The families are among the poorest in San Miguel, the majority coming from the most
socially and economically challenged neighborhoods where many houses lack
electricity and running water. They struggle to find work in a difficult economy.  
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A majority of  the children come from single parent families and have several siblings.
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Volunteer teachers have fun with the kids
Centro Infantil San Pablo (CISP) is a nonprofit, volunteer organization founded by St. Paul’s Anglican Church of San Miguel de Allende.  It provides free, high quality, secular pre-school education to Mexican children with the greatest need and prepares them to enter the first grade. Our Feed the Hungry kitchen provides a nutritious hot meal every school day. 

Admission is by application followed by a home visit to verify family circumstances.

An investment in childrens education
at Centro Infantil produces results

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Even though our students are from some of the most economically disadvantaged homes in San Miguel, over 70% of their scores were "above average" or "outstanding" in standardized tests given by the Secretary of Education in June 2011. No scores were below average. Our teachers scored 93 out of 100 in their evaluations, and the school was one of 3 schools in San Miguel (a city of over 120,000) that was recognized for special achievement by the Secretary. In the same round of testing one of our graduates, now in the second grade, got the top score of all students in all the primary schools in San Miguel. Since academic results usually are correlated with socio-economic status we are especially proud of what these economically disadvantaged children have achieved.

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San Miguel de Allende is a city of 120,000 located in central Mexico in the state of Guanajuato. San Miguel is about four hours north of Mexico City by bus. San Miguel boasts an active United States and Canadian population which swells dramatically in the winter months when the snowbirds arrive. It is a cultural hot spot which hosts artists, artisans, musicians, actors and supports many eco-friendly and sustainable projects in the rural countryside. It is the home of the largest bilingual library in Mexico. There are many ways to volunteer while residing in San Miguel and Centro Infantil is one of these institutions.