BILINGUAL EDUCATION FOR CENTRAL AMERICA

BECA is currently building a network of schools where our collaboration empowers educational development efforts from within Central America. We will provide partner schools with a whole-school curriculum and training for new teachers. Training will include pedagogical instruction, classroom management techniques, cultural immersion, Spanish-language classes, and team building. BECA will also provide curriculum orientation to local staff, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities. This network of BECA-trained teachers will facilitate collaboration among schools.

In exchange for our services, each partner school will provide need-based scholarships to a specified percentage of students. Our goal is to encourage more schools to offer disadvantaged children affordable, quality bilingual education options by requiring a high level of scholarship student enrollment for participation in our network. BECA also expects partner schools to maintain an environment conducive to teaching and learning, including, but not limited to, reduced class sizes and a safe and well-kept school facility.

We wish to empower our Honduran partners to play an active role in developing a valuable educational resource for their communities, and to take responsibility for its success. Our experience has shown us that BECA teachers benefit from the partnerships in which they are engaged. They return home at the end of their service with a deeper understanding of and commitment to serving the needs of a rapidly growing Hispanic population in the United States.

BECA's Commitment:
-Quality English-language whole-school curriculum (developed by BECA);
-Summer Training Institute for BECA Teachers;
-Pedagogical Training and Classroom Management Seminars;
-Cultural Immersion Workshops and Spanish Language Classes;
-Team Building Workshops;
-Ongoing network of professionals for professional development and support.

Honduran Partners' Commitment:
-Facilities - separate classroom for each grade and no more than 25 students per class;
-Specified percentage of scholarship students;
-Honduran teachers;
-Honduran Director;
-Administrative responsibility for school management and financial records;
-Permission to operate school on August - June academic calendar.

For the 2013-2014 school year, our program in Honduras welcomes 3 Administrators and 22 teachers, 13 of whom staff SJBS, six at SMBS, and an additional three at Amigos de Jesús. They are all supported by BECA's In-Country Director. There are 420 Pre-K through 9th grade students at SJBS, SMBS, and ADJ representing all segments of the socioeconomic spectrum. Between the three schools, approximately half of our students receive a scholarship and female students comprise 55% of total enrolled students.

This is our primary program and it has been in operation for nine years with significant improvements being made each year. In the past three years alone, we have written and implemented a custom-made curriculum program, introduced an intensive five-week teacher training module, established a system of self-governance among scholarship recipients, and written a formal discipline policy. Over the past year we have diligently incubated a partnership with a new school, Amigos de Jesús Bilingual School whose doors opened in August of 2013. Relying on hard work and our 10 years of experience, we anticipate a successful introduction of the model that has served us so well at SJBS and SMBS.

The Scholarship (“Becado") Program
The scholarships awarded to our most under-served students are anything but a handout. Each family with a scholarship student is required to fulfill significant monthly obligations in order to maintain this award. They do so by contributing their time, talents, and skills to the benefit of our schools and our students. In this manner the majority of all small construction projects and school maintenance are completed by “becado" fathers, cousins, or older brothers. The schools are kept spotless by our dedicated “becado" mothers, and special events and projects are coordinated and prepared by our many talented parents at school. In the cases of those less fortunate children whose parents do not take an active role in their child's education or for those whose parents are not around at all, the students themselves maintain their scholarship by helping out during and after school with tutoring, assisting teachers, or working with us during “Summer Camp".

In taking on this active role our scholarship families have a voice in their children's education. They no longer feel alienated from the school and find a sense of empowerment and belonging in this role. The importance of this element of the program is not lost on us and we recognize that it is only through this type of community building that we can expect change on a larger scale.

BECA's Supplemental Programs

• BECA Bachillerato Program: A merit-based scholarship program for SJBS 9th grade graduates that empowers our most financially disadvantaged students to continue their education at nearby bilingual high schools;
• Charla de Padres (Parent Discussion Group)
• Summer Camp
• Libros Y Familia: a family literacy program
• Social Tourism Program

BECA primarily aims to serve low-income Honduran youth aged 4 through 17, however, our governing philosophy recognizes that any sustainable solution to improving at-risk youth outcomes will involve all members of a given population. Therefore, we have developed our model in such a way that our low-income parents are heavily invested in BECA's programs.

As BECA strives to meet the educational needs of our target population, we are aware of our potential to address other grave issues that Central American populations face. The increasing presence of gang violence and the growing strength of powerful cartels in Honduras and the neighboring countries is alarming. From our conversations with parents and community members, we know that this is a danger afflicting families throughout the region. By developing programs that offer at-risk youth (potential gang members) alternative paths, we are pro-actively dealing with these problems in their infancy. By providing our students with a high quality, bilingual education we open new doors of opportunity for them. More importantly, we allow them to earn the sense of self-worth and dignity that come with education. In this manner we are equipping our students, and their entire families to create a better and brighter future for themselves and the populations of Central America.

Key goals and accomplishments include:

* Close to twenty years of experience working in Honduras.
* A proven model for providing a high quality, bilingual education that is accessible to all members of the community.
* A relationship with the communities BECA works with that is based upon equal investment; not simply a working partnership, but rather a
true collaboration to build local capacity.
* Experience working within the Honduran educational system as a not-for-profit bilingual school.
* A dedicated board of directors and alumni corps who continue to be a part of BECA's efforts long after they have left Honduras.
* A dedicated network of BECA supporters in the U.S. and across the world
* 93% of our students continue onto high school; of these, over 75% go on to college. (On average, only 29% of Honduran youth continue
education after 6th grade).
* A strong history of financial stability and managing 3rd party funding.