The Istituto Farlottine social cooperative was established “to pursue the general interests of the community, human development, and social inclusion, and aims to fulfill these purposes for members and third parties by managing educational, training, school, and care services and related or complementary activities, with particular attention to socially vulnerable individuals and families.” (Articles of Association, Article 2, paragraph 1)

Istituto Farlottine provides a varied educational environment, welcoming children of all ages, the youngest aged one, and accommodating several levels of education. Specifically, its preschool, primary school, and lower secondary school, all state-recognized private schools, together constitute Scuola San Domenico. This broad educational provision is distinguished by its special attention to children and families facing difficulties, following in the footsteps of Assunta Viscardi, an outstanding woman from Bologna who devoted her entire life to marginalized children and their families.
Within this framework, the Institute aims to help families fully realize their vocation as the “fundamental group unit of society” (Article 16, paragraph 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), in light of the biblical words: “God created mankind in his own image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth.’” (Genesis 1:27–28).

Project Title
CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM

Project Beneficiary
The project is designed for an Indian girl, R.M., who was adopted and arrived in Italy in September 2012. She entered the third grade at our primary school in November 2012 on the basis of her age, being one year older than her classmates, and is now in fourth grade. During her childhood in India, R.M. had neither attended school nor been encouraged to develop relationships or her intellectual abilities and capacity for self-directed action. For these reasons, she is now experiencing a very particular form of distress in her new environment, primarily affecting her emotional life and relationships.

Project Description
Scuola Primaria San Domenico, part of Istituto Farlottine, welcomes just under 180 children, with two parallel classes at each grade level.
In recent years, several children from abroad have joined our school, arriving with their families or, more often, following adoption by Italian couples.
R.M. has joined a welcoming, familiar classroom environment, but this alone is not sufficient to help her express herself and stimulate her potential appropriately.
Although the information given to her parents indicated that R. had attended school in India, she shows no signs of having begun formal learning, even in another language.
She therefore needs a trusted reference person and a special relationship to help her become familiar with this new environment, gain confidence, and develop and express her emotional and intellectual abilities.

To make her schooling and learning effective, R. also needs a parallel learning program and a formal Individualized Learning Plan. This will enable her to work on basic language skills, including sentence construction, vocabulary, and introductory grammar, and gradually bridge her most significant language and educational gaps, moving closer to the expected primary school level.

The aim is to help her settle into school and strengthen her basic knowledge of Italian, both for classroom learning and for social interaction more generally.

Project Stages:

1. Assign a teacher to work individually with R. for a few hours each week during school hours. The aim is to build mutual trust, an essential condition for productive work.
2. Deliver an individualized learning program during school hours. R. will follow a specific program combining language and remedial learning with the regular curriculum. This requires at least four hours of work outside the classroom each week, with specific tasks assigned for the morning.

Project Aims
The project aims to:

• Provide R.M. with effective support throughout her schooling, encouraging engagement and preventing loss of motivation;
• Promote greater inclusion and improved academic performance;
• Strengthen her command of language as a means of communication and social interaction;
• Recognize and develop her potential, including in relation to her culture of origin.

Project Timing, Delivery, and Location
The project involves a qualified professional providing assistance and support suited to the pupil’s needs. It may run from February to May 2014.

Project Costs
We would like to use school staff, particularly a learning support teacher who can consult another of our teachers with experience teaching Italian as a second language.
Support from a psychologist and/or speech therapist would also be valuable, such as Dr. Daniela Poggioli, who already works with our school, or professionals the Foundation may be able to provide.

The anticipated costs are:
TOTAL project cost: €1,200
Broken down as follows:
Preparation of the Individualized Learning Plan by the school
Total staffing costs for literacy and
remedial learning from February to May: €1,200

School contribution:
Cultural adjustment program: €590
Fee for changes to term services after the deadline: €10

Contribution requested from the Foundation: €600

A report will be provided at the end of the project.