Avivara     

School-to-School Partnerships

As Avivara has evolved, we have found ourselves bridging two very distinct and different cultures. While certainly not the perfect society, the people of the United States do generally enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, with religious and democratic rights and freedoms, and access to education and health care. 

In Guatemala we have encountered a country struggling to regain itself after 500 years of economic exploitation and a bloody 36 year long civil war. It is a country of nearly 14 million people where over 60% of its families live in poverty, 45% of its children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, and the average educational attainment is completion of the 3rd grade.

Yet even with (or possibly because of) these stark differences, the two cultures have much to share with one another. For the people of the U.S. there is the opportunity to learn about the rich diversity of languages, dress and cultural traditions of Guatemala. There is also the opportunity to understand the struggles of living in a developing country, where many village communities lack such basic human services as safe drinking water, electricity, health care, decent roads and educational opportunity.

However, these realities do not mean that our school-to-school partnerships are simply one-way, or paternal relationships. Indeed, the students of Guatemala have much to teach students in the United States about living life joyfully, even under difficult circumstances, about respecting the traditions and wisdom of the elders in the community, and about the hard work and risks involved in trying to bring about a more just and equitable society.

Through the use of letters, video technology, and classroom presentations, Avivara is helping students in the U.S. communicate with Guatemalan students and learn about life in Guatemala. Conversely, the students in Guatemala are learning that students around the world share similar concerns about parents, teachers, school requirements and interactions with their peers.

At this time we have established five formal School-to-School Partnerships. These include:

Don Pancho School with St. Madeleine Sophie School, Bellevue, WA

This is the newest of our school-to-partnerships. To help provide support for La Trinidad School and the neighboring school in the village of Don Pancho, St. Madeleine Sophie School recently conducted a Lenten based fund-raising project. Further information about their project and connection to Avivara can be obtained by contacting their principal, Mr. Dan Sherman at: dsherman@stmadsophie.org. In addition, there was article in the Newcastle News regarding their receiving a special Award of Recognition from the Guatemalan government for their support for education in Guatemala.
Link to St. Madeleine Sophie School website: www.stmadsophie.org

El Yalu School with St. Monica School, Mercer Island, WA

This was the first of our school-to-partnerships. St. Monica School utilized a program called "Gumdrops for Guatemala" to raise the money to purchase new desks and chairs for the El Yalu Pre-K and Kindergarten classroom. For the 2009-2010 school year, they have set as a goal the raising of funds needed to install a water delivery system for the school in El Yalu. Further information about their project and connection to Avivara can be obtained by contacting their principal, Ms. Pam Dellino at: pdellino@stmonicasea.org
Link to St. Monica School website: www.stmonicasea.org

San Jose Pacul School with St. Bernadette School, Burien, WA

This school-to-partnerships has been characterized by very strong student involvement. San Jose Pacul School is currently engaged in building a new structure for their 4th through 6th grades and money raised by the St. Bernadette students will help to furnish that new building as well as purchase much needed school supplies.  Further information about their project and connection to Avivara can be obtained by contacting their principal, Mr. Bob Rutledge at: brutledge@stbernadettesea.org
Link to St. Bernadette School website: www.stbernadettesea.org

Segunda Cruz School with St. Anthony School, Renton, WA

This school-to-school partnership combines learning about their partner school in Guatemala with their junior high service learning curriculum. This last year the students at St. Anthony School studied nutrition as a social justice issue. Their school has committed to funding a daily breakfast program for the students at Segunda Cruz School. Further information about their project and connection to Avivara can be obtained by contacting their principal, Sr. Linda Riggers at: riggers@sasr.org
Link to St. Anthony School website: www.sasr.org

Cerro Nino School with Archbishop Murphy High School, Everett, WA

Archbishop Murphy H.S. is the first high school to become one of our school-to-school partners. Spearheaded by the efforts of its Spanish Club, AMHS raised a significant amount of money to help purchase student and teacher supplies for Cerro Niņo school. Because of their efforts, the students from this community now have adequate supplies of paper and pencils and the classrooms have been supplied with teaching materials such as maps, globes, dictionaries and other reading and math supplies. Further information about their project and connection to Avivara can be obtained by contacting their Spanish Club Advisor, Senora Yudi Moir.
Link to Archbishop Murphy High School website: www.archbishopmurphyhs.org

Currently, the majority of schools participating in our school-to-school partnerships are Catholic schools. The primary reason for their strong presence at this point in the development of our program is that one of our staff was previously a Catholic school teacher and principal in the Archdiocese of Seattle.

However, our partnerships are not restricted to only private, Catholic schools. We have also developed more informal partnerships with several public elementary and secondary schools in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Also, we have several schools in Guatemala who are currently without a school-to-school partner. If you would like more information about our school-to-school partnerships or are interested in having your school establish a school-to-school partnership with a school in Guatemala, please contact our Executive Director, Gary Teale, through our Contact Us link.