21st century

Gimnasio Moderno adopted this educational philosophy practically since its foundation, being the first school of its kind in Latin America. It was their way of responding to a “traditional school” or content transmission, articulating the proposals of Maria Montessori and Ovidio Decroly, John Dewey and Rabindranath Tagore, among others. The goal was to provide education tailored to each individual, as dynamic as children adolescents themselves. In other words, to place children at the center of the school, with students as the managers of their own learning process and valid interlocutors with their teachers. The Active School educates in an environment of freedom and horizontal relationships as preparation for living and working in a democracy. This educational model, one of the most important pedagogical revolutions of the 20th century, has been behind the education of many minds that have changed the world in the fields of science, technology, arts, economics, and more.

In addition to the principles of the Active School, Gimnasio Moderno has reinterpreted its postulates in the light of social interactionism. Therefore, it promotes development through the scaffolding designed by the teacher, taking into account the social and cultural context in which it occurs. Our students are educated for their country and the world, learning more easily through experiences rather than discourse, in an environment of joy, affection, fraternity, and happiness that creates the emotional conditions for better learning and development.

TITULOS EN INGLES DECLARACIONES ORIENTADORAS TEACHING

Gimnasio Moderno is committed to high-quality teaching and learning. This is understood as the encounter between the appreciation of knowledge to understand and transform the present from both a local and global perspective, and an ethical attitude of tolerance and humanistic openness, key to participating in a democratic society that promotes social cohesion.

High quality refers not so much to having erudite students or high rankings in a ranking, but to the critical discipline necessary to strengthen personality and character, and to shape autonomy as a fundamental value to become a voice questioning injustice and mediocrity. For this reason, Gimnasio Moderno includes leadership as part of its principles, which means the ability to take the first step and affirm a mode of ethical action based on competencies and skills in service of Colombian society.

Academic excellence and human formation are not contradictory; they complement each other in the education of an integral, ethical individual who values knowledge and develops competencies to contribute to society. Leadership is not understood in its vertical sense, i.e., having the power to command others to perform a task. We understand leadership as competency to identify problems and be capable of proposing solutions critically and empathetically.

The mission of the school is to form leaders, and a good leader must also be a good student. The ultimate goal is to shape critical and sensitive individuals who are collaborative and supportive, rigorous, and investigative, capable of facing global challenges with effort and perseverance.

To fulfill this purpose, since its founding 109 years ago, the school has aimed to inspire a passion for knowledge in its students, helping them to enhance their talents and acquire a sense of purpose in life. In 2018, when the new curriculum proposal was implemented at Gimnasio Moderno to update the educational principles proposed by its founder, Agustín Nieto Caballero, three key components were considered essential to make this leap towards high-quality teaching and learning and the integration of formation:

Evaluative Component: As a set of knowledge-skills (competencies) with an axiological intention, these should be present in the daily life of a Gimnasio Moderno student.

Firstly, these competencies should promote respect for others, reflected in skills to develop empathy, teamwork, otherness, tolerance, and critical judgment accompanied by compassionate appreciation. The aim is to develop competencies of critical thinking -contextualized value judgements that observe the particularities and nuances of everyday situations, as well as those that are part of Colombia’s social, cultural, and economic life. This includes a religious dimension that Don Agustín Nieto Caballero referred to as “generous compassion,” which is a form of “otherness” based on restoration rather than punishment or retribution.

Secondly, these axiological competencies stimulate character formation. Character is understood here as a particular and enriching way of being and participating in a heterogeneous community characterized by the spirit of leadership and the principles of positive psychology. Gimnasio Moderno promotes the consolidation of the identity of children and young people, their particularities, and passions, and also values their own voice. Both the “Code of Conduct” and various curricular documents circulating in the school emphasize the importance of taking students’ perspectives seriously: no significant decisions affecting them are made without consulting them. These values, which encourage dialogue, respect for others, and teamwork, are materialized through curricular activities that promote the development of social and environmental sensitivity. Students at Gimnasio Moderno have political ideas, express them publicly within a framework of respectful argumentation, and also take action to make those ideas have a real impact. One field in which their critical interest grows is as environmental stewards and scholars of sustainability.

Cognitive Component. Gimnasio Moderno believes that knowledge, and the various areas of knowledge, can drive social change and individuals’ way of life. One of its alumni, the astronomer and brain scientist Rodolfo Llinás, expresses this idea simply: “Science is the engine of truth or whatever we understand by it.” From a young age, when children enter the school at 4 or 5 years old, they value a learning approach based on questioning and play, as a dialogical space through which they construct a certain form of “otherness.”

Behind this approach lies the methodology of Maria Montessori, which starts from the idea that children are capable of formulating theories and expressing them if they are heard with attention and respect. Meanwhile, teachers, in subjects like Projects, encourage them to investigate and compare information that allows them to enrich their own understanding of a problem. Gimnasio Moderno has excellent libraries and computer rooms that enable students to consult information from various sources.

The school respects the guidelines and curricular standards issued by the national government through the Ministry of Education but maintains its own criteria for organizing its teachings in accordance with the entire curricular transformation process initiated in 2018.

The concept of academic discipline has been the subject of discussions among the school’s nearly one hundred teachers. The criterion of teaching predefined content according to grade levels has been reviewed. The school does not echo the notion of an “academic race,” where the child memorizes or accounts for epistemic knowledge endorsed by university experts and conveyed or trivialized in primary and secondary education classes. Is there disdain for academic knowledge? By no means. There is, however, a distance from the idea of a curriculum as a disjointed corpus of disciplinary knowledge subjected to a race, forcing children to retain them through quizzes and exams.

Gimnasio Moderno has adopted a competency-based approach that prioritizes the development of research skills and problem-solving. In this approach, the subject teacher presents concepts and cross-curricular competencies in the field (Emphasis) that serve as input to address problems posed in Projects and Problem-Based Learning (PBL). When students want to complement information on an area of interest, they have the opportunity to do so in curricular spaces called Deepening. This is how the organization of knowledge has been structured in the school since 2018.

EMPHASIS	PROJECTS	PROBLEM BASED LEARNING (PBL)	SEMINARS
Cross-curricular concepts in the field	Research based on questions guided by students interests	Formulation of research problems across various disciplinary areas	Knowledge expansion on subject specific areas

Gimnasio Moderno has implemented an interdisciplinary working scheme called “AMBITO” (integrated areas). These areas allow the subject grouping with epistemic affinities, enabling students to tackle real world problems from a multidisciplinary perspective. To achieve this, three teachers co-teach once a week for 90 minutes in a classroom with 20-25 students. We believe that this interdisciplinary working scheme holds academic value as students apply knowledge from multiple fields of study in their research.

INTEGRATED AREAS

STEM

Language, Thinking, Society

Aesthetics

Body Development

Life Project

Science

Math

Technology

English

Spanish

Social Studies

Music

Art

Literature

Sports

Health

Physical Education

Homeroom

Research projects (arising from questions posed by students) begin in Montessori I and continue up to 9th grade. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is introduced in 3rd grade.

Based on the goal of fostering student researchers (within the school setting), in 10th and 11th grade, students work in pairs to develop a preliminary project based on their personal interests (in 10th grade) and then articulate it with a theoretical and methodological framework (in 11th grade). Every 11th-grade student at Gimnasio Moderno is required to present a research project supported by reliable sources, while also expressing their own voice. These students are learning to become autonomous and articulate their thoughts, acquiring an academic discourse that will serve as a foundation for their university studies.

Through these research projects, the school aims to cultivate an inquisitive attitude toward reality, develop empathy, and engage students emotionally and cognitively with topics of personal interest. The knowledge they produce holds value for themselves, their mentors, their peers, and the interested community.

The curricular and assessment framework at El Gimnasio Moderno is based on the Developmental Taxonomy.

The purpose of the taxonomy is to facilitate the strategic organization of what students should learn by grade levels and cycles from Montessori 1 to grade 11, categorizing them into four developmental levels. Although cognitive processes do not strictly follow a linear progression, every learning goal should encompass processes from each stage of development, from Remembering to Creating.

Thus, Bloom’s Taxonomy (as well as Marzano’s and P. Facione’s) served as a reference to configure the new curricular and assessment system that currently governs in the school.

Practical component. This component aims to materialize and make visible the two previous components: the valuative and the cognitive. Consequently, it is expected that a student at Gimnasio Moderno, throughout their educational journey, will acquire four key competencies for personal and social development.

Problem-solving in the context of globalization. It is expected that students understand and adopt a critical attitude towards the major challenges of globalization, such as cultural diversity and sustainability.
Leadership to influence society. Students should have the ability to influence the major fields of politics, culture, and the economy in their professional field as adults.
Transition from heteronomy to autonomy. Students should be capable of “thinking for themselves” (Kant), adopting an enlightened attitude towards the world, and being able to solve problems independently and responsibly.
Development of life skills. Students should be flexible in understanding unprecedented events and new challenges and be able to provide an intellectual framework for assessment that always respects others and embraces alterity.

In summary, high-quality education is inclusive and equitable, promoting developmental opportunities for all students. It enables learning across the dimensions of knowledge, skills, character, and social interactions. This entails fostering research skills, cooperative work, effective communication, critical thinking, empathy, and problem-solving abilities to engage with diverse contexts and interact with other cultures as global citizens.

El Gimnasio Moderno is committed to education for global citizenship. Our vision of global citizenship is guided by the guidelines set forth by the Council of International Schools.

For us, a global citizen is a person:

Knows and loves their country and has a healthy sense of identity. This is achieved, for example, through excursions throughout Colombia.

Acts based on ethical values such as integrity, honesty, respect, kindness, empathy, solidarity, and non-violence. This is fostered, for example, through group activities.

Respects and values diversity in all its manifestations. By diversity, we mean different ways of understanding the world, thinking, feeling, acting, and expressing oneself. For example, cultural diversity, learning diversity, or religious diversity, among others. This is developed, for example, through the Diverse Abilities Program.

Has knowledge and a critical perspective on global issues and issues in their own country. This is achieved, for example, through projects that students develop on global problems.

Is proficient in multiple languages, such as Spanish and English.

Seeks to transform society through service and social responsibility, with a vision of equity and justice. This is achieved, for example, through community service initiatives.

Possesses social-emotional and leadership competencies. This is developed, for example, through the Positive Education Program and through spaces for student autonomy, such as the Band, the Radio Station, and Committees.

Has a lifestyle that promotes personal and collective well-being, as well as shared care for the environment. This is achieved, for example, through the Natural Sciences program.

Throughout their school life, the students are offered various intercultural learning experiences and opportunities, such as excursions within and outside of Colombia, immersion programs abroad, academic, sports, and artistic trips, visits to international conferences, contact with people from different cultures, and visits from international figures in pedagogy, science, and culture to our campus, among others.

TITULOS EN INGLES DECLARACIONES ORIENTADORAS BIENESTAR

Gimnasio Moderno is committed to the well-being of its entire community: students, teachers, parents, staff, and alumni.

To achieve this, the following are essential:

Creating an environment of trust, care, active listening, and affection, guided by the Discipline of Trust.
Maintaining a safe and protected environment, both on campus and in the technological and virtual areas.

Our vision of well-being is infused with the principles of Positive Psychology.

Positive Psychology, also known as the Psychology of Well-being, is a branch of psychology established in the late 20th century by Martin Seligman, a renowned scientist in the international community. Its subject of study is well-being, happiness, flourishing, human strengths, positive emotions, and their impact on human development. Since 2015, El Gimnasio Moderno has been implementing its principles and has been recognized as a leading institution in Positive Education, the application of Positive Psychology principles in education, at the national and international levels.

Gimnasio Moderno has directed its strategic activity in 5-year periods. This exercise of looking into the future of the school in quinquennium’s facilitates the organization of existing human and economic resources and reserves the necessary resources for the achievement of goals. The current Development Plan (titled “Flight to the Bicentennial”) is valid from 2018 to 2023. It is organizad in to four sections.

Curriculum transformation.
Accreditation.
Professional development, Teacher evaluation, and career advancement organized through a Teaching Statute.
International student mobilization..

Each component of the development plan contributes to the transformation of the school in order to face the third decade of the 21^st century.

1. Curriculum transformation. By directive of the Board and under the leadership of the Principal’s Office, the school began a curricular shift in 2018, aiming to materialize its Institutional Educational Project (PEI) through practical actions.

2. International accreditation. Consistent with this, the school began the process of accrediting all its academic, administrative and management processes with an international entity: the Council International of Schools (CIS). In 2021 the school was accepted as a member and in 2024 it was accredited. This accreditation positions the school as one of the most prestigious educational entities in Colombia and Latin America.

We-are-an-accredited-school-color_cmyk_noframe

3. Professional development of teachers through their School of Teachers. Teachers are the cornerstone of the curricular changes initiated by El Gimnasio Moderno. In this regard, the school has taken two measures: i) establishing a policy for hiring teachers based on professional profiles and competencies that align with the needs of curricular transformation, and ii) designing a Teacher Statute that includes not only the duties, rights, and responsibilities of teachers but also a ten-year career framework that allows teachers to progressively acquire the “Gimnasian spirit” and receive labor and salary benefits every two years. This entire process will be accompanied by a teacher evaluation system, which will be applied semestrally to provide teachers with an improvement plan under the responsibility of the Academic Directorate and the subject/area coordinators. The evaluation takes into consideration three aspects: i) alignment between the syllabus and the didactic unit with its pedagogical implementation in class; ii) classroom climate, understood as an environment of teacher-student interaction that facilitates learning, collaborative work, dialogue, and metacognition; iii) integration of the Developmental Taxonomy with the formative and developmental evaluation system (SIE: Comprehensive Evaluation System) that the school has been implementing since the beginning of 2023.

4. International student mobilization. This process is led by the Bilingualism Coordination. Students from 8th to 11th grade will have the option to spend part of their grade in schools in Canada or England, where they will strengthen their English as a second language (L2). The subjects studied in these countries will be recognized in the curriculum of El Gimnasio Moderno.

Gimnasio Moderno

Seeks to fulfill the value propositions of its educational.
Strives for human excellence: character and thinking.
Builds a culture of care, safety, and well-being.
Complies with applicable regulations and laws.
Respects the dignity and equality of all individuals, groups, and cultures.
Promotes global citizenship.

For further information on these guiding statements, we invite you to consult other institutional documents:

Statutes of the Gimnasio Moderno Foundation.
Institutional Educational Project (PEI).
Coexistence Handbook.
RAI (Comprehensive Care Route).
Code of Conduct.
Strategic Development Plan – Flight to the Bicentennial (2018-2023).
Master Infrastructure Plan.
Admissions Policy.
Special Needs Program.

Gimnasio Moderno Foundation

Address
Dirección:
Carrera 9 # 74 – 99 Bogotá, Colombia.
Postal Code: 110221
Office Hours
Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Continuous Day
Telephone number:
+57 601 540 1888

Institutional email
comunicaciones@gimnasiomoderno.edu.co
Judicial Notifications:
comunicaciones@gimnasiomoderno.edu.co

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