The beginnings
In January 1889 the first 2 Lasallian Brothers from France landed in Buenos Aires, having been summoned there by the Armstrong family. They took up the administration of a free school which belonged to the Lazarist Fathers. With the arrival of 13 additional Brothers the Lasallian community was formed with Brother Jumaélien as the Director. In 1891 De La Salle high school in Buenos Aires was founded.
Little by little, basically beginning in 1904, the work spread throughout the country. In 1968 the District of Argentina began some initiatives in what was to become the Sub-District of Paraguay. The first one was the "Brother Jumaélien" educational work in Pozo Colorado, some 283 kilometers from the city of Asunción, along the trans-Chaco highway.

Growth
Lasallian schools today meet the educational needs of people in urban, suburban and rural areas in the city of Buenos Aires, and in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Jujuy and Santiago del Estero. In Paraguay, there are Lasallian schools located in Asunción, the capital and in the Paraguayan region of Chaco.

Types of works
Aware of its Lasallian charism, committed to the renewal of the Christian school in order to put it within reach of the "children of the poor," the Brothers of the District of Argentina-Paraguay have reinvigorated their preferential commitment to those most in need with educational works such as those at Bachillerato Técnico La Salle (Campo Gallo, Santiago del Estero Province), Escuela Agropecuaria San Benito (Santos Lugares, Santiago del Estero Province), Escuela La Salle del Barrio Malvinas in Jujuy, Colegio San José (Villa del Rosario, Córdoba Province), Escuela Santo Tomás de Aquino (González Catán, Buenos Aires Province), Escuela San Martín de Porres (Villa Hidalgo in Greater Buenos Aires), Escuela San Isidro Labrador (Pozo Colorado, Paraguay), Escuela José María Bogarín in Asunción-Paraguay and, most recently, Escuela Héctor Valdivielso in the Malvinas Municipality in the vicinity of the city of Córdoba.
The Héctor Valdivielso School is one of the centers which makes it possible for large numbers of children and young people, who live in conditions of extreme poverty, to have access to an integrated education and, at the same time, to participate in the construction of a more just society, with its emphasis on intensive social work within the local community.
Currently the District has 60 Brothers and 2,500 teachers and administrators who care for more than 20,000 students in 17 educational institutions. The District has gained important experience in the area of Missions. It provides leadership for works that run the gamut from formal education, non-formal education and Advanced Education such as at the Pastoral Institute for Adolescents, the La Crujía Educational Communication Center and the La Salle Tertiary Institutes in Buenos Aires, the capital and in Florida, Rosario. These institutes, while in the framework of Advanced Education, should be highlighted as pioneering and innovating initiatives in these areas: catechesis, educational communication and in the formation of managers and teachers. The La Crujía Educational Communication Center is and Advanced Level Institute, not university-affiliated, and it participates in some programs jointly with private and state universities.
Within these institutes distance learning programs have been developed over the Internet which have attained national recognition for their success. In fact, more than 25 dioceses throughout the country use their catechetical formation programs.

The District, through its Stella Publishing Company, makes a valuable contribution to culture, education and formation, since many schools use its books. The publishing company produces and edits textbooks (of school subjects and catechesis) for all levels. This publishing company has more than 60 years of experience.
Some schools belong to the Institute (District), others are Diocesan or are State schools or belong to the local Province. In these cases, the District takes care of their administration, by means of contractual agreement, as well as pedagogical activities, social activities and spiritual formation. In 1967 the "La Salle Foundation" came into being, to offer support to those who had been excluded from basic education programs. Previous experience and the current crisis of countries that had been subject to neoliberal thinking, formed the basis for the emergence of the new " La Salle Foundation," which now includes a new thrust towards redefining its identity and its way of organizing itself to be more effective in its service in favor of education without exclusion.
Currently, the District has certain traits which give it a special makeup:

Origin of the Brothers
In the Argentine sector the great majority of Brothers were born in Argentina. Many Argentine Brothers are children or grandchildren of immigrants (predominantly Europeans), natives of families from rural areas from the pampas. Among the younger Brothers growing numbers come from cities and suburbs of indigenous extraction. In Paraguay the Brothers are indigenous people and almost all come from rural families from the Chaco region. In addition, there are Spanish Brothers (from the District of Madrid) who help out and they have worked or are presently working in schools in Paraguay, almost from the very beginning.

All of this means that the present District has a rich and interesting ethnic-cultural mix, which makes for the living out of a stimulating pluralism.

The great majority of Brothers have basic teacher-training, or are tertiary professors (upper middle or technical), a good number of the younger Brothers between the ages of 25 and 40 have had university and religious training in accordance with District plans which have developed over time.

Associated for the Educational Mission
One of the traits that has deeply marked the District is the participation of lay people in the Lasallian charism and mission. Begun under the perspective of "shared mission" and the experience of the Founder's spirituality, the word District has been broadened to include all Lasallians: Brothers and lay partners.
This process of integration has been in effect for more than twenty-five years. Recently the Argentine Educational Association (AEA), a civil entity which represents the majority of educational works, is made up of Brothers and lay partners as members. Currently the Presidency is held by a lay person. And so lay people participate in the life and leadership of our works at all levels. A great number of educational works are administered by lay teams, with no community of Brothers working there. Their experience in participating in District Chapters has been a very rich one, as well as their participation in different commissions and administrative roles within the District. This experience has promoted the commitment of specific persons: Administrators, members of boards, catechists, pastoral ministry workers, parents, youth groups, all characterized by a "community style" which fosters personal and institutional dialogue and promotes clarity and transparency in words and in relationships.
It can be confirmed that this option has allowed for the advancement of a lifestyle which is more community-minded, the preferential option for the poor, a greater attentiveness to educational pastoral, youth and vocation ministry, an improvement in initial and continuing formation plans, the development of awareness of solidarity, improvement in quality education, etc.

In summary, the third millennium finds Lasallians who are more willing than ever to develop their activities in favor of the children and young people of Argentina and Paraguay, especially the vulnerable, to try to form men and women who, while updating their "Lasallian experience" by recalling the Presence of God, renewing the idea of giving a reflection and praying, work tirelessly in the building up of the community about which we all dream.

For more information on the District of Argentina-Paraguay, visit our web site at: http://www.lasalle.org.ar.