The 2008-2009 school year has begun anew at San Jeronimo Bilingual School. BECA recruited ten new teachers and brought back one former volunteer to provide instruction to SJBS' 202 students. We are pleased that this year’s team includes a Resource Teacher position. Mel Bride, who headed up BECA's recruitment efforts, commented that "this year's team is the most qualified group we've brought to Cofradia yet, largely thanks to the new teacher training program we've implemented this year."

Mel is referring to BECA's inaugural Summer Institute, an intensive five week training program for all incoming volunteers. BECA hired two highly-experienced teachers from Alison Bixby Stone Bilingual School in Tegucigalpa, who taught lessons on topics including classroom management, language acquisition theory, and how to effectively engage parents in their children’s education. BECA alumnae Jasmine Roberts and Anna Hickman also pitched in, coming to Cofradia to ease the transition for the new arrivals. Jasmine noted that "Jessica [Gorelick] is already stepping into the role of Administrator with quiet aplomb, and the return of Paxton [Kirsh] from last year's team has helped provide continuity from last year to this year." In addition to the intensive teacher training components of the Summer Institute, all volunteers also participated in daily Spanish language lessons and had the option to stay in home stays for their first month.

Please click through to learn more about BECA's newest crop of extraordinary volunteers. You can also read about how the '07-'08 school year wrapped up here!

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Alumnus Kervin Zamora Thriving in School

 

Kervin Zamora, a legend on the SJBS soccer field in his own right, is now taking his skills stateside.  That's right, Kervin is playing varsity soccer as a sophomore at St. Andrew's School in Middletown, DE.  Kervin has made quite a splash since he arrived at the boarding school in August of last year, so much so that he was profiled in St. Andrew's Mazaine's most recent Summer issue.  Read the article in its entirety by clicking here. We wish Kervin and his Honduran Appreciation Society all the best!

 

On July 19-20, the BECA Board convened in New York City to elect new members to the Board.

All ten of the new Board members are BECA alumni from the past three years. BECA Founder and Chairperson Jaime Koppel noted that "the sheer enthusiasm of this group, as well as their intimate familiarity with BECA's operations, will certainly help propel BECA’s growth in the years ahead."

Indeed, the new Board has already created a plan to hire an Executive Director, who will focus on ensuring BECA's ability to ever better serve our students and volunteers. Additionally, the Board is restructuring BECA's fundraising and recruitment efforts for the coming year. New Board member Hilary Hammell said, "With our new plan for strategic growth and expansion, we needed to rethink all facets of the BECA model. Right now is a big transition period for this organization, but one that should prove exciting."

We thank former Board members Jonathan Giftos and Jonathan Dolan for their years of dedicated service.

Read new Board member bios here.

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Would you be interested in leading a social tourism trip to Honduras next year?  In the past, groups have made the relatively inexpensive trek to Cofradia to witness and  participate in our community first-hand.  If you or someone you know might be interested in leading such a trip this coming Spring or Summer, please contact Laurence Birdsey.