Sister Schools
SOL established a sister school program to encourage friendship and understanding and shared learning between students and teachers in the US and Central America. The program pairs up classrooms in the US with those in El Salvador and Nicaragua. These classes exchange letters, pictures, art projects and creative materials depicting life in their schools, communities and countries.
The program is administered by SOL staff in each country who help interpret the materials, translate them when necessary, and provide resources and support to the teachers. Participation in the program does not require a financial commitment, although US classrooms sometimes collect school materials and Spanish story books for their under-resourced sister schools.
The program began in 1992 with a partnership between the bilingual first grade class at Yokayo Elementary School in Ukiah, CA, and Centro Escolar in Ciudad Darío, Nicaragua. The Harburg Foundation gave SOL a two-year grant of $2,000 to start this program, which soon grew to 7 pairs of schools.
When the grant expired in 1994, SOL staff and the Nicaraguan teachers discussed ending the program. Instead, the rural teachers requested an expansion of the partnerships. They helped evaluate and redesign the program around monthly themes to guide the exchange of letters and classroom projects. Through this process, SOL staff came to understand the extreme isolation and grievous lack of teaching resources available to rural schoolteachers. The program continued and grew.
In 1997 and 1998, two Peace Corps volunteers worked with the Nicaragua sister school coordinator to give new energy to the program, to incorporate environmental education, and to increase the number of visits to the rural schools. SOL also began collaborating with the Ministry of Education to plan educational field trips for rural sister school students to the Learning Resource Center in Darío.
In 2000, the sister school program expanded to El Salvador, after SOL volunteers helped build the first school in Las Minas. Currently, there are six teachers and over 150 students involved in El Salvador, with plans to add more. SOL El Salvador staff maintain consistent contact with the teachers to provide support.
Today, the sister school program reaches 80 teachers and 2,000 students in Central America and the United States.
When a class commits to a sister school partnership, SOL’s staff will visit the classroom and introduce them to Seeds of Learning. This orientations include the name and location of their new sister school, the importance of the partnership, what to expect and potential themes to guide communication. SOL staff will contact each teacher several times a year to suggest themes, provide resources and help interpret the realities of Central America to the students. SOL staff provides pictures, slides and general information about the sister school community. SOL staff in Central America do the same with their partner schools.
Current School Pairings
| United States | Nicaragua |
|---|---|
| Flowery Elementary, Sonoma, CA: 1st – 6th grade | La Remonta: 1st – 6th grade |
| Hawken School, Lyndhurst, OH: 3rd & 8th grade | Las Mezas: 1st – 6th grade |
| Beach Elementary School, Portland, OR | El Regadillo |
| Sanchez Elementary School, San Francisco, CA: 5th grade | Los Cocos: 1st – 5th grade |
| Mendocino Satellite, Mendocino, CA: 2nd – 5th grade | El Chaguite: 1st – 4th grade |
| Cesar Chavez Elementary School Davis, CA: 4th grade | El Tempisque: 1st – 6th grade |
| Rainbow Preschool, Mendocino, CA: Preschool | Prescolar Ebenezer, Ciudad Dario: Preschool |
| Fort Bragg Middle School, Fort Bragg, CA: 6th – 8th grade | Santa Lucia de las Jaguas: 1st – 5th grade |
| Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, Chardon, OH: High school | Los Llanos: 3rd grade |
| Old Trail School: 1st & 2nd grade | Las Delicias: 1st, 7th & 8th grade |
| Robert E. Willet Elementary: 5th grade | Palo de Agua: 1st – 6th grade |
| Tara Hills Elementary School, San Pablo, CA: 2nd grade | Dos Quebradas: 1st – 6th grade |
| San Marin High School Novato, CA: 9th – 12th grade | San Pedro: 1st – 6th grade |
| Santa Rosa Charter School, Santa Rosa, CA | Pueblo Nuevo: 1st – 4th grade |
| West Marin School, Point Reyes Station, CA: 6th grade | Asiento Viejo: 4th – 6th grade |
| Alameda High School, Alameda, CA: 9th & 10th grade | San Juanillo: 1st – 6th grade |
| Marin Horizon School | Los Robles: 1st – 6th grade |
| United States | El Salvador |
|---|---|
| Fuguitt Elementary School, Largo, FL K – 1st grade |
Plan de las Mesas II K – 1st grade |