Progreso Apoyo Program Summer 2022 Update
Happy Summer to all of our sponsors, volunteers, donors and supporters! After more than two years of dealing with the Covid pandemic and its aftermath, it feels like we are finally getting back to normal! Students returned to school full-time for at least three months and what a difference that has made for everyone! Our Virtual English Program continued to support students in learning English online and we have some exciting plans for our English program this fall. We had a successful in-person Progreso Home Tour that helps provide resources for our students, our schools, and our program. We’ve added new sponsors and new students, growing our program to 73 students overall!
We’ll tell you more information about each of these activities below, but first, we want to let everyone know about a very special event that will take place on August 22 here in Progreso. For the first time since 2019, we will be able to host an organized “Back to School” event for all of our students where they will come in their new uniforms, receive their new backpacks and get their “back-to-school” photo taken. We know that some sponsors are here in Progreso during that time and may want to meet their student. If you are a Progreso Apoyo Program Sponsor, you will receive a special Email invitation to this event where you can meet your student in person if you wish.
Student Grades Improve
Beginning in January 2022, many students started going back to school on-campus at least part-time. After the Easter break, almost all of our students were in class again full time, and what a difference that made to their grades! During the pandemic, when students were studying on-line, we saw several students who were really challenged with this style of learning, and we saw that reflected in their grades. But during this last school quarter, almost every one of our students improved their grades in one or more subjects – so gratifying to see! The big news for our program is that once again, a large number of our students will be graduating from middle school to high school. So beginning in the fall of 2022, 54 of our students — almost 75%– will be attending high school! That is quite a switch from when we first started in 2019, when all of our students were in middle school.
Progreso Apoyo English Language Academy
Through the pandemic, volunteer teachers in Progreso, the US and Canada worked one-on-one with 21 of our students on a weekly basis to help them improve their English language skills. In a recent survey completed by the students, 95% of them said that the program helped them improve their English.
In the fall, we will be continuing to offer our Virtual English Program, but also add a new in-person program called COBAY Conversation Classes. Since 50 of our students will be attending COBAY high school in the fall, we are working with the school to offer an opportunity for COBAY students to practice speaking English while they are on-campus. We’ll be looking for English-speaking volunteers to help with this activity, so stay tuned for more information about this program in the fall.
4th Annual Progreso Home Tour
We rely on our annual Progreso Home Tour event to help us pay for services and activities that are not covered by sponsor fees. While our 2021 Home Tour was a virtual event because of Covid, this year we were able to offer an in-person event. We featured 6 lovely homes in Progreso and Chicxulub, and combined with our raffle, an on-line Silent Auction, and donations, we raised almost $100,000 MX to support our program! Because of the generosity of our community, we will be able to continue to operate our program and offer extra services to our students such as tutoring and glasses when needed. The money we raised will also let us make additional investments in the computer labs that we equipped in all three of the middle schools in Progreso. You’ll hear more about that this fall. Next year will be our 5th Annual Progreso Home Tour! If you would like us to consider including your home in next year’s tour, or if you have ideas or suggestions for other homes, please send an Email to info@progresoapoyo.org. And mark your calendars for Saturday, March 4, 2023!
Program grows to 73 students!
During the spring, we added new sponsors which allowed us to add new students. We now have 73 students enrolled in our program – 19 of them attending one of three middle schools in Progreso and 54 of them attending high school. We have two students who are in their last year of high school, so we will soon have to think about how we can help these students transition to a university or technical institute.
A Big Thank You to Everyone
| We end each of our communications with a big “Thank You” to all of the individuals who participate in our program – our sponsors, our volunteers, our donors, and others – who all contribute in their own ways to support education here in Progreso and surrounding areas. We could not carry out this program without you! Thanks for all that you do and we look forward to continuing our work together to improve the lives of students and their families in our communities. In Gratitude, the Progreso Apoyo Program Board of Directors: Speranza Avram Dale Hunter-Aubichon Mary Elizabeth Walberg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Progreso-Apoyo-Program-405255936706969 |