Christian American School of Guatemala

In August 2010, I began teaching full time at the Christian American School of Guatemala in San Cristobal, Guatemala. Right from the beginning, I felt extremely welcomed by the directors of the school. They provided me with a car and helped me rent a home in Antigua, Guatemala. Furthermore, the directors worked hard to provide myself and other teachers with materials they would need to assist with teaching students at the school. The Christian American School of Guatemala is a wonderful environment to be a teacher. The campus is complete with a computer lab, library, outdoor cafeteria, basketball/soccer court, and playground. The classrooms are equipped with a whiteboard, desks for the students and teacher, and access to wireless Internet. Teachers and student leaders work together to organize extracurricular activities. Our school currently has a student council, small choir, dance team, drama club, newspaper team, and swim team. Teachers also have organized specialty events like a science fair, spelling bee, and Christmas program. Furthermore, our school lives up to its name in being a Christian school. Each school day begins with a teacher led devotional. Prayer is often included in each of the classrooms and the students attend a Bible class once a week. Specialty events always begin and end with prayer. Additionally, upper grade students exercise being good stewards by raising money for a local orphanage and HIV clinic. Teaching at the Christian American School of Guatemala has been a wonderful experience. The administration at CASG works hard to support its teachers and to provide a quality education for all its students. I would recommend teaching at this school without reservation.

Christian American School is a great place to work. The students try hard and are excited to learn and the owner is very supportive of any needs or requests that you may need or want throughout your tenure here. The campus is very nice and safe and is not a bad drive from Antigua at all (as long as traffic is ok). The staff is also very professional and willing to help you when or if you need it. Working here has been a great experience for me and I would recommend it to anyone else who would like the adventure of living and working abroad. It's fun and hard and worth every minute. Come here to work and live and you will not regret it!

My name is Mary Jo, and this is my second year of teaching at Christian American School of Guatemala. My position is second grade homeroom teacher (Reading, writing, math, social studies, science, and art). My other responsibilities have included teaching ESL remediation for my class, ESL for 4th-7th, and Bible 5th-9th. By working with the older students, I have gotten to better know the older students who attend CAS. CAS uses United States textbooks and all my books had a teachers edition. The students have enjoyed the projects, English games, activities, writing, and artwork that I have added to the California standards. Students have many experiences and resources. They are eager to learn and are happy. It is joyful to see how much they progress in their English in just one year! Class sizes are kept small. This year, I have 17 bright and energetic second graders. CAS is open to teaching Christian values. Bible classes are once a week. Songs, Bible verses and teachings, prayer, and activities make Jesus come alive for them. Devotions are held each morning before class starts. Last year, we had our first chapel service. This year, the students went on their first school retreat. Come and teach at a small, private, Christian school where you can make a difference in the lives of students and Guatemala. Come to serve the Lord here with an open and teachable heart to see all that beautiful Guatemala has to offer and be changed yourself.

I began working at Christian American School of Guatemala in September 2011. When I arrived, Don Erico was at the airport waiting for me and we stopped by the school where I met Ms. Vivian. She took me to Antigua where I would meet my amazing roommates. Working at CAS has been a blessing, I have the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and still get to do what I love, teach math! You will receive lots of hugs and smiles from the students. The kids are great and the parents are even better! They are concerned and involved, they email and want to do what they can to help the students succeed. The director, Laura Cometa, is a huge blessing to the school. She has done so much for the school this year. She is a great support for all of the teachers, she stands up for us and contributes to our classroom teaching in whatever way she can. My office is next to Ms. Vivian's office, so whenever she comes in, she always smiles and asks how everything is going with the school and living in Guatemala. She wants to make sure her teachers are comfortable and happy working for CAS and living in Guatemala. She and Don Erico opened up their home to the teachers after a teacher ''work day'' with lunch and dessert to show their appreciation for all the teachers' service. They put a fan in my classroom, because it gets so hot and stuffy in the afternoon. The other teachers here are amazing teachers as well. We have the opportunity to visit and observe each others classrooms to get ideas and we work together as upper level teachers. The Spanish teachers are wonderful and loving, they practice with me daily with my Spanish :) I have gained many new lifetime friends! As a school this year, it has grown exponentially, spiritually, and physically with new classrooms and other new structures. There are plenty of resources here for students to be exposed and learn new strategies. Christian American School has daily devotionals led by teachers, parents, and sometimes the students. We have had a couple of speakers come to inspire the students and we have had field trips to museums and an amusement park at the end of the year. During the different parent teacher evenings, we held a Christmas play, a spelling bee, a science fair, and an arts event so students can show off their talents. I also led a ''Pi Day'' on March 14, 2012 (3.14), where students had the opportunity to memorize pi and also a pi obstacle course, the student enjoyed it! In my classes I have the flexibility to do different activities with my students. My ninth grade Algebra students created math games for the first grade students to play with them weekly. It's great to be able to have math buddies, all the students look forward to Fridays and math class, it's a win win!! I feel blessed being here to teach and also traveled to Costa Rica, Belize, and other places within Guatemala. In Antigua, it's comfortable to walk around and go out and meet new people. I've taken Spanish classes for as low as $3 an hour! I've also taken salsa and samba classes, which I love!!!! I'm excited to see what God has planned for next year, for the students, teachers, and more experiences to make! Be faithful, trust God, smile, and make the most of your time here, you will have a great time like I have. Welcome to Christian American School of Guatemala!