Marcela has spent more than twenty years in education. She’s a primary school leader, an English coordinator, a university lecturer, and a teacher trainer. She presents at conferences in Argentina and internationally. She’s also bringing AB Studios to educators across Argentina.

We asked her about the work. Her answers turned out to describe a lot of programs that aren’t in Argentina at all.

What’s the hardest part for the educators you work with?

“Most of the educators I work with do not lack ideas. In fact, they usually have more ideas than they could ever implement. The difficulty is turning those ideas into well-organized, manageable experiences when time and energy are limited.”

Teachers cope by sharing resources, adapting old activities and getting very good at improvising. But she’s clear about where that breaks down.

And she won’t let resourcefulness stand in for support.

“Argentine educators are incredibly resourceful. They are used to adapting, reusing materials and finding solutions when resources are limited. That creativity is a great strength, but we should not romanticise it. Constantly having to ‘make things work’ can also become exhausting.”

What does enrichment look like in Argentina?

It takes a lot of forms. An extended school day, an optional workshop, an English program, an arts or sports club, or a project run by a community center. As Marcela puts it, “We do not always use the term ‘afterschool’ in the same way it is used in other countries, but these experiences are certainly present.”

The day-to-day will sound familiar. “Educators may be working with mixed ages, limited preparation time, and spaces that were designed for regular lessons rather than hands-on projects.”

She’s also careful to say there’s no typical case. “There is no single Argentine reality. A private bilingual school in Buenos Aires may have very different resources from a state school, a small community organization, or a program in another part of the country.”

What changes for students when enrichment works?

“A child who is quiet during a traditional lesson may become a leader during a creative project. A student who struggles with written work may shine when building, performing, designing, or solving a practical problem.”

“These spaces matter because they allow students to discover strengths that conventional academic tasks may not always reveal. They also give students more agency: instead of only following instructions, they can make choices and take ownership of what they create.”

What do afterschool staff need to do their best work?

“Staff need practical support that reflects the reality of their working day. Professional development is important, but it needs to provide strategies and resources that educators can actually use, adapt, and implement.”

Structure matters, but so does trust. “Educators should have enough guidance to feel supported and enough flexibility to respond to the students in front of them.”

And she pushes back on how the role gets described. “Afterschool staff also deserve recognition for the complexity of their role. They are not simply supervising children after lessons have finished. They are building relationships, managing groups, creating meaningful experiences, and often supporting students’ social and emotional needs.”

What stood out to you about AB Studios?

“AB Studios recognizes a very real problem: staff often want to offer rich enrichment experiences but do not have hours available to research, design, and organize every session from the beginning.”

“I was also interested in the way the platform uses technology to support the educator rather than remove them from the learning process. The videos can spark curiosity and provide a strong starting point, while the activities and lesson-planning tools help educators turn that initial engagement into something active and meaningful. The adult is still essential as the person who guides discussion, notices what students need, and helps them make connections.”

She sees it fitting into extended-day programs, English workshops, STEAM clubs, and holiday programs. Not as a script, though.

“I would not imagine AB Studios being used as a rigid, one-size-fits-all program. I see it as a strong foundation that teachers can contextualize. Programs need the freedom to connect the content with their students’ realities, interests, and cultural backgrounds. That is how a resource created in one context can become meaningful in another.”

One thing you’d tell program leaders?

“I would tell them not to measure the quality of a program by how busy the children appear or by how many activities they complete.”

“Start with the experience you want students to have. Do you want them to feel curious? Capable? Connected? Once that purpose is clear, the activities and resources should serve it.”

“And listen to both students and educators. The strongest programs are not simply delivered to a community; they are built with it.”

What this means for programs everywhere

Different name, different continent, same work. No matter where we are, the people supporting students care deeply and run short on time.

If this sounds familiar, we’d love to hear what’s working for you. And if you want to see what Marcela is bringing to schools in Argentina, take a look by requesting a demo here.