In 1870, after the end of the Paraguayan War, merchants from the Court decided to honor D. Pedro II with a statue. The emperor, however, declined the tribute and suggested that the funds be used to build public schools. Thus was born the São Cristóvão School, opened in 1872, which was later renamed Escola Municipal Gonçalves Dias.
Located in Campo de São Cristóvão, our school was the second public school in the city to be completed, at a cost of 90 contos de réis. The first, delivered two months earlier, was the Escola São Sebastião, which was demolished in 1938 during the construction of Avenida Presidente Vargas. Gonçalves Dias is considered a landmark in the history of public education in Rio de Janeiro, being one of the first buildings constructed specifically for public education in the city. Before that, schools operated in rooms adapted within private buildings.
In 1990, the building was declared a heritage site by the municipality, recognizing its historical and architectural value. Currently, the school serves around 550 students in Elementary School and Youth and Adult Education (EJA), keeping alive the tradition of excellence and commitment to quality public education.
Opinion from someone who lives this story every day: Studying at Escola Municipal Gonçalves Dias is an incredible experience. Knowing that we're part of such a rich and old history fills me with pride! It's inspiring to walk through the hallways and think about how many generations have passed through here. As a 9th grade student and member of the Student Council, I feel honored to represent the students of such a prestigious school. Here, we learn much more than just the class content — we learn to value our culture, our history, and the importance of quality public education. Being at Gonçalves Dias is something memorable to me! — Beatriz Alves Medeiros, 9th grade / Student Council (Clube XIX).
As already mentioned, the Escola Municipal Gonçalves Dias, in Rio de Janeiro, has a very old history. It began back in 1840, at a time when Brazil was still shifting from the Empire to the Republic, and some people wanted to bring education to the population. The school even had the support of Emperor Pedro II and other important figures of the time. Over time, it modernized and became part of the republican school system. A cool highlight was in 1932, when the famous conductor Heitor Villa-Lobos brought a music project to the school, teaching the children to sing in a choir. In 1943, he even set up a music center there, with performances that happened every year. Today, the school is recognized as a historical heritage site of Rio, thanks to a 1990 decree that protects its history. From 1879 forever! — Ana Mabelly Rodrigues Clemente, 9th grade / Student Council (Club XIX).
REFERENCE CENTER FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO:
We also cannot fail to talk about the history, how it originated, etc. Besides Gonçalves Dias, other public education institutions also left a fundamental legacy in Brazilian education. Such as, for example: Escola Municipal Luiz Delfino, formerly called "Escola de Nossa Senhora da Conceição." This school was attended by the children of enslaved people and those without means, and it was located in what was called Beco do Buraco, today known as Rua Duque Estrada. The current building was delivered on December 13, 1874, on land donated to the municipality by Mr. Antônio Francisco de Faria; also part of the commission were Mr. Antônio Martins Lage and Domingos Xavier da Silva Braga, who were awarded the Comenda da Ordem da Rosa for "rendering outstanding services to education."
The Luiz Delfino Municipal School is important because it reveals the role of informal education in the fight against illiteracy and in the production of social equality, as well as presenting the path of a formerly enslaved man who became an educator. Unfortunately, this school had been created more than 100 years ago, a time when slavery was still present in Brazil. For this reason, the school did not receive the name of the man who founded it.
Now speaking of the Colégio Estadual Amaro Cavalcanti, this school was built on Praça Duque de Caxias, currently called Largo do Machado. It was inaugurated on April 10, 1875.
On February 16, 1963, under Decree 1522, the School was renamed Colégio Estadual Amaro Cavalcanti Soares de Brito, who was Mayor of the City of Rio de Janeiro, when it was still the Federal District, from January 15, 1917 to November 15, 1918.
Another one of the Emperor's schools is the Escola da Freguesia de São José Palácio Pedro Ernesto. Inaugurated on September 7, 1874, with funds raised through a public subscription promoted by the City Council. Carlos Sarthou, in his work "Relíquias da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro," states that the Emperor himself opened the subscription with five contos de réis, and the Empress, D. Tereza Cristina, contributed one conto de réis.
The area chosen for the construction of the School belonged to the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, at the corner formed by Largo da Mãe do Bispo and Rua dos Barbonos, now the intersection of Praça Floriano and Rua Evaristo da Veiga.
The monument was built in the Manueline neo-Gothic style (the form of revivalist architecture that combines elements of the Gothic style); the building was divided into three main sections. The central section consisted of a square room, 17.6 m per side, for the ceremony of the mass and the explanation of the Gospel, and in the two lateral sections of the building, there were two classrooms, 6.6 m wide and 22 m long, each with capacity for 300 students.
In 1896, the School was shut down, and the building came to house the Municipal Council. In 1920, the building was demolished and the Municipal Chamber, now Palácio Pedro Ernesto, was built on the site. All of these schools, without exception, left behind a legacy of architecture, education, and social inclusion. — Laryssa Vitória M. Fraga, 9th grade / Grêmio Estudantil (Clube XIX).
After the Emperor ordered that, instead of building a statue in his honor, some schools be built, dedicated to general education, these institutions became known as "Escolas do Imperador" (Emperor's Schools). Among the "Escolas do Imperador" is the Rivadávia Corrêa Municipal School, opened in 1877 and originally called Escolas Primárias da Freguesia de Sant'Anna (Primary Schools of the Parish of Sant'Anna). The building was designed by engineer Pereira Passos (future mayor of the City of Rio de Janeiro, 25 years later) and was intended to educate boys and girls. In the late 1920s, the institution received a five-story annex, but it had no architectural harmony with the original building.
Another notable school was the Escola Municipal Luiz Delfino, which has a rather peculiar history. Zé Índio, a formerly enslaved man who learned to read and write, founded, in 1861, a school dedicated to teaching "the primer and mathematics" to the children of the captives on the Pereira da Silva family's farm. When Zé Índio passed away in 1870, this school's classes were already operating at the institution's current address.
However, the building, now protected as a heritage site, would only be built in 1874, having been handed over to the Irmandade Nossa Senhora da Conceição. In 1922, the school came to be called Luiz Delfino, in honor of the then physician and Senator of the Republic. After the advent of the Republic, topics such as the universalization of rights, access to education, workforce training, the adoption of hygienic habits, civility, and many others came up for debate in the country. The Republic's aspiration was to erase the backwardness of the colonial past. Brazil was among the countries with the highest illiteracy rates, and the construction of monumental buildings to house schools was symbolic, reminding the world that the Brazilian education system was to be fulfilled within the republican project.
Many schools, from an architectural point of view, were inspired by European-style schools, with triangular windows and parapets. This decision was made as an attempt to recall the civilizational paths the country was supposed to take: Renaissance motifs, such as zeal for scientific advancement, Gothic style, with darker colors and tall buildings, Neoclassical, an artistic movement that seeks, through paintings and writings, to surpass the past, and the new aesthetics of the Old Continent, such as art nouveau, a style much acclaimed between 1890 and 1920, with pastel colors and more "oval" buildings, ended up mixing together and forming an eclectic style.
A Escola Municipal Evangelina Duarte Batista (5th CRE), inaugurated to house the children of workers from the Vila Operária in Marechal Hermes, is an example of eclectic architecture. In the following decade, a search for national identity began to take center stage in the country. Starting in 1926, the Board of Public Instruction of the Federal District began implementing a nationalist policy that sought to value the Luso-Brazilian past, which has strong Hispanic influences. The new public schools, the vast majority of which were built in working-class neighborhoods, were given a new architecture: verandas, arches, and tiled maps, decorated with drawings of indigenous people and other elements of Brazilian flora and fauna. The Escola Municipal Estados Unidos (1st CRE), in Catumbi, founded in 1930, is a strong example of this architectural phase. — João Vitor Pires Troly, 9th grade
Coema Hemetério: a memorable educator Coema Hemetério dos Santos Pacheco was a Black woman, a teacher who worked at Gonçalves Dias in the early 20th century. Coema, which is also a name of indigenous origin meaning "The beginning of the morning," is a very important symbol, since she worked at a school even after the abolition of slavery. The educator was born on October 30, 1888, 5 months after the signing of the Lei Áurea, which made slavery illegal. She was the daughter of Rufina Faz, who was also a teacher and principal of public schools, and of Hemetério José dos Santos, who also worked in the field of education and wrote for newspapers, being quite well known in the time in which he lived. Coema graduated between 1904 and 1908, at the school where her father was a Portuguese language teacher. During her school life, Coema attended classes in French, Portuguese, arithmetic, geography, calligraphy, music, gymnastics, needlework, and handicrafts. She began as a teacher in 1908, at the Gonçalves Dias school, which today is the oldest school in Rio de Janeiro; at the time it was a model and application school, since many teacher-training students did their internship there to complete their training. Together with her father, Hemetério José, Coema wrote articles about the Portuguese language in the pedagogical press, having signed the authorship of some publications. According to research by the author Luara dos Santos Silva, Coema practiced teaching until the early 1960s, being over 70 years old. Coema's life marked the trajectory of a studious, "middle-class" Black family, connected to education and to the value that public education held at that time. —Sophia Mendes Ribeiro, 9th grade
