Since its beginning, Belize Friends School has sought to provide instruction and nurture to students who have not succeeded in primary school and have therefore not been admitted to secondary school. The goal of BFS has been to prepare them to pass the exams that will allow them to enter secondary school and continue their education.
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Recently, Belizean government requirements and educational standards have changed for schools. Students are no longer dropped out of school when failing or struggling. Belizean schools now receive funding based on attendance and lunches served. Students are allowed and encouraged to continue into secondary school regardless of their ability to succeed. These changes have greatly diminished the number of students seeking an alternative school for remedial education.
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At the same time, the Belize government is pushing to develop more pre-school education. There are very few schools for pre-K education in the Southside neighborhood where Belize Friends School is located. Given these circumstances, Belize Friends School is making a pivot toward early childhood education.
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We hope this shift embodies the spirit of these well-known words from Desmond Tutu : “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” We hope this shift toward early childhood education will be such a move. With a quality educational foundation, there will be fewer children who need to be pulled out of the river.
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—Michael Sherman
Coordinator of North American and Caribbean Ministries