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Our Graduating Class of 2011
Congratulations to Angel, Luis, Marvin, David, Maynor, and Boris
(also to Franklin and Joel, not pictured)
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Volunteer Petén is pleased to announce that it has opened a new
School of Natural Resource Management for the community of San
Andres, designed for high school level students.
Classes began in 2009, and our 2010 and 2011 program was crucial in trying to
establish our teaching method in a region of the world that
desperately needs educational reform. Our core idea is to hold
students and teachers to international standards in hopes to pull or
push Guatemalan society out of its current situation.
In 2010 and 2011 we boldly implemented all of our standards for our program,
which include mandatory attendance, participation in classroom work
and homework, and maintaining passing marks in at least half of the
classes. According to our observations and experiences, standards
like these have never been implemented in any of the educational
institutions in the area, so many of the students were unable to
understand and comply with our standards. After implementing our
standards, our class of 22 was quickly reduced to 15 students (3 in
the first year, 4 in the second year and 8 in the third year).
In
2011, with all the students on board, though a small number
is actually perfect for our plans and objectives. Now that our
standards are known and understood, we are able to take the students
education to levels never before seen in this region of Guatemala.
Also, we can focus a lot of our attention to helping the students to
develop a strong work ethic, dedication to community development,
and how to be strong leaders in the community. We implemented our
"work camp" for the students in the ecological park, where they take
charge and responsibility for all the projects in the park. This
year, they will be working on animal husbandry, agriculture,
horticulture, and park administration.
Your donations help make this project a reality, and are needed to
continue to bring international standards to education in Guatemala,
one of the worst ranked countries in the world for education. In
2010, we were extremely fortunate to have Sergio from Spain and
Miriam from Argentina participate as teachers in our program, and in
2011 Amparo and Elena from Spain.
Donations to Volunteer Petén help to pay for teacher stipends,
student scholarships, and all materials for our program.
FOR 2012
we will be sponsoring 6 students (Roberto, Carlos, Elida, Wilser,
Bany, and Lester), and we are looking for sponosors!
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Classes run from 7am - 12noon Monday through Friday, with field work
in the afternoon from 2pm-4pm. Extra-curricular activities run from
4pm-6pm Monday through Friday.
We planned four field trips the first semester for the students, 1)
Tikal, 2) Waterfalls, 3) Cerro Cahui, and the big one in June 4)
Mirador. And for the second semester we have trips planned to Rio
Dulce/Livingston, Uaxactun, and Peru-Waka.
This is a 3 year project, and our final goal will be to have
established a formal school that provides local students a proper
and quality education. By 2011, we hope to have most of our
students ready for university level education, and the top few ready
to take on the responsibility of running the Natural Resource
School.
Please help us to make this school a success! Donate today to
sponsor one of the students below. Sponsorship for 1 full year is
$350 USD which covers tuition and books. We are also looking for
donations to help us cover costs for field trips, informative talks,
and other resources for our school (i.e. microscopes, maps, tools,
etc.).
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