Camino Claro Blog

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

‘Tis the season for pumpkin bread, spiced wine, and many other holiday-ish things no matter where you may be: Costa Rica, the Northwest, or the North Pole. Raphel and I are here in the Northwest, however, where these things are plentiful (as well as rain and cold weather, yuck). Pumpkins are as abundant here as good left-hand point breaks are there.

We like to keep you all in the loop, so here are some tidbits of what’s been going on during the Escuela Camino Claro off-season.

Pre-K classes are still going

Thanks to Lisa Thrash, our new pre-k teacher! Although we already mentioned this enthusiastic ECC parent stepped in last September to fulfill the need for additional help, she deserves to be mentioned again because she is doing such a great job keeping the school house in order and taking care of a growing pre-k class.

Lisa Says…

“A native to Florida, I feel lucky to be part of the community of Pavones and be part of the group effort in preserving it for future generations. I’ve been teaching and having fun with children since I was 14 years old, whether was tutoring elementary students after school, being a Spanish instructor in the Florida public school systems, or acting as P.T.O president. Now I find myself intricately involved in my young children’s schooling. While my wonderful surfer/chef husband and I pursue our dream of living a sustainable life in Costa Rica, I have had the pleasure of home schooling my two children, ages three and nine. I love reading, history, nature, dancing, traveling, photography, animals, and hanging out with my family.”

February 2010 will bring a rush of new students and classes, so we are grateful and happy to have Lisa on board.

ECC all over cyberspace

Something that comes along with living in the US: countless online social networks right at your fingertips, it’s almost impossible to not get sucked in. So we did. And here is what you should know.

The GreenWave Blog is a newsletter that inspires green-minded people and gets them connected with eco-friendly organizations and events. It’s worth checking out, even if you’re not in the L.A. area (just click on the link above).

You can see ECC mentioned on the GreenWave Blog by checking out The EDGE September 2009 Newsletter that is posted. The EDGE is helping ECC by raising funds and gathering supplies in their 2010 Donation Drive. We put together a wish list a while back and school supplies can now be donated to the Foundation or directly to us!
We are collecting eco-friendly: pens, paper, notebooks, paints, coloring pens, crayons, musical instruments, educational CDs, educational toys, CD player w/ speakers, pre-K/Kindergarten workbooks, etc.
All donations are tax-deductable.
Donors can either email ECC directly at info@caminoclaro.org or The EDGE at priya@theedgeeducation.org.

Are you a Facebook junkie like everyone else? ECC can be found there too, are you surprised?
Click here to see ECC’s Facebook page and subscribe or become a fan
Click here to see ECC’s Cause page, and cyber-hangout with the other 180 members, or even donate some $$$, if you are so inclined. These are both in their rough-draft phases, fyi.

What’s next?

So you see, we have not been idle these days: Raphel and I are alive and kicking during the three months hiatus or “summer break” from classes. Most importantly we are exploring our options for fundraising, both in seeking donations from private donors, as well as applying for education grants. It’s a full-time job but hopefully it will pay off and ECC will be adequately funded in 2010. More on that later, don’t you worry!

All this sure makes me miss those kiddies in Pavones…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM ECC!
what are you thankful for?

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