Education in Cartadania

Education in Cartadania is mandatory for children between ages 5/6 and 17/18 depending on when in the year they were born. It governs the sectors of early childhood education (anteprimaria) and primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (high schools), and tertiary or higher education (universities and vocational education). Early childhood education is provided for all children between one and five years old, after which school attendance is compulsory. The school year in Cartadania varies from state to state, but typically runs from mid–late January to early/mid–December. As Cartadania is primarily in the southern hemisphere, the "Winter" holiday runs from early/mid May to early/mid-August, also separating the school year into two semesters, while the "Summer" holiday, which includes Christmas, runs from early/mid December to early/mid January February and marks the end of the academic year, though the country experiences neither a true Summer nor Winter.

The schooling system varies throughout Cartadania because each state (Estado) decides its own educational policies, though with a general basis in the federal framework. Most children, however, first attend Primaria (primary or elementary school) for five to six years from the age of 5/6 to 10/11. Cartadania's secondary education is separated into two parts, intermediate and high. Intermediate-secondary education in Cartadania is meant to teach individuals basic general education and gets them ready to enter upper-secondary education, or high school. It is often referred to as "middle" or "junior high" school. In the high school level, Cartadanians can pursue various types of diplomas that are geared towards various fields and training. For example, a student will study general education for their first two years but have the opportunity to select a specialization for career path into vocational training.

Overview
In Cartadania, education is the responsibility of the states (Estados) and part of their constitutional sovereignty. Teachers are licensed and, in some states, conditionally employed by the Department of Education for the state, while in others they are employed by the school district or school itself. Some states even have laws that grant a teacher a job for life after a certain period. This practice varies within states and many are currently changing their procedures and requirements. In most cases, 9 out of 10 teachers will hold a master's degree, as this is the requirement in all but three states. On the district level, a parents' council may be elected to voice the parents' views to the school's administration, but these are not present in all states. Some states also have a student form, such as in Alexandria, Triessa, and Verona, where each class elects one or two class presidents; if two are elected usually one is male and the other female, who meet several times a year as the students' council and may voice opinions to their school administration. This leads to progressive education and strong inclusion of students in the path of their academic careers.

A common occurence throughout Cartadania is where a team of school presidents is also elected by the pupils each year, whose main purpose is organizing school parties, sports tournaments (e.g., non-varsity association football), and the like for their fellow students. The responsibility for the school building itself in public settings, including sports facilities and other buildings contained within the campus, falls to the school district, or in the case of states where school districts are not separate legal systems but instead arms of the local government or statewide (i.e., Acara, Cascália, Lipora, and São Ricardo), the city/county or state, respectively, is responsible. School systems employ the janitorial and secretarial staff for the schools, as well as principals and other administration. Teachers in more populous states tend to be hired by the district and be assigned to or select a school to teach at (provided there is a need or opening), while in less populated states (e.g., Cascália), they may be hired by the state and allocated to several districts in their area, where the district may choose them based on a number of qualifications and needs. The faculty is organised into academic departments that operate more or less independently of one another.

Classes in Cartadania tend to be on the smaller side, even in heavily populated areas, seldom exceeding twenty students per classroom. This is based around a philosophy that schools should provide as close to a one-on-one experience as possible, which is further reinforced by some states' elimination of alphabetic or numerical grading systems (e.g., Verona in 2002 with VISA) in favor of teacher reviews for early years.

Church and state are separated by law in Cartadania. Compulsory school prayers and compulsory attendance at religious services at public schools are against the constitution and can result in federal review. It is expected, though, to stand politely for the school prayer even if one does not pray along. This provision does not apply to private schools, some of which may require adherence to their practiced religion even for admission.

Literacy
The literacy rate in Cartadania has steadily increased over the years, thanks in large part to early introduction and reinforcement of language acquisition and utilization skills. With a rate of 99.3%, Cartadanians are most commonly literate in two or more languages, with Pelaxian and Latin being the most easily attainable due to a lexical similarity of almost 90% and 70%, respectively, while Ænglish is the most widely spoken foreign language not derived from Caphiric Latin.

Anteprimaria
Preschool in Cartadania is known as Anteprimaria (lit. 'before primary') and children between newborn and age 5/6 may attend. It is essentially a combined form of daycare and early education provided by primary schools. Attending Anteprimaria is not mandatory, but it is provided free of charge for all parents residing within the district, including those who are still students themselves. This arrangement is particularly helpful to those students, though this is not a particularly common occurrence.

Some states have recommended guidelines for Anteprimaria, while it may function more on the daycare side in others. Verona, for example, established guidelines within the Education Standards such that, beginning with the 2002 school year, children in Anteprimaria essentially begin their education within blocks known as "Life segments". In this arrangement, beginning at age 1, children have some form of formal education that will assist in preparation for future years.

Each state has different regulations regarding Anteprimaria, usually dictated by population and need.

Homeschooling
is – between elementary school to 18 years – illegal in Cartadania. The illegality has to do with the prioritization of children's rights over the rights of parents: children have the right to the company of other children and adults who are not their parents, also parents cannot opt their kids out of sexual education classes because the state considers a child's right to information to be more important than a parent's desire to withhold it.

That said, virtual schooling is allowed in a few cases as long as the instruction is at least equal to that of the in-person school for primary and intermediate students. This is typically cases of illness or other documented condition where the student needs to be physically separated from the building. In cases where virtual schooling is not available (in small, rural districts), federal law requires inspections of the home to ensure adequate progression. These inspections are performed by the local district public school or a third part inspector.

Primary education
Parents tend to have a variety of school choices as it pertains elementary schools across the country. Though they tend to draw students from specific geographic boundaries, many states will allow parents to select a school out of zone (so long as it falls within the same jurisdiction/district) if that school better meets the needs of the child, and some school systems will recommend shifting a student to a specific school as well. Interests of the student tend to play a particularly large role in this portability (e.g., performing or visual arts, STEM, etc.). As a result, districts may have students travel from one side to another to attend a school of choice.

Alternatively, parents are also able to enroll their children in religious schools (such as Protestant or Catholic parochial), schools, and  schools (provided they don't violate state basic regulations for attainment).

The entry year for primary school can vary, but becomes mandatory at 5 years. Though no state restricts enrollment for 5-years olds (students will always reach five during the calendar school year), a few states will allow 4-year olds to matriculate into Primaria if they meet the advancement requirements in Anteprimaria, thus some students can and will graduate before 18. Nonetheless, stepping back or skipping a grade is also possible. This flexibility means the graduation age of a student is dependent on their entire academic career and not just their date of birth.

Secondary education
Upon the completion of primary education at the end of grade five (usually age 10), children matriculate into secondary education. This is further divided into Intermediate and High school. In most states, Intermediate level runs from Grade 6 to Grade 8 (usually between age 11 and 13) and High School runs Grade 9 to Grade 12 (usually between age 14 and 17). In middle school, basic subjects are taught and pupils often remain in one or two classrooms throughout the school day, except for physical education, library, music, art, and computer classes. In high school, students cycle through classrooms throughout the day for different core subjects, similar to a collegiate system.

Students take classes in a variety of subject areas, but there are eight required by law: mathematics, history, economics and personal finance, biology, a physical science of choice, as well as cartadanian language, literature, and composition. Typically, mathematics, history, biology/physical science, and Cartadanian language courses are required for all 12 years of compulsory education, while economics and personal finance are only required for the final two years. Sexual education typically begins in Grade 6 and is incorporated into either physical education (where it is a classroom component) or Biology (if after grade 10), but not both.

In Cartadania, students start receiving alphabetic end-of-course grades from grade 6. Before grade 6 students receive an Individual Development Plan (Plano de desenvolvimento individual, PDI) containing the teachers' assessment of the students' knowledge but do not receive a course grade. Students have regular development talks with their teachers discussing how to improve based on their PDI and grades. Students continue receiving a PDI until graduation, but they will also receive a conjunct letter grade.

The grading system uses the grades A, B, C, and D as passing grades and F as failing. B and D work as filling grades, for when a student has not reached all objectives for C or A but has reached most of them. If the student cannot be graded, e.g. due to extensive truancy, the student will receive a dash instead of an F, though a dash is not considered a grade. If a student is on the verge of receiving an F in a certain subject or course, the teacher responsible for that subject will notify the student and the student's parents. If a student is given an F, they will receive a written review of how to improve themselves. Grade failure is rare, but it does happen and can result in voluntary or mandatory repeat year.

Learning a foreign language is compulsory throughout Cartadania in secondary schools and Pelaxian is one of the more popular choices, especially with its proximity to Cartadanian (90% lexical similarity). Students at certain high schools are required to learn Latin as their first foreign language and choose a second foreign language. The list of available foreign languages as well as the hours of compulsory foreign language lessons differ from state to state, but the more common choices besides Pelaxian and Latin are Ænglish, Burgoignesc, Coscivian, and Daxian. Many schools also offer voluntary study groups for the purpose of learning other languages. At which stage students begin learning a foreign language differs from state to state and is tailored to the cultural and socio-economical dynamics of each state. In some states, foreign language education starts in primary school. For example, in Tanoa which border the Caphirian province of Turiana, Latin starts in the third year of elementary school. Verona starts with English, Pelaxian, or Latin in the first year but can start as early as APAS1.

School year
The school year in Cartadania is a calendar year type, meaning the school year runs within a single year in its entirety. School starts after the summer break (different from state to state, usually early/mid of January) and is divided into two terms. There are typically 21 weeks of holidays in addition to public holidays. Exact dates differ between states, but there are generally five weeks of summer and fourteen weeks of Winter holiday. The other holiday periods occur in fall (during the period around Easter Sunday in most cases) and spring. In some states, school systems can also schedule four or five special days off per term.

Schedules
Cartadania's public secondary and post-secondary systems have similar schedule systems (i.e., shorter classes with more rigorous courseload). Schools typically give breaks between classes, ranging from five to fifteen minutes. In many secondary schools, which are in school for approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes, students receive a lunch period ranging from 30 to 45 minutes. Class schedules are, for the most part, set by each school's advisory staff or some other administrative staff who has regular one-on-one interaction with students.