A new exchange program will strive to improve education by providing teaching professionals in both the United States and Mexico with new methods and educational approaches to help increase the quality of education for nearly 10,000 students.  

The “Aula sin Fronteras” (The Classroom Without Borders) program, will include participation from 120 young professionals involved with Enseña por México and 24 educators from their US counterpart, Teach for America. 

The Classes Without Borders program, introduced as part of Proyecta 100 Mil, a public-private partnership initiative, will be held April 3-12 across eight US cities including: Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Eastern North Carolina cities, and Los Angeles.  In Mexico, the program will take place in eight states including: Puebla, Monterrey, and Guanajuato. 

The Western Union Foundation donated US$ 150,000 to the US – Mexico Foundation, the organization coordinating the program.

“We are quite pleased to work with the U.S. – Mexico Foundation to support this exchange between Enseña por México and Teach for America,” said Patrick Gaston, president, The Western Union Foundation.  “The program is very much aligned with The Western Union Foundation’s goal to promote educational excellence around the world while also offering an opportunity for future leaders to participate in the effort.” 

“The objective of the program is to improve education by better preparing personnel abroad, allowing them to exchange teaching experiences and tools,” said Rebeca Vargas, president of the U.S. – Mexico Foundation and creator of this initiative. “Furthermore, through this program, we will build bridges towards better understanding and cooperation among members of both programs.”

Exchange program participants will benefit from the following:

• Learn about new teaching methods and educational approaches to help improve the quality of education for nearly 10,000 students in rural area schools throughout Mexico
• Develop bi-national peer-to-peer networks
• Increase motivation and engagement towards education and civic commitment
• Improve understanding of educational, cultural, and economic contexts in the US and Mexico
• Enhance communication and leadership of tutors 

“This exchange will promote a solid long-term connection between these two groups of young teaching professionals,” said Erik Ramírez-Ruiz, president and founder, Enseña por México.  “They share a common profile of leadership and commitment towards educational issues, which in turn helps to improve both educational systems.”

The program also will benefit from efforts enacted by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Relations that promote student and professional exchanges between the US and Mexico.

“We are pleased to be part of this unique and innovating Proyecta 100 Mil program, aimed at taking 100,000 Mexicans to the US by 2018,” Sergio Alcocer, foreign relations undersecretary, North American region.  “The program we are announcing today is a clear example of the impact we can achieve when public and private sectors and civil organizations join to collaborate.”

About The Western Union Foundation
The Western Union Foundation is dedicated to creating a better world, where the ability to realize dreams through economic opportunity is not just a privilege for a few but a right for all. Through their program, Educación para mejorar, and the support of Western Union, company employees, agents, and business partners, the Western Union Foundation works to carry out this vision by supporting education and disaster relief efforts as pathways towards a better future. Our combined social ventures make life better for individuals, families, and communities around the world. Since its inception, the Western Union Foundation has awarded more than US$101.1 million in grants and other donations. These funds have been awarded to more than 2,739 nongovernmental organizations in more than 135 countries and territories. The Western Union Foundation is a non-profit organization widely known in the US. To learn more, visit www.westernunionfoundation.org or follow us on Twitter @TheWUFoundation.

About the U.S.-Mexico Foundation
The U.S.-Mexico Foundation is dedicated to expanding cooperation and understanding among Mexicans and Americans by supporting better education throughout Mexico and promoting leadership with a sense of social responsibility in the country. USMF achieves their mission in three different ways: giving donations and catalytic support to civil society in Mexico, developing unique binational programs with a scalable impact, and promoting a constructive and informative dialogue on issues of binational interest.

About Enseña por México
Enseña por México is formally part of the Teach For All international network since the end of 2011. Their vision is for children and young Mexicans have access to quality education as a tool to transform their future. Enseña por Mexico drives continuous improvement of educational quality by creating a network of leaders acting as agents of change, directly impacting student performance. In Mexico the organization began recruiting youth with a leadership profile in 2013. They gathered more than 1,300 young graduates, and selected the top 100 for their profile of excellence to participate in a two-year leadership program in the State of Puebla. By 2014, the program had assembled 3,000 candidates, selected 120, and extended program cooperation into Guanajuato, Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua and Estado de México.

About Proyecta 100 Mil
A Mexican initiative bringing together the efforts of academic and scientific institutions, civil organizations, and private sector companies in Mexico.  The objective is to foster and increase mobility of Mexican students and academics studying in the US, from 14,200 recorded in 2013 towards 100,000 in 2018.  Proyecta 100 Mil is a program enabling Mexican students to acquire global XXI Century competencies and the experience of being international students in the US. 

Western Union

Western Union

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Our business changes lives for the better. So does the Western Union Foundation: since 2001, the Western Union Foundation has awarded more than $101.1 million in grants to more than 2,730 nongovernmental organizations in more than 135 countries and territories..

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