Secondary Rural Education-742 youths in Nicaragua

2013 was an outstanding year for the Fabretto rural secondary education program, SAT! SAT students continue to outpace traditional high school students in academics, attendance, and community involvement. International groups such as USAID praised the program and it was one of 14 finalists for innovative education programs at the WISE conference in Doha, Qatar. The program reached new communities, and projected enrollment for 2014 is approximately 800 students.

113 students finished the third year of the program and were certified as community wellbeing promoters, who have learned key concepts about health, education, and the environment. This certification also allows the students to enroll in technical and vocational courses offered by the government. 53 students graduated this year and received their high school diplomas at joyful graduation ceremonies at each SAT center.

Some highlights from the past year include:

• Focus on both educational and productive (practical): this allows students to learn a concept and then immediately put it into practice, reinforcing the usefulness of education and increasing student interest in the program.
• Families of the students are actively involved in project activities, which help them to understand the importance of supporting their children's education.
• 17 new small businesses focused on production and trade established and currently generating income for 67 students and their families
• Two student cooperatives were further developed with more members and greater funds. Beginning in mid-2014, funding permitting, Fabretto intends to contract the cooperatives to produce the SAT textbooks.
• 92% student retention in the SAT program (up 5% from last year) an overall academic averages in all SAT centers was 82%, showing an improvement from 76% in 2012.
• SAT continues to focus on gender equity in enrollment and business activities (60% of students involved in the 17 businesses are female).

We've seen that youth who participate in SAT have better self-esteem, great personal development, optimism for the future, and are effective leaders. During 2013, the fourth and fifth year students participated in two forums on topics of “Youth and Democracy” and “Youth and Development,” contributing to the discussion topics and asking effective questions throughout the forums. The FAO has recognized SAT students' analytical capacity and effective participation in developing community activities in health, education, environment, and natural disaster prevention. Approximately 40% of SAT students are active leaders in their communities and study centers and more than 70% of graduates are in jobs that require strong leadership skills.

Fabretto is thrilled with the SAT program's success in 2013 and looks forward to the 2014 school year, beginning in February!

Links:

• SAT graduation summary blog post
• Short film about SAT student entreprenuers