2009 was another year of success and progress for Centro Infantil San Pablo.  When the school year ended in June, it marked the first year that we were in our new building, which was completed and made ready for classes in August 2008 with a group of volunteers from St. Georges Episcopal Church in Germantown Tennessee arriving just at the right time to finish the final painting and preparation.  It is a wonderful facility which provides a secure, spacious, and cheerful environment for the children of the school.  There are separate boys and girls bathrooms, a lunch room, and an upstairs community room.  A Feed the Hungry kitchen is located at the school, and it provides a hot, nutritious meal to all the children once a day.

The school accepts a total of approximately 55 students – 15 in the 3-year-old class and 20 in the each of the 4- and 5-year old classes.  The family income limit for children who attend the school is 3,000 pesos a month.  Admission is by application, and Directora Patricia Palacios conducts home visits to all the applicants as an essential part of admissions decisions. There are more applications than there are places available.  Most of the children live in the former Ejido de Tirado to the west of the Dolores libramiento.  It is one of San Miguel’s poorest neighborhoods.

We are very fortunate to have an outstanding staff including Patricia Palacios, Directora, and maestras Magdalena Rubio Garay (five-year-olds), Ana Oliver Zamora Frias (the four-year-olds), and Claudia Alejandra Lopez Sanchez (three-year-olds). Our principal and three teachers all meet state required educational standards.  All teachers have degrees and prior experience in early childhood education, and Patricia holds a degree in Business Administration and Early Childhood Education at the College of Guadalajara City, Mexico.

Governance:

The St. Paul’s Centro Infantil San Pablo committee is an active and capable group that is truly dedicated to supporting and enhancing the success of the school.  The Committee members are Linda Work, Claudia Vilchis, Ernie Townsend, Adrian Ross, Patricia Palacios, Janice Page, Michael Long, Bill Lieberman, Rosalie Gower, Sonja George, Bonnie Eriksmoen, and Lee Daneker. 

The Committee meets monthly, and at those meetings it receives a report from the Directora, reviews fund raising activities, receives up-to-date financials and a report from the Treasurer, and provides overall guidance to the school.   The Committee establishes an annual budget for the school, and the Directora has the authority to make expenditures as authorized by that budget.  Thanks to the work of Patricia Palacios, Directora, and our Treasurer, Bill Lieberman, we have established good control over our costs and now project that we can deliver quality education for $15-$20 USD per week per child, in contrast to our earlier estimates of $25 per week.

Our management objectives for the school are: 

1. Continue to develop and improve the curriculum for the children and the programs for the parents.

2.  Improve the physical plant by resurfacing the patio area with rubberized playground material so that the children don’t hurt themselves and improve/extend the sunshade to the entire patio area (in the hottest months).

3. Maintain our financial health by improved outreach to our donors and identifying other stable sources of funding, such as corporate sponsors.

4. Acquire a lap top to use in the English program and for other activities.

5. Encourage greater involvement by St. Paul’s members in the school.  The congregation has been very generous in their financial support, but at times we definitely need more volunteers.  A particular need is for drivers to take children to swimming lessons or on other excursions in and around San Miguel.  Since the children are from families with very limited incomes they don’t get around much, even in their own municipality.  We can’t afford to rent busses for excursions, but if we had a few volunteer drivers for even 3 or 4 different days over the course of a year it would make a big difference.

Major Gifts:

The school received the final proceeds a house that was willed jointly to Centro Infantil and Feed the Hungry by Irene Anderson.  The school also received donations from Whitney George, the son of the late Dick George, who was an early and very strong supporter of Centro Infantil; the Carney Charitable Fund; and two donations from St. Georges Episcopal Church in Germantown Tennessee.  We also received a matching grant of $2,500 from the San Miguel Community Foundation which we matched from the fundraising activities detailed below.

Financial Report:

The end-of-year financial reports are hereby incorporated in this report by reference.  Centro Infantil has been fortunate to benefit from donations large and small and from a very effective local fund raising program lead by Adrian Ross, our Fund Raising Chair.  As a result, both the Comparative Statement of Financial Activities (Income Statement) and Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) show healthy balances, and the school is in the fortunate position of being assured of meeting the budget for the 2009-2010 school year.

Local Fund Raising:

In 2009 Centro Infantil San Pablo held several events which were successful both in raising funds and publicizing the school.  The results were (net and in US dollars – converted at 12.5 to 1): Mother’s Day Garden Party and Sale (265); Concert at Angel Peralta Theater (1,200), Hot Dog Barbecue at the “Mariachi Mass” (310), Holiday Bazaar (2,850); Keith Thompson’s birthday party (278), and Holiday Cards and Ornament sale (450). In addition we were fortunate to receive donations from members of St. Paul’s, from other Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans living in San Miguel, and from smaller foundation gifts.   We also have enjoyed continuing financial support from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Miguel, which in addition has been a source of many volunteers.

Donor Nurturing and Care:

We are working on gaining new donors locally and in reaching out to past donors to encourage their continued support.  This December we mailed personal letters to almost 100 prior donors with our brochure and sent a “Holiday Appeal” to the 1400 mail boxes at the three mailing services in San Miguel that serve the expatriate community here.  This is the first time we have organized a comprehensive end-of-year appeal, but we have improved our donor data base, which will allow us to keep in touch with our donors on a regular basis.

Staff development and curriculum:

Centro Infantil makes every effort to keep its pedagogy up to date by providing regular teacher training and for its staff.  In the course of 2009 the school held 9 such training sessions including a special training in the teaching of special needs students.

In addition to the regular program of early childhood education in 2009 the school offered an art program, swimming lessons and English classes for the 4- and 5- year-olds and a special class in English for the parents so that they can reinforce with their children the English that they learn in class.  The art, swimming and English programs are staffed by volunteers, and in addition there is one parent volunteer who drove the children to La Cieneguita for their swimming lessons.

Contribution of the Parents:

With the encouragement of the Directora, the parents of Centro Infantil have formed a PTA-like organization, which has raised money for school expenses.  This year this organization paid the annual per-pupil registration fee that is required by the Secretary of Education.  Also this year the parents paid for the uniforms for the newly admitted 3 year olds – except for a few of the new students whose families simply couldn’t cover this expense.  In the prior year more of the uniform expense and the registration fees were paid from the school budget.  Also, some parents have taken on extra work and contributed the money earned to buy liquid soap and paper for the school.  Some mothers bought fabric, and they and others sewed smocks for the children to use in the art program.  The dollar impact of these efforts is not large, but we think that they are very important and are good indicators of how much these families value the experience that we offer their children.  The parents offer a “Story Day” once a month, and participate in events at the school and at St. Paul’s such as the annual “Pastorela” (Christmas pageant) presented by the students, teachers, and parents.

Programs for the Parents:

One of the features of the school in which we take considerable pride is our efforts to engage the families of our students.  Our Directora, Patricia Palacios understands very well that a poor home environment can smother the successes the school.  Our programs that involve parents are classes in parenting skills usually held once a month, English classes for the parents so that they can reinforce what their children are learning in the Centro Infantil English program.

Website:

Claudia Vilchis, who is a website design professional and a member of the Centro Infantil Committee, has created and maintains an excellent website. We can accept donations via the website, and we are working on ways to take better advantage of this capability. The web address is: www.centroinfantilsanpablo.org. 

The Future:

With an outstanding Directora, an excellent teaching staff, a great facility, a strong and committed governing committee, and friends and supporters in San Miguel, Canada, the US, and Mexico, we are optimistic as we go forward.  We are very grateful to our donors and to the members and leaders of St. Paul’s Church whose support, guidance, and generosity have made this school possible.  We hope that St. Paul’s will continue find us worthy of the trust that you have placed in us.

Submitted by Lee Daneker on behalf of the Centro Infantil San Pablo Committee of St. Paul’s Anglican Church