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| Classroom Building with St. Peter Mural | Kids in Class |
Educational Opportunities
Within the property of Farm of the Child lies St. Peter's Catholic Grade School. Our school has five separate classroom buildings and one storage building, with additional construction currently underway. Children from the orphanage and surrounding villages receive their primary education there. Honduran teachers along with foreign volunteers comprise the staff that offers pre-school through the sixth grade. St. Peter's philosophy is to provide an education for "all of life." Our hope is to nourish and equip students emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually to give them a brighter future.
St. Peter's Catholic School has an enrollment of about 75 children. More than half of the children come from the surrounding rural area. Many of them come from difficult family situations including illiteracy, alcoholism, and poverty. Because their family's survival often depends upon their daily efforts, the needs of the family are placed before education. It is not unusual for children to be pulled out of school to help with the crops, care for the sick family members, and to watch over the house and other siblings.
The curriculum and educational system of St. Peter's are designed specifically to address and overcome the challenges that face children from these disadvantaged backgrounds. Our educational system, while retaining high educational standards, permits those students demonstrating mastery of the material to pass out of their grade at the end of the semester. Thus, a student has the opportunity to complete 2 grade levels in a school year. We are indeed blessed with adequate staff and resources to be able to offer this system to the children in our community. Every level, barring one exception, has a teacher: a rarity in Honduras where most teachers function as they did in the one-roomed schoolhouse of years ago, teaching all levels at once. There is also a teacher who individually tutors children with special needs. In addition to the subjects of math, reading, writing, social studies, art, music, science, PE, and life skills, St. Peter's offers classes in English, health, and religion. During the morning break, a snack of soy cookies and juice is provided. St. Peter's provides a safe, loving environment to learn and grow.
Once the students have graduated from the sixth grade, a huge accomplishment by Honduran standards, opportunities for further education are available. We offer scholarships and support to those students from the community who exhibit the desire and ability to continue on in their studies. The children from the Farm also are encouraged and supported in further education. Each child is unique and their gifts and talents as well. Helping them find and enable their career choice is part of our responsibility. We are continuously investigating vocational schools and better educational opportunities to give the children a sure foundation to contribute to the development of their future communities.
In addition to the formal education that we offer, the Farm children participate in vocation programs in sewing, carpentry, mechanics, and farming. House parents, workers, and volunteers lead these afternoon activities, which give the children a well-rounded education. These skills will serve them well in their futures.
A building project is currently underway to add more educational resources for the students and community of the Farm. A library, computer classroom, tutorial center, and administrative offices are incorporated into this new facility. If you would like to assist us in this endeavor, we are most appreciative of your collaboration.