Secondary Navigation
Section Navigation
News & Updates
ADP Announces Partnership with Miracles in Action
ADP is pleased to announce a new partnership with Miracles in Action, a NGO active in Guatemala, to expand the scope to activities to support education for rural students. Miracles in Action and ADP share a mission to empower rural Guatemalans to develop their communities through education and sustainable programming. This collaboration has allowed us to bring on our local director, Anacleto Catu, on board full-time. Anacleto is the key to ADP’s success in many ways, and we have no doubt that by fully dedicating his efforts to the organization, ADP scholars and aspirants will benefit exponentially. One of Anacleto’s first tasks is to develop a teacher training program.
For more information on Miracles in Action, please visit their website at www.miraclesinaction.org.
ADP and Miracles in Action Launch Teacher Trainings
We at ADP recognize that the ability to recruit competitive students from rural communities into a scholarship program operating in highly demanding urban settings is fundamentally dependent on the quality of education rural students receive. Only 2.6% of Guatemala’s GDP is spent on education and rural schools are hurting for materials and support1. Teachers in rural areas receive very little in-service training and often do not receive quality materials or text books for their classrooms. In addition, teachers working in these rural communities almost exclusively live in urban Patzun. They have the long commutes ranging from 30-80 minutes, which often includes physically strenuous hikes into mountain towns. Yet teachers in rural communities receive the same compensation as their urban colleagues. This dynamic frequently results in reduced instructional time in rural classrooms, and low morale and accountability among teachers.
To help address this disparity, ADP and Miracles in Action are putting together a training course that will equip rural teachers with skills and materials to improve didactic practices, including literacy and math techniques, as well as certification to improve their professional development. The training will include a rigorous design with input from local teachers recognized for excellence by the Ministry of Education; instructional tool kits; continuous follow-up; and monitoring and evaluation.
The first pilot training is taking place in July 2008 in two rural communities, El Cojobal and La Pila. El Cojobal has one of the largest primary schools in rural Patzun; it has 302 students, 11 teachers and a principal, who is also the fourth grade teacher. La Pila, on the other hand, is one of ADP’s most remote communities with a school that struggles to retain both teaching staff and students. Lessons from this pilot will inform the design and roll out of the teacher training in the 2009 school year. We hope this pilot and program will improve the teaching experience for rural primary school teachers, as well as the quality of education our future ADP scholars receive.Studies indicate the need for more training in Math and Reading
UNESCO's Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE) recently released its Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (SERCE) of education in Latin America and The Caribbean. The study looked at reading and math in 16 countries and science in 8 countries. Notably, Honduras did not take part at all, and Guatemala did not take part in the science section. Guatemala ranked second to the bottom in third grade math and reading and third to the bottom in sixth grade math and reading. Only the Dominican Republic scored worse than Guatemala.
These scores are not surprising as Guatemala has scored low in math and reading tests in the past. ADP’s new teacher training program will focuses on math and literacy lessons to help strengthen the skills of teachers and students in its program areas.
Community Service Projects
An important philosophical tenant of ADP is that scholars receive, but also give back. All 18 scholars in the 2008 ADP class participate in community service projects. According to ADP director, Anacleto Catu, “The students’ community service projects bring many benefits to those with few resources, or those most vulnerable in the Patzun community.”
Scholars elect a project that interests them and that will assist their immediate community. The projects range from planting trees, to caring for the elderly and orphaned, to assisting local committees and auxiliary mayors of rural communities.
The following is a sample of a few of the service projects scholars are working in 2008:
Caring for the Elderly: Dora Xicay and Odelia Veronica
ADP scholars Odelia and Dora visit an elderly woman, Dona Ines, in the rural community of Cojobal once a week. Dona Ines is 84, widowed and nearly blind. Odelia and Dora help her wash her clothes, grid corn and prepare tortillas, and carry out other basic house-keeping tasks. Dona Ines reports she is grateful for the support of the scholars because she does not have immediate family close to her.
Caring for Orphans: Sandra Miculax Choy
For the past ten months, Sandra Miculax Choy has volunteered to with two young children who lost their mother as she was giving birth to her third child. The children were abandoned by their father, and have since been cared for by their grandmother. Because of her advance age, the grandmother needs an extra set of hands to help care for the children. Sandra visits the children at least once a week. She helps clean their clothes, cooks meals, and takes time to play and infuse their time together with joy and laughter.
Tutoring Younger Students: Johnny Ronald Gonzales and Edgar Yovany
Johnny and Edgar have taken on the task of helping their fellow ADP scholars with their studies. Every Tuesday from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Johnny and Edgar meet with younger scholars in one of their homes to help them with their homework, especially mathematics. Younger scholars require the support, especially because in every case, they have attained a higher grade level than their parents, many of whom are illiterate. In addition, Johnny and Edgar can empathize with the position on their younger schoolmates, and are in a unique position to mentor them through the difficulties of adjusting to an academically rigorous environment in an urban setting. Johnny and Edgar are providing a strong example of camaraderie and friendship which will serve them well when they graduate with a professional business degree at the end of the year.
Supporting the Education Committee in “La Pila”: Edwin Rolando Miculax
Edwin is a student from the poorest, most remote community of all ADP scholars, La Pila. La Pila is approximately 12 miles away from the center of Patzun, high up a winding dirt road in the back of a mountain. During the winter months (May to October) torrential rains severely limit access to this community. The local primary school in La Pila belongs to a special program administered by a parents’ committee. The majority of the parents on the committee are illiterate, and have a difficult time effectively administering the school. Edwin helps the committee by drafting official documents, and managing the government funding. Edwin was the first person from his community ever to attend middle school. His assistance is invaluable for his community, and he is rapidly proving to be a natural leader and agent of change.