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A1: While public education in Guatemala is theoretically free, even public school students are required to pay relatively high registration fees, all material costs including textbooks, and any transportation costs. They are also frequently obligated to contribute to building maintenance funds. To make matters worse, many of the families sacrifice to send their children to public schools that offer only a sub-standard level of education. Students are likely to find overcrowded classrooms in understaffed, poorly supervised schools. These conditions make it difficult for any child to succeed, but certainly stack the odds against a child with a learning disability, or a child with illiterate parents unable to help with homework. It is not uncommon for children to fail at least one grade (if not several) in their first few years, causing many to lose self-esteem as well as motivation. In our experience, even children who have shown some degree of proficiency on the primary level often end up failing their first year of secondary school because they are so academically behind schedule.
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A2: The deficiencies of the public school system are such that it seems that every family with the means to do so sends their children to privately run schools. Although “private” school attendance is common in bigger cities where there is a concentrated middle-class population, nationwide only a small percentage is able to afford a private education. Monthly fees in some privately run schools can be as low as $15 per month, but for a family living on or below the poverty level, private school is an economic impossibility. The scholarships provided by Education and Hope enable many children to attend moderately priced, privately run schools where they benefit from a more structured environment and a higher quality education. The success of these children, many of whom had previously been struggling in public schools, has been so impressive that it has unquestionably justified the added expense.
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A3: Education and Hope provides the means for children to attend school, but is not an actual school. However, part of the program is an after school tutoring program where a group of scholarship recipients meet every day. They eat a hot lunch and spend the afternoon working in small groups with a teacher in a classroom environment.
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A4: Students range in age from four to nineteen. Many of the children in our program are much older than many of their classmates, and there are a number of reasons for this. Some of these students started primary school at age seven, but after several years of study had to drop out to work to help support their families. The scholarships enable them to return to school and pick up where they left off. Many other students fell behind after failing grades before joining the program. Without any remedial help available in the schools, and with the majority of parents lacking a sufficient level of education to help them with homework, many kids were unable to pass their grades. As part of the after school program, these students receive the individual attention they need and are able to achieve academic success.
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A5: Most children in the program aspire to graduate high school, and many have dreams to attend the university and become professionals. We currently have several students studying at the university level, in economics, education, accounting, and in nursing. We strive to cover most of the education-related expenses of each student so that every child will be able to study for as many years as they wish.
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