I have tentatively scheduled a meeting for Thursday December 6 at 5pm at Wolfies in South Deerfield center. The meeting will serve as a more personal question and answer format and also to collect a non-refundable $250 deposit for the trip. We need money to make a down payment on our flights for this summer. Part of the reason we can do this trip for so little is because of our relationship with our travel agent and booking flights early. Although the deposit is not absolutely and finally due on December 6, we need to collect ASAP.
Thank you so much for your initial support! We have a lot of planning and fun ahead of us!
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Initial Email
Joe Costello
(508) 944-7917
Jeff Pluta
It’s conservatively estimated by UNESCO that more than 100 million
children under 12 years old have zero access to education. As an educator, this statistic is a
humbling reminder of the privileges of US citizenship. It has also served as motivation to
spread awareness to my family, friends and students. This motivation is materializing itself as a trip to Central
America this summer. It is my hope
that others with a sense of adventure will take the opportunity to gain
one-in-a-lifetime experience through service while developing a dynamic
world-view. If we have enough
interest, I plan to run a trip this summer with Frontier Regional community.
We
will fly into Managua and spend the week thirty miles away in Nicaragua’s sixth
largest city and cultural capital, Granada. While there, we will work with Amped for Education, an organization that was founded three years ago by my
friend, and local teacher, Jeff Pluta. Parents and students will have the
opportunity to observe and volunteer in a public high school in San Ignacio, a
rural barrio of 6,000 people a few miles from Granada. An important part of
this experience will be students meeting and building relationships with their
international classmates, while gaining a greater understanding of what “going
to school” means in a global context.
Educational
opportunities include, but are not limited to:
· A biology-oriented excursion through Nicaragua’s Las
Isletas on Lake Nicaragua or on Masaya Volcano with students from the San
Ignacio school.
· Opportunities to learn Spanish through immersion, as
well as through lessons taught by a native speaker.
· Guided data analysis through looking at education and
economic statistics of Central America.
· Learning what obstacles other students around the
globe overcome to get to school through visiting and tutoring in a local
school.
· Exploring poetry through visiting museums in Granada
that celebrate famous Nicaraguan poet such as Ruben Dario.
· Take Spanish lessons at a local school.
· Journaling about social and cultural experiences while
in-country.
In Nicaragua, the western hemisphere’s second poorest country, education
is only compulsory until the sixth grade. With 500,000 primary-aged students
outside of the formal education system, this law is nearly unenforceable because
it cannot be implemented nationwide. Thus, any government money used toward
education is typically spent to create elementary schools where children do not
have access to one. With the belief that individuals need critical thinking and
problem solving skills to better their society, Amped for Education focuses on creating opportunities for students
to continue their education beyond the sixth grade, through the construction of
schools and the partnering with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education to operate
them.
Since
it’s founding in December 2009, Amped
for Education has teamed with a local nonprofit organization in Nicaragua
to identify communities with successful primary schools in areas where no
secondary school exists. Together, they have completed construction of a high
school that opened this past February. Students there have such a commitment to
their education that they pledge to spend two extra hours each day (four days
per week) for extra tutoring. Amped for
Education not only focuses on constructing the school, but also ensuring
the infrastructure produces the best possible graduates by subsidizing the
teachers’ overtime pay, coordinating student sponsorships, and providing school
supplies and books to the classrooms. The school is non-secular and certified
local educators will teach a general curriculum. Local contractors completed
construction with help from Jeff Pluta and Amped
for Education volunteers from 2010-2011.
Since then,
they have also completed “home makeover” projects. Many homes are made of scrap
pieces of plastic, so Amped for
Education plans to completely remake a home for a student with top
attendance. Because families often would rather see their child in the streets
working for the family, this incentivizes learning for students.
Last year, Jeff
Pluta led a group of local students and recent high school graduates to help
bridge a road drainage system outside of the school to prevent the dirt roads
from flooding. This increased accessibility to laptops could be brought to the
school for lessons each week. The trip that I am planning for the Frontier
Regional community will be in conjunction with Jeff Pluta.
There
are several things that parents should keep in mind when considering this
unique opportunity:
This is NOT
a school-sponsored trip. Although I am a teacher at Frontier Regional and many
trip-goers may be students there, Frontier Regional has absolutely no
connection to this organization or trip whatsoever.
The primary
language in Nicaragua is Spanish. This is a great opportunity for all to be
immersed in another language. Whether you study Spanish or not, everyone will
certainly pick up some basic skills. While elementary Spanish and key phrases
are sufficient for our purposes, the language should be noted. There are many
people in Granada who speak English well. Depending on perspective, Spanish
being the primary language could be hugely beneficial to the students, rather
than a hindrance.
While
Nicaragua is widely recognized as the safest country in Central America and it
has the lowest violent crime rate of any country in Central or South America,
the State Department recognizes some political divisions among its people and
warns against Americans attending any political rallies in the country. Rest
assured, we won’t be attending any political rallies!
Depending on
how long we go, an 8-day trip would likely not cost more than $1,650 including flight, accommodations, meals, day excursions, and ground transportation.
We will stay in dorm-style, hostel type accommodations. We are looking at the third
week of June to take the trip. The exact cost of the trip will be released in January
at the very latest.
If you think
this might be an opportunity worth seriously talking about, please feel free to
be in touch with me by phone or email. Rather than answer individual questions,
we’d like to get anyone who might be interested together to discuss more
details of what this trip would look like. We would look to hold an
informational meeting by the beginning of December. Please kindly RSVP if you’d
like to join to find out more about this opportunity!
Thanks,
Joe Costello
Jeff Pluta
For more
information on:
Amped for Education, please see www.ampedforeducation.org or “Like”
Amped for Education on Facebook!
The US
Embassy in Managua, please see http://nicaragua.usembassy.gov/
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