Giving Compass' Take:

• Katy Watson reports on the ongoing militarization of Brazil's schools.

• How can funders work to ensure a high-quality education for students in Brazil? 

• Learn about Brazil's education success. 

For students at the Educational Centre 308 in the rundown Brasília neighborhood of Recanto das Emas, the day begins with a pep talk from Lt Mario Vitor Barbosa Magalhães.

"This week has been very demanding - the vast majority of you have succeeded in doing what's needed of you, both in the classroom and with homework," he shouts. "Very good, but every day we need to improve, every day is a new challenge."

The children then belt out the national anthem, standing in front of the Brazilian flag with its motto "Order and Progress". The aim is to reinforce a sense of national pride that many feel has been lost in Brazil in recent years.

In a way it feels more like a police academy than a school. Here, police are in charge of the discipline, leaving the education to the teachers.

It has been a turnaround, says deputy head Debora Rodrigues Sales, who has been teaching in this school for 20 years.

Until a few months ago, you would more likely see drug traffickers than uniformed officers at the school gate. A sign of it is the bullet mark on the metal door, the result of a recent shoot-out.

There are around 120 "militarised" schools in the country. But the election last year of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, a former army officer who has promised to crack down on violence and improve education, has propelled their growth more than ever.

Read the full article about Brazil's schools by Katy Watson at BBC.