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FORMAL EDUCATION
2022 Spending: $148,818
Early Education Reading Program
This program inspires a joy for learning while developing critical thinking skills through literature. Children engage with books through discussion, art, theater, and song. In a community with few books and high adult illiteracy rates, the home lending library and parental engagement are fostering a new culture of reading and learning in the community.
Scholarship Program
Amigos provides competitive scholarships for high school and university studies, and a few select middle school students. We require adherence to high academic standards as well as a commitment to give back to the community. Recipients participate in youth leadership conferences and complete community projects addressing issues such as the environment, cultural identity and gender equality.
91% of our Reading Program graduates continue on to middle school, compared to only 47% of the general population in Santa Cruz.
Educational Success
• Our Reading Program achieved a 92% retention rate , and 80% active parental involvement.
• A newly energized group of parental leaders in our Reading Program has formed a governing committee and is now supporting other parents with tools and information on how to read with their children at home, a new concept in Santa Cruz where literacy rates remain low.
• Amigos-supported nightly tutoring for high school scholarship students resulted in a 24% grade point average increase since 2020.
• 75 parents of scholarship students reported improved communication with their children and an increased commitment to their children’s academic goals after participating in Amigos training workshops.
• A new alliance with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) is providing an exciting, high-quality educational opportunity, on a modern university campus, for a select group of middle school scholarship students.