Eirene's Education Center is the education ministry that has been established as part of our outreach into the community of Santa Ana.
The center helps families with little financial resources to provide a quality education for their children, and acts as a catalyst for the whole family to grow and learn.
The center also employs people from the community and is located in our main building complex where the dental and administration office are also situated.
History
Eirene's Education Center, or our education center, was started in 2002 by the efforts of Kristin Olson, a teacher who was working in Lincoln School in Guadalajara at the time. Kristan participated in a children's club ministry and through that, noticed the great need for providing quality education in Santa Ana and the need to work with the parents of these children.
The school began with just the kindergarten ages and has continued to grow each year from there. Through her hard work and dedication, and God´s blessing on the ministry, the school has continued to increase because families tell their friends and relatives the blessings and benefits that they receive from this ministry.
Education program
The education center currently offers classes from 3 years old through fourth grade and plans to add a new grade level each year until we can offer classes through sixth grade.
There are currently 48 children enrolled for the 2009-10 school year, with some still on a waiting list.
Director,Gustavo talks about his work
Our desire is to keep the class size small, between 10-12 students, in order to provide personal attention to each child. The 3-5 year old classes come to school from 9:00 am -12:00 pm, while those in the primary school come from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.
The children are taught English, math, science, history, Bible, reading and writing. There are also volunteer teachers who offer special classes in the afternoons to older children such as music, art, computers and physical education.
The families are asked to contribute only $20 pesos per week, or the equivalent of $1.75 per child. There is a discount given to families who pay in advance. These resources are used to buy materials and help with some of the basic needs of the school.
"Partner with Eirene today as a "Support Member", working together in the mission to change lives and transform communities in Guadalajara, Mexico".
School Philosophy
Our goal is to help them develop the proper values and educate the parents of each child so that they can help them through their education process and in their life ahead. Parental involvement is a requirement for all who want to send their children to our school. Our philosophy is that the parents are responsible as the primary educators of their children.
Teacher, Horte talks about her work
The school exists to assist the parents in this great responsibility. For this reason, each parent is required to come help two hours a week for each child they have in the school. They are given opportunities to help in various ways and to see, in person, what their child is learning.
There are three mandatory parent-teacher conferences each year. Classes in parenting and in building parent-child relationships are provided. These are given on three consec- utive Friday nights during November to encourage the family’s involvement in the education process and in the development of their child.
Upon completion of sixth grade, the children who attend our school will be tested through a program provided by the government for children living in underdeveloped communities. After they pass this test, these children will receive a diploma, just as if they attended a government school and will be able to move on to the middle school that their parents choose.
Quality Teachers
The ministry has been blessed to have helpful, qualified teaches with a passion to serve the children and their families. The salaries of our teachers are covered by support members as part of the Change is Possible program.
If you have a desire to support this service to the community, to bring about change in the lives of children and their families, please considering joining for free as a support member and sponsoring a teacher through our Change is Possible program.
Teacher, Teresa talks about her work
To find out more about how you can be involved in supporting, please check out our Change is Possible program. Opportunities for interns to serve in the school are also provided, for as little time as a couple of weeks, up through a year-long internship. You can read about involvement in the internship program here.
To hear some success stories from families who have sent or are sending their children to our school, please click here. And to read more about our teachers please click here.
"Partner with Eirene today as a "Support Member", working together in the mission to change lives and transform communities in Guadalajara, Mexico".
Read and comment on our blog “Real Change”, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I will be interacting about changing lives, how you can make a difference, and sharing with you more in depth about our many programs. - Jon Cummings
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