What a terrific year for HELPS education!  And a fitting tribute to the 10-year anniversary of the dedication of the two-story school building on June 4, 1999.

We are half way through the 2009 school year at the HELPS William M. Botnan Primary School in Santa Avelina, and already, thirty master educators have worked with the teachers to improve instructional strategies.  The goal of the professional development team is to prepare the HELPS local teachers to provide a quality education—the kind of education that will allow their students to compete academically with more advantaged children, have pride in their language/culture, and realize their dreams.  Our HELPS school will become a teacher learning center where rural teachers can observe the best practices.  The ultimate product will be a blueprint for how other rural schools can succeed.  

We have 154 students--82 boys  and 72 girls—in kindergarten through sixth grade.  Our dedicated director since 2002, Rosa Cordova Perez, coordinates the demands of the parent committee, the  community, the Ministry of Education, and HELPS management, in addition to managing seven teachers, a librarian, PE teacher, computer lab manager, and two preschool teachers.  Fourteen of our graduates—nine girls and six boys--are on HELPS scholarships studying in towns several hours away, and another graduate is the recipient of the Delta Kappa Gamma Education Grant which is awarded to outstanding female students studying education.