This past winter some of our "graduates" in Rancho San Francisco asked whether we might be able to provide English classes for them. We looked far and wide for a competent, experienced, motivated teacher and were fortunate to find Jordan Saturen, a young man from Ashland, Oregon who is married to Maythé, a woman from San Miguel. They are now living in San Miguel with their two boys, Mariano and Marcelo. Jordan taught Spanish in middle school in Oregon, and now teaches English in San Miguel.
He has been giving classes to 10-20 middle and high school students weekly in the pavilion that we built last year. The students love his enthusiastic teaching style.
They even get homework!
Not all the kids are old enough to attend the English classes!
We hope to have the resources to continue our English classes during 2018-2019. With your help we will do so.
Another project we started this year was an after school enrichment program. In Mexico, school ends at about 12:30, and the teachers leave quickly, often to second jobs. We decided to offer a free after school program for both advanced and remedial students. The teachers enthusiastically took ownership of the program, and started using the advanced students to work with the students who needed extra help. Both groups of students benefited, and the teachers had an opportunity to make some extra money. Pay for teachers in Mexico is woefully low (about $5000 annually).
Finally, we decided to create a free lending library in San Francisco. We have ordered bookcases, and have begun to collect books on a variety of subjects for all age groups. The books will be available for the use by the entire community!
Please consider subsidizing our program by making a small donation via Paypal, Pledgeling or check.
