The air itself has to move through the rooms.
Después de veintiún meses de silencio en las aulas, los colegios privados de Trujillo se preparan para reunir nuevamente a estudiantes y maestros en el mismo espacio físico. Lo que parece un trámite administrativo es, en el fondo, una respuesta a una herida colectiva: la interrupción abrupta del aprendizaje social que define la infancia escolar. El retorno, gradual y condicionado por protocolos sanitarios, no es solo un regreso a las clases, sino un intento de restaurar algo más difícil de medir que los contenidos académicos.
- Veintiún meses de virtualidad han dejado a los estudiantes desconectados no solo del conocimiento, sino de la experiencia misma de aprender junto a otros.
- Algunos colegios ya reciben alumnos dos veces por semana en sesiones de tres horas, mientras otros permanecen bloqueados por el costo de adecuar sus instalaciones a los protocolos exigidos.
- Las autoridades educativas regionales inspeccionan cada institución antes de aprobar su reapertura, creando un embudo burocrático que ha postergado planes previstos para noviembre y diciembre de 2021.
- Redes escolares como Innova, San José Obrero y La Inmaculada han diseñado modelos híbridos con distintas modalidades y rangos de pensión, buscando equilibrar seguridad, acceso y viabilidad económica.
- Los psicólogos educativos advierten que el regreso al aula no es opcional: la pasividad del aula virtual ha erosionado el compromiso académico y el desarrollo social de los estudiantes.
Después de veintiún meses de puertas cerradas, los colegios privados de Trujillo avanzan hacia el retorno presencial. Algunos ya dieron el primer paso: el Colegio Alternativo Talentos recibe a sus alumnos dos veces por semana en sesiones de tres horas. Para marzo de 2022, los directivos esperan completar la reapertura.
El camino no es sencillo. Jeannette Rivera Jesús, presidenta de la Asociación de Colegios Privados de La Libertad, explicó que cada institución debe solicitar autorización a su UGEL correspondiente, la cual verifica in situ si se cumplen los protocolos de bioseguridad: 1,5 metros de distancia entre carpetas, uso obligatorio de mascarillas y alcohol, recreos escalonados y ventilación adecuada. Varios colegios que esperaban reabrir en el último trimestre de 2021 no pudieron hacerlo por los costos de adecuación de sus instalaciones.
Tres grandes redes educativas de la ciudad ya anunciaron sus planes. Innova Schools abrirá sus sesenta y tres sedes en modalidad híbrida, con asistencia presencial mínima de dos veces por semana. San José Obrero iniciará el año escolar 2022 con clases híbridas que irán transitando hacia la presencialidad plena, con pensiones diferenciadas según la modalidad. La Inmaculada ofrece tres opciones —virtual, híbrida y presencial— con tarifas que varían entre 550 y 750 soles mensuales.
Luis Ramírez Gálvez, decano del Colegio Regional de Profesores de La Libertad, respalda la gradualidad del proceso. Pero quien pone en palabras la urgencia real es Sandra Fuentes Chávez, psicóloga educativa de la Universidad César Vallejo: los estudiantes no solo perdieron contenidos durante la pandemia, perdieron la dinámica viva del aula, la corrección inmediata, la pregunta espontánea, el vínculo con sus pares. En las clases virtuales, muchos se conectan para marcar asistencia y luego se desvanecen. Volver al aula, dice Fuentes, no es importante: es vital.
Los colegios están listos. Lo que resta es que la burocracia acompañe la urgencia.
After twenty-one months of closed doors, Trujillo's private schools are moving toward the classroom again. Some have already begun. Colegio Alternativo Talentos now welcomes students twice a week for three-hour sessions—a modest start, but a start nonetheless. By March 2022, school leaders say, the full return will come.
The path forward is not simple. Each school must navigate a maze of biosecurity requirements set by the national government and verified by regional education authorities. Jeannette Rivera Jesús, president of the Association of Private Schools in La Libertad, explained the process to reporters in mid-December 2021: schools submit requests to their local education offices, which then inspect whether the institutions can actually meet the safety standards. If they pass, they get approval. If not, they wait. Several schools had hoped to resume hybrid classes in November and December 2021, but budget constraints—the cost of retrofitting buildings to meet protocols—blocked them.
The requirements themselves are straightforward in theory. Students need 1.5 meters of space between desks. Masks and hand sanitizer are mandatory. Breaks happen at staggered times so students don't cluster. Ventilation matters. Rivera emphasized this last point: the air itself has to move through the rooms. These are not luxuries. They are the conditions under which children can safely sit in the same space again.
Three major private school networks in Trujillo have announced their reopening plans. Innova Schools, which operates three campuses in the city, reported success opening twenty-six schools nationally in 2021 and welcoming students from forty of its sixty-three total locations. For 2022, the company plans to open all sixty-three sites with a hybrid model: students attend in person at least twice weekly in half-day sessions. San José Obrero, located in the California neighborhood, will begin the 2022 school year with hybrid instruction that gradually transitions to full in-person classes. The school is also adjusting tuition: secondary students pay 890 soles per month for hybrid attendance, 1,065 soles for full-time. La Inmaculada offers three options—virtual, hybrid, and in-person—with tuition ranging from 550 to 750 soles monthly depending on the grade level and mode chosen.
Luis Ramírez Gálvez, dean of the Regional Teachers' College in La Libertad, supports this gradual approach. Moving too fast risks overwhelming both students and staff. A slow transition from hybrid to full presence makes sense.
The urgency behind these plans is not bureaucratic. Sandra Fuentes Chávez, an educational psychologist and professor at César Vallejo University in Trujillo, articulated what educators have observed for nearly two years: students stopped going to school abruptly in March 2020, and the social interaction that school provides was severed just as suddenly. The damage extends beyond friendship. Learning itself has suffered. In virtual classrooms, students become passive. They log in to mark themselves present and then drift away. The engagement that happens when a teacher stands in front of a room—the questions, the corrections, the small moments of understanding—those things are harder to replicate through a screen. Fuentes emphasized that bringing students back to physical classrooms is not just important; it is vital.
The schools are ready. The question now is whether the bureaucracy will move fast enough to let them open.
Citações Notáveis
All private schools are preparing for a safe return— Jeannette Rivera Jesús, president of the Association of Private Schools in La Libertad
It is very important that students interact physically with their peers and teachers— Jeannette Rivera Jesús
Students stopped going to class abruptly and their social interaction was interrupted hastily. Learning has also been affected, as children become distracted or simply log into virtual class just to mark attendance— Sandra Fuentes Chávez, educational psychologist and professor at César Vallejo University
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did some schools get approval to reopen in late 2021 while others didn't?
Budget. The schools that couldn't reopen in November or December simply didn't have the money to retrofit their buildings—new ventilation systems, spacing adjustments, sanitation stations. The regional education office wouldn't sign off without those things in place.
So it's not that the government said no. It's that the schools couldn't afford to say yes.
Exactly. The protocols themselves aren't controversial. Everyone agrees on the 1.5-meter spacing, the masks, the staggered breaks. But implementing those protocols costs money, and some schools didn't have it.
What about the schools that did reopen? What changed for them?
They're operating at reduced capacity. Colegio Alternativo Talentos has students coming in twice a week for three hours. It's not normal school, but it's not nothing either. Kids are seeing each other again. Teachers are teaching in person again.
The psychologist mentioned that students just log into virtual class to mark attendance. Is that really what happened?
That's what she observed. When school moved online, the structure that kept students engaged—the physical presence of peers, the teacher's immediate feedback—disappeared. Some students just stopped trying.
And the schools are betting that March 2022 will be different?
They're betting that by then, enough schools will have the budget to reopen, enough families will feel safe sending their kids back, and enough time will have passed that people will accept in-person learning again. It's not a sure thing, but it's the plan.
What happens if another wave hits?
The source doesn't say. But the schools have learned something: they need protocols in place before they need them. That's why they're preparing now.