State schools are fully funded and managed by the state, providing free education and a national curriculum established by the Ministry of Education. This approach ensures uniform education throughout the country, allowing all students to follow the same educational guidelines.

Conversely, private schools, despite being private, are recognized by the state and must comply with regulatory requirements. Although they have the freedom to vary their curricula and choose specific educational models, these schools are required to maintain standards equivalent to those of state schools.

Students in private schools must pay tuition, as they do not receive state funding, but the introduction of the School Voucher by many Italian regions has made attendance at these institutions more accessible by covering part of the costs.

In recent years, private schools have attracted growing attention in the Italian educational landscape, thanks to their scholastic autonomy, which allows them to operate flexibly and individually. This autonomy allows schools to define their own curriculum, choosing the subjects and programs to offer based on the specific needs of their students.

For example, at our private schools, such as the Holden Middle School and the Pascal High Schools, languages ​​such as Chinese and English have been introduced, using the Cambridge and Confucius Curriculums. Furthermore, starting this year, robotics has been integrated into the mathematical sciences curriculum, engaging students in an innovative and growing area.

Private schools can also organize their school schedule to meet the needs of the school community. Private schools have the freedom to manage their timetable, extracurricular activities, and assessment methods, thus responding promptly to the needs of students and families.

Another advantage of private schools is the ability to adopt innovative teaching methodologies. Approaches such as cooperative learning, problem-based learning, and outdoor education can be easily integrated into the curriculum, facilitating more active and stimulating student engagement. Our schools have long adopted a method inspired by the Finnish model, which promotes student autonomy, outdoor experiences, and an experiential teaching approach.

School autonomy also allows private schools to select and train their own teaching staff, while adhering to the competitive levels established by the Ministry. This allows them to enhance teachers’ skills and create motivated educational teams ready to experiment with new teaching practices.

Regarding financial resource management, private schools can raise funds through enrollment, donations, and fundraising activities. This allows them to invest in projects and resources that directly meet the needs of their students. Furthermore, partnerships with local authorities and associations to implement special education projects further enrich the curriculum.

Our high schools, Holden Middle School, and Daisy Elementary School collaborate annually with local associations on initiatives such as “An Embrace to Dementia,” reading workshops for children in the city’s daycare centers, and projects to maintain common goods.

Finally, another essential function of private schools is providing academic and career guidance. Through personalized support, these schools can help students make informed decisions about their future, offering counseling and internship opportunities that prepare them for the world of work.

In addition to private schools, there are also “non-private schools,” such as Daisy Elementary School.
Recognition of “non-private school” status requires registration in the regional list of non-private schools. To maintain registration in the regional list of non-private schools, the school must expressly declare to the Regional School Office,
by March 31 of each three-year period following initial registration, its desire to remain
registered in the aforementioned list as well as its continued possession of the requirements set by the Mim.

Being a non-private elementary school certified by the Ministry of Education offers numerous advantages that contribute to creating a stimulating and personalized educational environment, as in the case of Daisy Elementary School. First and foremost, these schools enjoy educational autonomy, allowing them to freely define their curricula and teaching methods, thus adapting their curriculum to the diverse needs of students and their families. This flexible approach also allows them to respond quickly to changes in the educational landscape, without having to rigidly follow state guidelines.

Private schools, like Daisy Elementary School, can integrate innovative approaches to teaching and manage their school activities with fewer bureaucratic constraints, using modern technologies and cutting-edge methodologies. This learning environment, generally smaller in size, fosters closer, more familiar relationships between teachers, students, and parents, creating a strong sense of community.

Being recognized by the Ministry of Education provides an additional level of credibility, reassuring families of the quality of the education they receive and facilitating access to external funding and resources. Thanks to this accreditation, institutions like our Daisy Elementary School can develop specific projects, focusing on areas such as environmental education, foreign languages, or the arts, attracting families with specific educational interests.

Although there are significant differences between state and private schools in terms of management and funding, both can offer quality education. Thanks to their autonomy, private schools are better able to respond to their students’ needs, creating meaningful and personalized opportunities for their development and learning.

L'articolo State Schools and Private Schools: An In-Depth Comparison proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

Siamo orgogliosi di annunciare un nuovo prestigioso traguardo per il nostro Istituto! Il progetto eTwinning "Active lifestyle, use of technological media and obesity in adolescents" è stato insignito del Certificato di Qualità Nazionale, un riconoscimento che premia l’innovazione didattica e la qualità della collaborazione europea.
Il progetto ha visto i nostri studenti del Liceo Pascal lavorare fianco a fianco con i coetanei spagnoli del C.P.I. San Tomé do Carballo. Insieme, un gruppo di ben 139 ragazzi ha condotto un’indagine statistica approfondita sugli stili di vita, l’uso delle tecnologie e il benessere degli adolescenti.

Attraverso questo percorso, i nostri studenti hanno potuto:
• Migliorare le competenze linguistiche in inglese.
• Sviluppare competenze digitali e matematiche attraverso l'analisi dei dati.
• Riflettere sull'importanza di uno stile di vita attivo, confrontando le proprie abitudini con quelle dei partner europei.

Dai dati raccolti, ad esempio, è emerso che i nostri studenti italiani dedicano circa 15 minuti in più allo sport durante la settimana rispetto ai partner spagnoli, sebbene tendano a passare più tempo seduti.

Questo premio conferma la validità del nostro metodo "learning by doing" e l’impegno costante del Liceo Pascal verso l’internazionalizzazione e l’eccellenza educativa. Un plauso speciale va a tutti gli studenti e ai docenti che hanno reso possibile questo successo!

L'articolo International Education at the Pascal University: the eTwinning program has received the National Quality Certificate! proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

Charles Darwin was a biologist and naturalist famous for having formulated the theory of the evolution of plant and animal species through natural selection. A bit of a pioneer of everything that is the heart of science.
We live immersed in science, the functioning of our body and science, so is everything we eat with the food pyramid, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, so are atmospheric disturbances, increasingly catastrophic climatic events, the clouds in the sky which, if you know how to read like the ancient sailors did, will be able to tell you better than the weather, what the expected time will be.

Formula 1, acceleration, speed, simply the force of gravity that allows us to walk and not fluctuate as happens in space, the stars, domestic and non-domestic animals. I come from the world of research, where you quickly learn that everything that has been studied and analyzed before you can still be improved, to broaden and perfect sciences and a subject that usually arouses curiosity and attracts, I always try not to rely on the book, in middle school I begin to explain and then from there inevitably the hands raised, the questions, the curiosities start, discussions and debates open up. In all possible topics I ask them to delve deeper, to update themselves, to look at what is the latest news relating to a phenomenon, because, as I teach them, science changes from minute to minute. Scientists from every branch of science work incessantly to discover what has not yet been discovered and to maximize what already exists, touching on all points and all areas of our lives.

In high school I don’t even let them use the book, I tell them the topic of the day, each time someone takes turns coming to the blackboard and outlines it, they take notes and there too, inevitably with a storm of questions I ask them, before even explaining it, what in their opinion is the correct answer. Science elections must be like this, interactive, full of questions, and sometimes it can happen that they are surprised, because something wasn’t as they thought.

Science is full of amazing facts: octopuses have three hearts, honey never expires, our body shines but we don’t see it, lightning is hotter than the Sun, and plants communicate with each other. Other tidbits include the fact that human DNA contains remnants of ancient viruses, bacteria outnumber our cells, bone is stronger than steel, the brain has more synapses than stars in the Milky Way, and Saturn could float on water.

Triggering the spark of curiosity in them and always keeping them in progressive research is one of the best moments of my teaching of scientific subjects.

Micol Rigoni

L'articolo Darwin proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

L'articolo School Enrollment 2026/2027: Dates and Updates proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

Our travels and observations have always led us to a clear position: it’s not a question of not giving children and young people homework, since the exercises are important, but rather the underlying organization that is important.

Deepening our focus, we try to understand the issues surrounding homework by asking a question: will a child or young person who stays at school from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm still have homework to complete until 11:00 pm? This seems like a silly question, devoid of integrity and foundation. My natural response is that if students still have homework, it’s because school time has been wasted, wasted, and unused. And at this point, we’re referring to Finnish teaching: with classes no larger than 20 students and trained teachers, students shouldn’t spend the rest of the day completing homework; at most, they might have a few pages to read. In your opinion, shouldn’t eight hours spent at school be enough to do exercises, plan work, create diagrams, practice quizzes, write essays, and do math and English conversation exercises?

Harry Cooper, a psychology professor at Duke University, states: “There is no evidence that any amount of homework improves the academic performance of elementary school students.” According to the teacher, there is no correlation between homework completion and improvement in students’ skills. A student who has spent eight hours sitting in class, still having to endure the late-afternoon immobility, will certainly not develop a love for books and learning, but will end up hating school. The idea that the acquisition of knowledge must necessarily involve flogging is deeply rooted among Italians, a medieval concept completely alien to the international school system.

If we want to exaggerate, we can cite ISTAT, which depicts Italy as the European country with the highest number of returning illiterates. And if we want to play with numbers, we can cite ISTAT again, which states that 57% of Italians don’t even read a book a year.
Functional illiteracy reflects a society that doesn’t participate in political life and doesn’t exercise its rights, a society that, therefore, doesn’t view the school system as a path to growth, education, or a real focus for its children’s future, but rather as an obligatory and disorienting transition.

What can schools do to respond to this alarming trend?

Streamlining after-school homework and greater parental involvement in the school system could be an important first response. Just as in international schools, where parents are an integral part of the school’s backbone, making suggestions, building, and engaging with one another, Italian schools should also become a hub for ideas.

During our afternoon teas with parents, we often discuss afternoon homework methods and, in particular, the implementation of a new morning teaching approach, where students truly become an integral part of the lesson. This approach adopts new methodologies such as Peer Education and Cooperative Learning. In the former, one student guides the other in completing a task or learning a concept, while in the latter, a group works on a wide variety of tasks, such as reading and comprehension exercises, problem solving, and discussions to produce papers.

From experience, I can say that both Peer Education and Cooperative Learning are effective.

L'articolo What do we think about homework? proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

To register, you must:

access the UNICA website – Online Registration;
log in using SPID, CIE, or CNS;
complete the registration form in its entirety;

The registration codes for our schools are as follows:

DAISY PRIMARY SCHOOL TO1E1O500D

HOLDEN MIDDLE SCHOOL TO1MNU500Z

PASCAL LINGUISTICS AND HUMAN SCIENCES HIGH SCHOOL TOPL11500A

PASCAL SCIENTIFIC HIGH SCHOOL TOPS955001

Please note that the system allows you to:

track the status of your application in real time;

indicate any preferences;
receive notifications regarding the outcome of your registration.

Online registration closes on February 14th.

The school office remains available to provide support to families who may encounter difficulties with the process, by appointment only.

After completing online registration on the UNICA platform, it is necessary to proceed with internal registration at our school.

The forms required to complete internal registration are available:

1 – on the school website, in the “Registration Forms” section,
or
2 – they can be picked up or requested from the Academic Office during office hours.

Please complete all the documentation in its entirety and submit it to the office, or by email.

For further information and updates, please consult the school website and the UNICA platform.

L'articolo Enrollment for the 26th – 27th school year proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

Our goal is to change the world by creating a welcoming, sustainable, and just environment. The only tool we have to build a better future is education, which must be taught from a very young age and has no expiration date.
Currently, schools are preparing for open days and open doors, events dedicated to parents and students who, after completing fifth grade or eighth grade, are about to choose a new course of study. Open days have become essential events, as each school has the opportunity to present to prospective students their courses, workshops, afternoon activities, and all the innovations that can attract the new generations.

During the open days, our Pascal high schools will present the new high school curriculum, with Chinese as a second language, developed in collaboration with the Confucius Institute of the University of Turin. They will also offer a high school curriculum with a STEM focus, including robotics classes. These robotics labs allow students to build and program robots, stimulating their interest in science and technology in a hands-on and engaging way.
For students about to enter middle school, Holden Middle School will offer the Cambridge Lower Secondary program during the open days, which integrates foreign language instruction with other subjects. Additionally, afternoon robotics workshops are planned where students can learn to work in teams and develop creative solutions to real-world problems.

For younger students, during its open days, Daisy Primary School will present numerous new features, including Chinese, again in collaboration with the Confucius Institute of the University of Turin. The school will illustrate teaching methods inspired by Finnish models, integrating outdoor education, which allows students to learn outside the classroom, and golf activities, which promote coordination and teamwork. Through active learning and experiential education, young students will approach concepts in a more engaging and practical way.
Open days, all Italian schools are preparing to refine their educational offerings, striving to be increasingly attractive and adopt innovative models.

Thanks to the Erasmus program, our international schools are increasingly integrating the Finnish method, which has become a central part of teaching in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools.
During open days, parents can see firsthand how classes are conducted, interact with teachers, meet the faculty, and understand how our schools, with their new teaching methods, differ from traditional schools.

The importance of open days and open days lies in the opportunity they offer families to explore and understand how our schools are innovating their educational approach. The hands-on experiences, creative workshops, and integration of new technologies at schools like Pascal High School, Holden Middle School, and Daisy Elementary School demonstrate how education can become a powerful tool for preparing young people for a bright future filled with opportunities.

Schedule an appointment; we look forward to seeing you!

L'articolo Open Day and Open Doors: Exploring educational opportunities at our Chieri schools proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

“It’s not a return to the para-revolutionary freak of the 1970s, nor even an anti-competitive flair, but a method for fostering young people’s creativity, their spirit of collaboration, and mutual support, as well as a valid antidote to the performance anxiety that puts students in crisis”.

Il professor Mantegazza sottolinea l’importanza del teatro come strumento per stimolare le idee. La creatività è centrale nel suo approccio didattico, ma con il tempo ha constatato che non è sufficiente.
Questo non è dovuto alla mancanza di impegno da parte degli studenti, ma piuttosto all’effetto disincentivante dell’intelligenza artificiale, che talvolta riduce la loro voglia di impegnarsi e influisce negativamente sulle prestazioni.

In his new method, or rather, his new exam format, the professor asks students to present a paper in pairs or groups, choosing a topic that spans the course texts. He gives them half an hour to freely and creatively express what they’ve studied, using, for example, drama, video, and techniques like collage.
This non-individual approach allows students to feel more comfortable and express themselves more effectively. He has noted that it leads to two positive outcomes: students devote themselves more seriously to their studies, as simple summaries found online are ineffective, and the exam becomes a true opportunity for collaboration, essential for preparing them for their future careers.

When the interviewer asks if there will be more individual exams and how grades will be assigned, Professor Mantegazza acknowledges that in some contexts, individual exams are appropriate, but emphasizes that his experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of group assessments.
Regarding assessment, he believes it currently weighs too heavily on students’ learning. Today, students feel driven by competition that risks undermining the school’s educational principles. In recent years, he has observed a worrying increase in anxiety: many students appear before the teacher visibly tense.

His goal is therefore to create a more relaxed environment, making exams the most rewarding moment of the entire course. During the year, the professor is the center of attention, but during group exams, he withdraws, leaving space for the students to share their work.

This situation always holds surprises, unlike standard questions, which have more predictable answers.
Furthermore, this new method brings out unexpected personal abilities: artistic, musical, and theatrical talents, as well as insights.

Professor Mantegazza’s reflections resonate strongly with the approach adopted for years in our schools: Pascal High School, Holden Middle School, and Daisy Elementary School.
His proposal for group exams, which foster a more welcoming environment and stimulate student creativity, perfectly parallels our commitment to collaborative work and active learning.
Lessons outside the classroom, library activities, and the promotion of creativity are central elements of our teaching practices. Just as Professor Mantegazza emphasized the importance of reducing anxiety and competition, we too have noted the fragilities and fears in our students, and we are working to erase them and replace them with creativity and self-confidence.

Our educational approach thus aligns with Professor Mantegazza’s vision, demonstrating that learning that encourages collaboration and creative expression is essential to preparing students for a future of success and personal fulfillment. In this spirit, we continue to foster a serene and stimulating educational environment, where every child can explore and develop their potential.

L'articolo What if the exam or test could be done in a group? proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.

In Phoenix, there is an innovative educational institution that could mark a major turning point: the Refresh Learning Center, founded in 2023 by a teacher and a pastor in a small house in their backyard, accommodates a small number of students. Here, four full-time teachers work in an aluminum-clad classroom adorned with student work and a synchronic map of human history. Although the program is not officially recognized, enrollment is steadily growing, attracting families thanks to a flexible schedule (Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) and a simple Christian sensibility.

The annual tuition is less than $7,000, relatively affordable compared to other private schools, although many American parents cannot afford it.
In 2022, Arizona’s governor signed legislation establishing the ESA program, which allows families for the first time to directly receive funds the state would invest in their children’s public school education, averaging about $7,500. Previously, state subsidies were tied to approved schools, but now, thanks to prepaid ESA cards, parents can use these funds to meet their children’s needs, investing in electronic devices, sports activities, and more. This represents a new educational frontier.

In recent years, so-called microschools have emerged across the country. Parents now have the freedom to use the funds and any additional funds to purchase educational services from institutions of their choice. For decades, education reformers have advocated for school choice, a concept that is now taking shape.
In recent years, homeschooling, commonly known as parental education, has seen growing interest worldwide. This phenomenon represents a significant response from families to the traditional education system and is becoming a viable option for many parents.

What’s happening in Italy?

In Italy, homeschooling has seen a significant increase, from approximately 5,100 students in 2018/2019 to over 15,000 in 2020/2021. This increase was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted many families to seek personalized educational solutions. The main reasons parents choose to homeschool their children include the search for more tailored learning, pedagogical considerations, health needs or social disadvantage, and logistical reasons.

The majority of students pursuing this type of education are in primary school, with a growing number also in middle and high school. The Italian regions most active in this phenomenon are Lombardy, Veneto, and Tuscany. Furthermore, data indicates that approximately 90% of homeschoolers successfully complete the school year and pass the state exam, achieving generally positive results.

From a regulatory perspective, Italian law recognizes the right to homeschooling, according to Article 30 of the Constitution, while also establishing the obligation for families to demonstrate the skills acquired by their children. Homeschoolers must take the state exams as external candidates, placing a direct financial burden on parents, without substantial state support. However, it is important to note that there is no comprehensive official data on the total economic burden of the phenomenon, and research on socioeconomic motivations remains scarce.

In contrast to Italy, homeschooling is a much more deeply rooted and consolidated phenomenon in the United States, with approximately 4 million students receiving homeschooling, representing approximately 10% of all students. The reasons that drive American families to make this choice are varied and include religious concerns, the desire for greater autonomy in education, and dissatisfaction with public schools.
In the United States, regulations governing homeschooling can vary significantly from state to state, with some jurisdictions imposing minimum requirements and others with more flexible policies.

This decentralized system allows parents greater freedom of choice, but also involves varying levels of monitoring of their children’s skills. Studies conducted in the United States indicate that homeschooled students tend to achieve academic results comparable to or superior to those of their peers in traditional schools.
The phenomenon of homeschooling in Italy and the United States presents

L'articolo Homeschooling in Italy and the United States: A Comparison of Educational Systems proviene da Istituto Pascal Chieri.