School Project

Zona 18 is considered a “red zone” by the Guatemalan government. Drugs, prostitution, gang activities and wasted human potential litter the area. Despite the environment, Liceo Cientifico Cumorah, a primary school, has excelled in education for the past 10 years. Liceo is currently recognized as the premier school in the area and used as a model for schools around the city, despite the severe economic challenges the school has faced.

The objective of School Project is to enable Liceo to double the number of students served, double the number of scholarships provided, increase the educational quality while creating an institution that is completely self-sufficient. School Project will accomplish this by working hand in hand with Liceo to purchase land, construct a new building, and facilitate income generating activities that strategically align with the mission of the school and provide support for educational activities.

School project has consulted with architects, lawyers, contractors, land owners and other educational institutions to create a plan that will complete this project for under $500,000. The new school will measure approximately 7000 ft2 and serve 500 students. This figure includes land (the land in question is 3 acres and will cost $200,000), construction ($40/ft2), architect’s fees and legal fees. In other words, this project will support the entire primary education from preschool through 8th grade for $1000/student of outside help.

School project will help Liceo to become independent. Philosophically, we consider self-sufficiency the crux of the entire project. Liceo will charge school fees to those who are able to pay, and run a variety of income generating activities to complement this income. These activities will include a football court that will be rented out in the evening, run an internet café, a bookstore, teach weekend classes for adults, and engage in other activities that are inline with the mission of the school.
Ultimately, the missions of School Project and Liceo are perfectly in line: provide a high quality, low cost education that in an underserved area that is accessible to as many students as possible. We hope that this school might serve as a model and a starting point for similar projects for other projects throughout Latin America.