The “I.C.S. A. Gemelli” is situated in the area of Leporano, a small town near the city of Taranto, and includes Nursery, Primary and Lower-Secondary School. It has a total number of 32 classes (8 Nursery, 15 Primary and 9 Lower- Secondary) and 585 students (Nursery, Primary and Lower-Secondary). There are 18 students with special needs and 16 with specific learning disorders. The teaching staff consists of 57 teachers (Nursery, Primary and Secondary school teachers), the administrative staff consists of 4 people, there are 13 school assistants and, of course, the Head teacher. The “I.C.S. A.Gemelli” collects the students of the whole town area of Leporano, commonly referred to as “internal” and those of the “external” coastal area. It has its headquarters in the centre of Leporano and a branch, with classes for all three school levels, in the coastal area. Leporano is located to east of Taranto -the capital of the Ionian Sea- and has a population of about seven thousand inhabitants which, in recent years, has tripled its number because of the numerous settlements both along the coast and in the inner area, mainly due to the tourist peculiarities of the place. The differences between the “inner” and the “outer” areas lie, mainly, in the composition of the social and Professional status of their inhabitants. The population of the town of Leporano, inland, is mainly composed of agricultural workers. Its community suffers from many problems, above all unemployment, but also problems of integration of family groups with unstable residence, dysfunctional families and a growing number of immigrants especially from Eastern Europe and North Africa, and, also a number of adopted children from Colombia, India and Ukraine. In the quiet centre of Leporano there is a town library, but there aren’t any museums, theatres, cinemas, associations or research centres. The occasions for cultural enrichment are very modest and are currently charged on the school and the local parish. Due to this simple cultural context the school assumes a fundamental role as the main centre for the development of the education of its population, providing occasions for the cultural enrichment of the community, thanks to the many extra-curricular activities offered to children, teenagers, and sometimes also adults. It seems clear, however, that in the absence of other educational agencies, the action of the school needs to be further enhanced, in order to be able to face the new challenges posed by the remarkable changes taking place in the same community, with its increasing presence of non-EU children and adults needing diversified and specialized intervention. Different is the situation of what is called the “external” coastal area that, in recent years has seen, significantly increase its population. The community of this area has a very different social composition being mainly made up of professionals, employees in the tertiary and industry workers. By virtue of the social and economic characteristics of the users of this area, the rate of school dropout and evasion of the compulsory attendance is very modest and the occasions for social and cultural enrichment of the students living there, are much greater than for those of the “hinterland”.
Website: www.icsgemelli.edu.it