Tuesday, April 5, 2022
DR Projects is Back in the DR! 2022 Trip Diary, Page One
Dear Friends and Supporters of DR Projects -
This is the first in a series of Blog Posts for the DR Projects trip in April, 2022. I'm hiding out as part of the 2019 trip blog because I am not getting along with Blogspot with regard to starting a brand new blog. We'll make sure that everyone finds their way to this one! After two successful trips in 2019 (the one chronicled here below and the one led later in the year by Frank Perotti), we had big plans for our next trip in 2020, with the particular goal, of continuing the reading program at the Altagracia elementary school in Cotui. Everything was in place: we had seen the curriculum in action, we had two dedicated teachers, and we had a cadre of volunteers ready to take things to the next level. On a larger scale in the DR, our ally and inspiring role model Juan Valdez, was making significant progress in his visionary goal of helping every underserved child in his country to learn English. It's a critical social justice concept. The Ministry of Education was very interested in his model, and the pilot program at Altagracia was evidence that it could work. Then came COVID. We had to cancel the planned trip in 2020, and then had to forego the possibility in 2021. Things ground to a halt in the DR, particularly in under-resourced public schools. It was, as Juan Valdez told us, two lost years.
But thanks to the vision and advance planing capability of DR Projects leader Rita Severinghaus, a plan evolved for a trip in 2022, which among other things food advantage of the expiring Jet Blue cancelled reservations. It's a small, nimble group, with no students and only veterans of past trips. That has allowed us to be a bit more nimble in our travels. Our hope is to touch base with as many of our DR partners in schools, villages and health clinics as possible. We will be in Hernando Alonso, and at Altagracia, and at the El Limon health clinic. But we started our trip on Monday by breaking new ground with a very special school visit.
We have mentioned Juan Valdez previously, but here's a brief bio, for important reasons. Juan is a DR native from very humble beginnings. He has an Oxford education, and is a a world-renowned researcher in education, and particularly in the area of language acquisition. He runs three companies and has consulted and researched in many countries, including Mexico, the US, and South America. He is the head of the Dominican Republic's association of teachers of English. He has been offered the position of Minister of Education, but turned it down because he has better ways to work to achieve his goal of providing the means for every child in the DR to learn English. As of now, the Education system in the DR is challenged in many ways, and cannot even begin to provide English as a second language in a large majority of public schools, even though that is a stated goal. Private school students do get English instruction. So it becomes an issue of class and economics. Without English, students cannot hope to get jobs in the service economy and/or tourist industry, and those are the primary means of advancement. So it's a social justice issue, and it's one Juan Valdez has dedicated his life to. He is on there verge of making huge progress. The Ministry of Education has signed a contract with him to provide English education in 505 schools. He has plans with Hunter College in NYC (Where he is currently co-teaching a course remotely) to train supervisors of English Teachers. There needs to be approval by the Finance Ministry. There are many opponents and obstacles, but he is single-minded in his pursuit. DR Projects, providentially, has been an important ally for him, particularly in its support for the pilot program at Altagracia.
We were gifted to learn many of these updates from Juan in person Monday at the Saint Lawrence International School in Santo Domingo, which he founded 12 years ago, just as his daughter was beginning school. It's a private school that is also a neighborhood school in a middle class suburb. It is not for the elites, and runs on a tight budget, but to us it was a dazzling example of good education. We had the opportunity to visit many classes and speak with students and teachers. It is a completely bilingual school. Many of the classes are taught in English. The 9th graders I sat with in Language arts are very, very fluent and confident. The robotics class is taught in English, and they eagerly showed us their progress toward defending their national championship. There is much, much more to describe, but I am on deadline as we prepare to get on our van to go north to Cotui. Juan's gift of two hours with us was inspiring. We are all full of ideas and plan for partnerships, exchanges and continuing work to help him realize his goal as part of DR Projects' mission for education, health and environment. More to come on this blog, I hope, and pictures as well. For now, welcome back to the world of DR Projects!
Rob Grabill, your humble scribe
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