The BECA Volunteer Experience



BECA aims to provide its volunteers with a challenging, transformative experience that gives an in-depth understanding of grassroots international development, underserved Central American communities, bilingual teaching strategies, and community capacity building techniques. As a result, BECA teachers develop the skills and responsibilities to be effective teachers, communicators, and leaders. Afterwards, BECA teachers go on to become Fulbright scholars, microfinance specialists, US Foreign Service Officers, charter school teachers, World Bank employees, non-profit executives, law and public policy students. Does this sound intriguing?

If so, BECA wants to hear from you. Every year, BECA assembles a team of committed volunteers who want to dedicate themselves to the difficult but rewarding work that we do in Honduras. We seek enthusiastic, curious, diverse, and thoughtful volunteers. For every application, we consider the applicant's volunteer service, international engagement, teaching experience, and academic record. BECA volunteer positions are competitive; our typical admissions rate hovers around 10%. Please note that applicants need not be certified teachers nor fluent Spanish speakers.

Please click below to learn more about:

Teaching Program Details

Current positions for which we are accepting applications:

    Program Administrator (14 month commitment, May 2012 - July 2013, stipend included)
    1-year Elementary Teachers,Middle School Teachers, & Resource Teachers
    2-year Elementary Teachers, Middle School Teachers, & Resource Teachers
    What volunteer expenses does BECA cover?

How does BECA provide housing and meals?
What does the school look like?
I want to apply. Take me to the application!

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early.



Teaching Program Details

San Jeronimo Bilingual School currently has 240 students in grades K - 9, and we anticipate a similar enrollment in the 2012-2013 school year. Santa Monica Bilingual School currently has approximately 75 students in grades K - 2, and we anticipate serving 100 students in grades K - 3 in the 2012-2013 school year.

In order to provide stability for our students and for our teachers, we ask our teachers to make a minimum commitment of one school year. We provide shared food and living accommodation as well as access to high speed internet. Teachers are responsible for their own transportation costs to and from Honduras. The Program Administrator and second year teachers receive a modest monthly stipend in addition to food/lodging in acknowledgment of their enhanced responsibilities.

Our six-week Summer Institute prepares our teachers to succeed in both the classroom and the community. Orientation will include both teacher training elements and Spanish language classes.

Teaching experience and a knowledge of Spanish are both desirable volunteer traits, and each year's team has a minimum of two qualified teachers. However, we are most interested in individuals who are flexible, able to deal with significant challenge and willing to learn along with us. In the past, most of our volunteers have ranged in age from 21 - 35 and have come from a variety of professional backgrounds including everything from education to international development. The most important qualities we look for in our volunteers are a genuine commitment to service and the ability to be a team player. BECA retains the right to dismiss a volunteer if it is in the best interest of the children or the program.

BECA will be selecting approximately 19 volunteers for the 2012-2013 school year (and possibly more if we proceed with a third partner school). Of those 19 volunteers, approximately 13 will be one-year teachers, 5 will be two-year teachers, and 1 will be the Program Administrator.

To learn more about our volunteer experience from an insider's perspective, visit our volunteer blog.

Program Administrator

The Program Administrator is an in-country team member who leads BECA's volunteer-driven education program. He or she is a creative and flexible person with proven management experience whose responsibilities include:

Information Management

The Program Administrator facilitates the daily interactions of the BECA team. He manages the team budget and pays all bills related to room, board, visa renewals, as well as other program costs. He is also responsible for tracking important pedagogical and administrative information in a manner that will allow subsequent year's teams to transition into their positions without difficulty.

Local Liaison

The Program Administrator serves as liaison between BECA and the local community - most specifically the Asociacion de Padres Proeducacion (our Honduran partner organization).

Scholarship Program Administration

The Program Administrator directs the Scholarship Program at the school. She is responsible for promoting the scholarship program. She will review applications and interview potential/current scholarship families in March/April to fill new spaces/assess current recipient's need prior to the next school year. Based on these interviews she will make recommendations regarding which children should receive the available scholarships. She seeks to empower scholarship students' families to actively participate in the school by facilitating their involvement. She monitors the behavior and academic performance of children receiving financial assistance in order to ensure they remain eligible.



Visitors Program Administration

The Program Administrator coordinates logistics of visits of student and community groups who undertake short-term service projects with us. He also coordinates special BECA programs such as Libros Y Familias.

Daily School Involvement

The Program Administrator works in collaboration with the School Director and Secretary to maintain effective discipline strategies at the school, but is not directly involved with the school's administration or financial management.

BECA Volunteer Support

The Program Administrator serves as a support figure for BECA's volunteer teaching team. She checks in with each teacher regularly to provide moral and psychological support; in doing so she strives to ensure teacher lesson plans are in line with BECA's curriculum and Honduran educational standards.

The Program Administrator is responsible for facilitating teachers' professional development. This includes planning and implementing the initial Volunteer Orientation in August, the annual trip to the Discovery School Conference in Tegucigalpa and ongoing opportunities throughout the year.

In addition, the Program Administrator serves as a substitute teacher in instances of illness and supports team members in the classroom in other ways.

Development Support

The Program Administrator supports the board of directors in development activities. He will reach out to potential donors with board members' guidance, research grant opportunities, and assist with grant applications/reporting.

He/she will submit brief monthly reports that highlight school and community activities to assist the board in tracking BECA's growth and progress and he will provide information for newsletters targeted to donors and friends.

The Program Administrator receives a modest monthly stipend, in addition to food/lodging, in acknowledgment of her significant management responsibility.

Santa Monica Bilingual School Administrator/Resource Teacher

In order to meet the administrative, team leadership, and teacher support needs at our K-3, Santa Monica Bilingual School, BECA will be recruiting for a combined administrative/teacher support role. This individual will be expected to take on a number of the responsibilities at Santa Monica that our overall BECA Program Administrator assumes at San Jeronimo. These responsibilities include those listed above as - Local Liaison, Daily School Involvement, Beca Volunteer Support, and certain aspects of the Information Management role.

As our partnership with the community of parents is still relatively new, this individual will also be presented the opportunity to work closely with parents and community members. In doing so we anticipate building the type of involved and empowered community that we see today at our flagship, San Jeronimo Bilingual School.

In addition to their administrative responsibilities, this individual will spend a large percentage of their time assisting and supporting the four BECA volunteer teachers in their classrooms at Santa Monica Bilingual School.

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One-Year Teaching Program

The one-year teaching commitment begins in July 2012 and ends in June 2013. Teachers have a holiday break from approximately Dec. 20 until Jan. 4. Teachers are responsible for leaving the CA-4 region (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua) during this time for visa renewal reasons. The vast majority of volunteers return to the United States to visit friends and family during the holidays.

All selected volunteer teachers are assigned to an elementary classroom, a middle school classroom, or a resource teacher role. BECA interviewers will explain the differences between the three positions in detail, but for now we have listed the general responsibilities required of all teachers.



Please note that life in Honduras can be unpredictable. Sometimes our teachers are called upon to do things that fall outside the scope of the activities listed here.

General Responsibilities
  1. Facilitate relationships with parents and other community members.
  2. Lesson-plan (to be done in a timely manner and submitted for review).
  3. Foster a safe and productive classroom environment for students.
  4. Serve as a Lunch/Recreo monitor at least once a week.
  5. Support your fellow teachers in school and at home.
  6. Serve as an ambassador for BECA by helping to spread the word about our work to your families and friends.
  7. Ask for help when you need it!
Administrative Duties
  1. Maintain attendance records for all students in your homeroom.
  2. File a copy of your weekly lesson plans on the agreed upon schedule.
  3. Provide administration with a copy of your weekly class schedule before the week begins.
  4. Sign 'Libro de asistencia' upon entering and leaving school each day (required by law).
  5. Ensure classroom is open and ready for students at beginning and end of school day.
  6. Attend all teacher meetings.
  7. Keep the office informed of any problems (disciplinary or otherwise) you are having with students or concerns you have about students.
  8. Keep student files updated with the information outlined in Student Files section.
  9. Keep the office informed of extended absences of students.
Exam Administration Responsibilities
  1. Grade exams
  2. Collect performance grades from other teachers and prepare Bimester report cards
  3. Fill out hard-copy of grading spreadsheet.
  4. Fill out electronic version of grading sheet - kept on a computer accessible for all.
  5. Fill out "Libreta de Calificaciones"
Other responsibilities individual volunteers can choose to take part in
  1. Organize Libros Y Familias workshops
  2. Plan group's trip to Discovery School Conference
  3. Plan and organize extracurricular activities for students
  4. Attend Parents' Asociacion Meetings (at discretion of Administrator)
  5. Participate in fundraising efforts to support BECA's program costs
  6. Innovate!

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Two-Year Teaching Program

The two-year teaching commitment begins in July 2012 and ends in June 2014.

BECA also offers a formal two-year teaching position. This program evolved organically several years ago. In the past, BECA informally offered quality teachers financial incentives to stay for a second year. We did so because we intuitively and anecdotally realized that second year teachers are much more effective in the classroom thanks to their previous year's experience. Just as importantly for a community school model like ours, they serve as a bridge between new teachers and the community, helping new team members adapt to their roles much more quickly than they otherwise would. Second-year teachers are offered a monthly stipend, which is designed to cover all out-of-pocket expenses that a volunteer might incur during their time with BECA.

Second-year teachers will carry out the same responsibilities as one-year teachers (described above). However, during their second year, these teachers will take on additional senior teacher responsibilities. These responsibilities will be determined in advance with input from the Program Administrator and BECA's Executive Director. For example, this year's returning teachers all serve as mentors and community liaisons for the new first-year teachers. Additionally, one teacher is coordinating our "Charla de Padres", (Parent Chats) that provides bi-weekly classes on topics such as nutrition and family budgeting. Another has taken on the responsibility of leading many of our extra-curricular activities and is revising our pre-K and Kindergarten standards and benchmarks. Second-year teachers are provided a monthly living stipend for their demonstrated commitment to BECA.

Please note that one-year teachers are not barred for returning for a second year, space permitting, if they so choose later in the school year. That said, preference will be granted to those who originally signed up for a two-year commitment. Applicants who believe they will want to teach for two years should opt for the two-year application.

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The Application Process

In order to begin the application process, please complete the BECA Volunteer Application online. Once you complete the online application, you will be contacted by a BECA representative to set up the first of three rounds of interviews.



What expenses does BECA cover?

BECA covers all volunteer housing, food, and training costs. Incidental expenses like high-speed internet, classroom materials, and visa renewal trips are also covered. Your expenses will include travel to/from Honduras and money for personal travel/amenities. Additionally, we strongly encourage that volunteers purchase their own health insurance as BECA does not provide any coverage. Many of our "recent college graduate" volunteers have been lucky enough to remain covered by their parents' insurance for their year with us. For those who do not fall in this category, we can suggest several low-cost insurance providers our volunteers have relied on in the past.

Please note that many of our volunteers have offset their out of pocket expenses by teaching English to adults in the evenings. Not only is this a great way to earn a bit of pocket money, it's a wonderful way to interact in a meaningful way with Hondurans over three feet tall! Finally, we are able to advise our volunteers on the process of deferring student loan payments.

Tell me about BECA housing and food

Our volunteers share several homes (two people to each bedroom) close to the center of Cofradia and about a fifteen minute walk from the school. Our two houses are situated in an elevated part of Cofradia and have a picturesque view of the Merendon mountains from the airy patio areas. We also rent several apartments in one building immediately off the town's main square. Much of the time there is running water and a modern flush toilet. Occasionally there is no actual running water. When this happens, we use the water that is collected outside the house in a large cement trough called a "pila." This water is used to flush the toilet, shower and wash dishes and clothes. Electricity is relatively reliable, but can go out without warning for several hours at a time - especially during the rainy season.

In addition to accommodation and shared internet access, BECA provides an ample food budget for the volunteers. Lunch is prepared at school for the volunteers on school days. A few pictures of the volunteer houses can be found below.



What does SJBS look like?

Click here for a glimpse of San Jeronimo Bilingual School