The New Website is LIVE &  Our Students are Rockin It!

We are nearly half way through the school year in Nicaragua!  As usual, its been a busy first half of the year with new students and new programs.  It’s also been busy for us here in California where we finally finished our new Website – www.developingcommunities.org.  Now it’s easier for you to see our work in Nicaragua, meet the students, the graduates, the staff, and to easily support our efforts. I want to thank board member Jennifer Becker and Mark Blair from www.blairworks.com for helping getting this finished.  Please check it out today!

In February, I met with a German Foundation named Samuel Foundation. http://www.samuel.de/englisch/projekte/index.php This foundation blew me away when I visited with Emilse.  They have a trade school program specializing in auto mechanics, air condition/refrigeration mechanics, executive assistant, and accounting assistant.  It is a very competitive program to enter, receiving over 600 applications for 100 full scholarships per year.  They have a 90% job placement in their field upon graduation.  A very impressive organization.  Our goal is to get one of our students into this incredible program and last month we sponsored a trip to the school with our scholarship students, to show them the different possibilities and inspire them to achieve more than what they are exposed to in their small rural area.  It was a complete success and all of the kids came back with a better understanding of the opportunities for their future.  Some of the students expressed interest in applying for a position at the school for next year, which was exactly what I was hoping for.

We also had two of our students win the county academic competitions at the end of April.  Sherlyng Alvarado and Francis Ramirez both won their competitions, one in mathematics and one in language arts and literature.  They will next compete at the regional level in Boaco.  Both of these students give direct credit to the extra support they receive in our Reinforcement Classes.  They have become the local stars of their peers in the scholarship program and in their communities.  We wish them the best of luck.

As we write this newsletter, the students are taking their midyear exams and we have high expectations of them.  They regularly communicate to me that they are among the best in their classes because of the reinforcement classes they attend every week.  They thank us, and you, for providing these classes to them so they can continue to achieve their goals in school.

I hope you enjoy the new look of www.developingcommunities.org and I encourage each of you to stay up to date with our progress on our Facebook page.  Thank you again for your support and constant encouragement.

Sincerely,

Jake Scheideman