Camino Claro Blog

Saying goodbye to another great month (and to Haley)- Hello to an even better one!

March has been an incredible month with many successes, as well as a few disappointments. I look forward to April, however, as another busy month with the arrival of our Program Assistant, Jacob Smithers. We will all have a full plate due to the absence of Haley here in Pavones, who is now supporting ECC stateside while I continue to run the school in Pavones.

ECC’s Classes- an emotional roller coaster
The Ups…

After the seemingly endless schedule-rearranging and evaluation of our students’ skill levels, ECC’s Adult ESL classes are going strong.  Gerardo, the amazing, creative, spontaneous, and energy-filled teacher has 15-20 adult students. This is at least double the enrollment Haley and I ever had!! Though neither Haley nor I have taught or own classes this year, one of us served as his in-class assistant. The students really love Gerardo because he is a very well-respected local and talented teacher. The students also value having a native English speaker in the classroom to help, so together we make a great team! I find that I am constantly helping individuals with questions, thus, the students are more fulfilled because they are getting individualized  attention.

Our Bilingual I and II classes for children are also flourishing. Lisa’s upbeat attitude and diverse class activities keeps the students excited. She has a busy Pre-K/Kindergarten class with more than ten 3-5 year olds, so she has hired a Pavones local as an assistant. Wendy Eliana Mendoza is a delight to have working with ECC. She is extremely hard-working and great with the children. She is also in Gerardo’s Adult English classes, so she has been practicing her English with Lisa’s students.

…and the Downs

Even though this year has started off with a bang, there are a few setbacks that I try not to let get me down. Though the Adult ESL class is a success, we are struggling to gather enough students for two of ECC’s newest classes: Spanish for Foreigners and Colegio English, a weekend English class for local high school students. I guess with the busy schedule of the high school students here- 5:30am-4pm Monday through Friday!- they look forward to their weekends to sleep in and forget about education (as to whether or not the local high school educational system encourages them to remember most things is debatable…). I plan to do some more recruiting this week and see if we can boost class numbers so that we don’t have to cancel either of these new, promising classes.

In other unfortunate news, our high school tutoring program failed.  We could not find a dedicated tutor to facilitate the classes, plus we had to accept that this year ECC does not have enough funding to pay a tutor. Hopefully this program can develop over the next couple of years.

Just one more piece of bad news- the recycling program will have to be shut down until further developments. We have about 50 bags of recycling piling up behind the school but unfortunately the pick-up is not often enough to make it worth it for the town. Now that Pavones has a free public trash service once a week, people just throw their recycling away. The incentive to save it (and save money) is gone as Pavones’ citizens do not have to pay for their extra trash anymore. We are still investigating whether or not Pavones can build a community recycling center someday soon.  My fingers are crossed and we’re not giving up just yet!

ECC’s new program assistant has arrived!

To end on a positive note, ECC’s first volunteer Program Assistant arrived in Pavones on April 1st! We mentioned his arrival in our previous newsletters and blogs (which you can check out HERE) but now he is here in the flesh! Jacob has immediately taken to the pura vida lifestyle and I have no doubt that his time here will be very special for the community. He has already started working at the public school library this week, where he loves working with the children and practicing his Spanish while they practice their English. He will start Computer Literacy classes next week and I have already filled all the spaces in the class.

I am very much looking forward to what the following months bring. Our next ECC newsletter and blog posts will be by Jacob, so stay tuned to hear about his first month with ECC in Pavones! Jacob’s blog, a personal account of discovering what life is like in Pavones, is also worth checking out in the meantime.

Thank you to all of our supporters; I am SO grateful to everyone that has made it possible for ECC to continue to thrive.

Pura Vida!

- Raphel

Seasons greetings from Escuela Camino Claro!

Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you happy, healthy, and excited for the madness of the holiday season and the approaching New Year! ECC’s little elves (i.e. Raphel and Haley) have been hard at work in our winter workshops (i.e. our Northwest homes) as we prepare for next school year in Pavones, Costa Rica. Before jumping into 2010, let me take a moment to recap some of what happened last year in ECC’s second official year as a non-profit community education center.

2009 was characterized by two main successes. First, Pavones’ growing acceptance of ECC into the small community and, second, ECC’s expansion in all areas of service: more classes, more students, and more variety. Because of last year’s growth, I can say with great pride that ECC has accomplished one of the main goals set out by the board and has advocated further educational options for the Pavones area by offering an education center that does not pursue its own agenda but responds to the requests, needs, and opinions of the community.

A few highlights from 2009

•    Increased monthly enrollment. The average number of student enrollment was 24, almost doubling our 2008 enrollment. In our peak month this year, we had 45 total students attending classes at ECC! Our Pre-K/Kindergarten class (ages 2-5) was the largest and had the most consistent enrollment.
•    Increased number of native Costa Rican students. On average, Costa Ricans comprised 70% of enrollment this year, thus demonstrating ECC’s growing acceptance into the native community.
•    Going green. March 2009 earned us our first “sponsorship” from the umbrella corporation The EDGE Charitable Foundation. It was the turning point for our decision to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner as well as to incorporate environmental education into our classes.
•    Community involvement. ECC played a role in several worthwhile community events and projects, such as helping to organize Pavones’ first recycle system and participating in the Anti-Tuna Farm Campaign celebration. Also, last June ECC celebrated its 2nd annual Global Services Outreach Program, a community service and cultural integration excursion for high school students. Thank you to the six Kalapuya High School students and adult chaperones from Eugene, Oregon who did some amazing work in the community!

What’s in the stars for 2010?

Next year we are looking forward to integrating other passionate, creative teachers and volunteers to help teach ECC’s classes, including ESL, home school, and computer/Internet literacy classes. We are also eager to expand our involvement in the community, particularly by increasing environmental awareness, starting with our students and reaching into the greater Pavones area. We hope to see a more organized and sustainable recycle system next year.

Thanks to fundraising efforts and support from generous individuals throughout the past few years, ECC was able pursue our mission by providing scholarships to all students in need and to families with multiple children enrolled. We are dedicated to providing the same services to the Pavones area by working with members of the community who share our vision and goals of broadening our community education center.

In order to meet the high demand for classes, offer classes at an affordable (or free!) rate, AND provide scholarships to students in need…

WE NEED YOUR HELP…SPONSOR A STUDENT!

Despite how hugely successful our Pura Vida Fundraiser has been in the past, the decision to not have one this winter means that ECC will rely 100% on the support and contributions from individuals. Fortunately, ECC has a much broader support base that has now grown beyond our local Eugene, Oregon fundraiser: we feel confident we can depend on people like YOU to help ECC continue to flourish. This year ECC is offering a program that allows our supporters to sponsor a student for a month or a year (see previous post). The more donations we receive, the more students ECC can enroll with an adjusted tuition. With your help, we are confident ECC will continue to survive and flourish in 2010! All donations are tax exempt.

On behalf of the students and teachers of Escuela Camino Claro, as well as the Pavones community at large, we thank you from the bottom of our heart for your kindness and support thus far.

May your holiday be filled with much happiness, joy, and PURA VIDA!
Sincerely,

Haley Whitley, Co-Founder
Raphel Weber, Co-Founder

ECC has officially wrapped up its second year and wow, what a great year!

I was forced to accept that the year had come to and end a couple weeks ago as Haley and I were cleaning the school and sorting through our abundance of papers, books, hidden frogs, crabs, and all of the usual things one finds in a schoolhouse at the end of the year. After three years in Pavones we have learned so much and started many projects in the community. But most importantly, our community education center has become a valued resource for Pavones’ residents.

The 2009 school year was more successful than last year for many reasons; mainly due to the fact that we nearly doubled our average number of local Costa Rican students, something which Haley and I have made a major goal since the school’s launch. Here are a few statistics to sum up our success this year.

• Monthly average student enrollment in 2008 was 23.
• Monthly average student enrollment in 2009 was 34.
• Monthly average of local Costa Rican students in 2008 was 13.
• Monthly average of local Costa Rican students in 2009 was 24.

Recycling in Pavones

When I look back on the many projects that ECC collaborated on this year, I am most proud of our work to implement a regular recycling pick-up service in Pavones. Though it may be something that only Haley and I can appreciate, I have to admit that I have come to love the sight of black plastic bags overflowing with recyclables and piled high along ECC’s outside wall. You might ask why is the recycling left at our school? Well, it’s the most convenient place for the community to leave their bottles and cans, but the downside is that the recycle truck isn’t exactly punctual! Although it’s not necessarily a pretty sight, it does represent that the community is becoming more aware: well worth it. While we are back in the US for the winter months, Lili from Mira Olas Cabinas will continue to arrange pick-up dates and people will still leave all their recycling at the ECC building.

Other projects that ECC students and teachers were involved in:

• Mural project at the public school, Escuela Las Gemelas
• Mural project at the public school library
• Global Service Outreach Program (GSOP) with Kalapuya High School (follow link for more info!)
• Helping with fundraising to support the Golfo Dulce’s Anti-Tuna Farm campaign
• Beach clean-ups

A special THANK YOU to…

We would like to thank all of our supporters for giving Escuela Camino Claro the opportunity to continue existing and flourishing. We are so grateful to all who have allowed us to grow and continue to “bring communities together through education.”

• The EDGE (Early Development of Global Education) Charitable Foundation
• Gabe Hamel, Humans for Humanity LLC
• Janine Jonson, Green Wave LLC
• Sumo Sushi
• Calan Taylor, Kalapuya High School
• Tully Spring
• Dustin Haines
• Lisa LaMagna, Encanto Costa Rica
• Hadas Barkan
• Sam Claiborn
• Rebecca Quinn
• Lisa Thrash
• Siempre Domingo Bed & Breakfast
• Cafe de la Suerte
• Clear River Sports & Adventures
• Amy & Alex Outerbridge
• Katie Kalmbach
• Billy Scorer
• Downtown Languages
• Seattle University Alumni Magazine
• CostaRica.com Blog

And all friends, family and donors/supporters of the 2009 Pura Vida Fundraiser & Silent Auction

…we apologize if anyone was forgotten… THANK YOU!!

The 2010 school year will resume in February

But in the meantime please continue to check out our blog for updates and news. We look forward to a positive future for Escuela Camino Claro and wish for you all to be a part of it!

Pura Vida,

Raphel & Haley

Dearest Escuela Camino Claro friends, family, and fellow supporters,

The countdown is on: we have two weeks remaining before our second official year as a non-profit community education center comes to a close. More than seven months ago, Raphel and I arrived in Pavones with open minds and the eagerness to make this year better than the last. In many ways we succeeded, due to heightened ECC involvement in the community and increased enrollment: during our busiest time this year we had around 50 students of all ages! We were also unsurprisingly faced with new and difficult challenges as ECC becomes more of a fixture in the community. Overcoming the many obstacles and turning them into successes, or at least valuable life lessons, has made this experience the most joyful for both of us. We have learned life is not always a clear path, though our name may say otherwise (“camino claro” means “clear path”).

Change is a good: the 2010 school year awaits

What is in store for next year? We hope lots of new and exciting changes and improvements! To start off with, Raphel and I have been eagerly on the hunt for new teachers for next year, and so far there have been several promising individuals who are interested in taking over most of the teaching (including pre-kinder, ESL, and home school classes). It’s clear now that Raphel and I are needed more as administrators maintaining the integrity of the business, e.g. recruiting, accounting, and networking. Besides, fundraising is a full time job, something we absolutely cannot do from Pavones because high-speed Internet is still undiscovered. We look forward to a few new, inspired, motivated individuals to help us continue teaching the community of Pavones. Like I said, change is good!

The EDGE environmental education curriculum

Last March, ECC was proudly accepted under the charity umbrella of The EDGE (Early Development of Global Education) Charitable Foundation. By becoming part of the EDGE Children for Children program, we have joined several other charities around the world receiving support from this organization. With this acceptance, ECC has made a commitment to become an environmentally friendly school to the best of our ability, turning our school green! ECC also received The EDGE curriculum guide, which provides ECC teachers with the knowledge and creative tools to help us introduce environmental awareness to the students and, in turn, the rest of the community. We are very much looking forward to implementing it into our classes next year, particularly targeting the youngest students.

First step in going green: ECC’s recycle program

Though still a fledging, ECC’s mini recycle center is one of the first steps ECC has taken to become an environmentally friendly school. What’s a better way to create awareness of the basic purposes of reducing, reusing, and recycling, than working with our youngest students? They are beginning to understand the difference between aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles by putting them in the correct bin. Small accomplishment, it may seem, but these simple actions will eventually lead to a cultural shift in thinking about their country’s waste management. Eventually…down the road… but in the meantime, aren’t they cute?!

On a similar note, we are still stumbling along and making slow progress with the grand Pavones recycle plan. The good news is that the mayor of Golfito has apparently approved of funding a community recycle facility. Though the paperwork is underway, we’re not sure how long it will take until a building is actually erected and the residents get the hang of recycling. With the help of other dedicated Pavones residents (thanks Lili!), we have arranged for a monthly recycle truck to pass through Pavones while we wait for tangible results of the mayor’s approval.

Until next year…

By remaining on our mailing list, checking out and subscribing to ECC’s blog, and continuing your support, our community education center can continue to thrive and progress!

I will leave you with the following words from The EDGE Dedication:

Be as great as you can possibly be. Be an advocate and a teacher for the children in your life. Show them that life knows no bounds. Allow them to feel the soil, awe at the miraculous species that inhabit the earth, to feel the wind and smell the fresh scent of every season. The Earth calls to them with reason. Educate them.

The appropriateness of ending the 2009 school year with these words is, in my opinion, twofold. Initially these words inspire me to reflect on my own purpose in life, regardless of my title (English teacher, community developer, fellow human being) and strive to better the world I am so much a part of. Secondly, this dedication reminds us that ECC has the potential to bring many more positive changes to the community of Pavones, Costa Rica, and beyond: we will especially be able to succeed in the coming years by embodying this dedication as our own.

Thank you so much for sticking with us and supporting us!
Pura Vida,
Haley

Source: Hernandez, Gomez, Nembhard, Paez-Garcia, The EDGE Curriculum. 1st Edition. Miami, The EDGE, 2008. www.theedgeeducation.com

One step closer to an eco-friendly community

I hope we didn’t give the impression that getting Pavones to evolve into a recycle-minded community was going to be an easy or quick process. Did we? Haha. Well, don’t worry, we ARE making progress at an expectedly slow pace in this tiny, rural beach town. As usual we have big dreams but we have learned to be patient as everything falls into its place as it should.

The good news is that the mayor has approved and agreed to fund a community recycling facility in Pavones! Apparently the paperwork is being processed and we are on our way. Though this sounds very positive, it will be a little while until we actually see any results. It is sort of funny but the local government has an awesome ability to operate so slowly that it almost seems as though they are moving in the other direction.

Since the construction and implementation of a real functioning recycling center in Pavones might be a complicated and tedious process, Haley and I have found a way to appease our dreams…

Escuela Camino Claro now has its own (small and adorable) recyclng center!

We are able to recycle plastic, glass, and aluminum cans at our “center” (look at the pictures and you might question whether or not I can call it a “center” yet).  Haley and I have been teaching our kids about recycling and making sure they understand WHY it is important. I don’t think they understand the concept just yet but at least they are aware.

Currently, we are still collecting the town’s recycling at our building once a month. The truck is scheduled to come and pick it up…yesterday. So, we’ll see how long these black plastic bags and pyramid stacked wine bottles adorn our building. Hopefully they are picked up sooner than later because I am pretty sure that ALL of tourists must think that Haley and I REALLY like to drink.

On that note, stay posted for more updates in the near future!