Sponsor a Special Education Student

Four years ago Ambergris Caye Elementary School embarked on a special journey when we started our Special Needs program.  In the small island community of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize we started the first dedicated program for children with Special Needs. The biggest hurdle was raising awareness and letting the community know these children had the right to an education.  The right to become the best they could be through inclusion in school and in regular classrooms. In the past, very often the Special Needs community had been forgotten, hidden and excluded.  Schools would often refuse to admit these children due to lack of understanding and resouces.

Through a concerted effort to raise awareness we have made a huge step forward.  Today, more schools are beginning to accomodate children with learning disabilities, while this is only the tip of the iceberg, it is a step in the right direction. Two years ago we started the 5K Run for Awareness, this was a huge success!  Having more than 150 runners both years, the community became aware and more programs for children with Special Needs began to spring up. Both summer camps and after school programs were now available in a community where none existed before.

Three years ago, the police department got involved and started to help sponsor the Special Olympics here on the island. Just last week all the children from the Special Needs community were invited to participate in receiving the Special Olympic Torch here on the island. All the children and their parents marched in a parade, again helping to raise awareness in the community.

While there is still a long road ahead of us, we have taken the first steps in the journey. It is becuase of people like yourself who have given to the program we have been able to provide this service and raise awareness.  We thank you so much for your support and remind you in this season of giving that without the gifting of sponsorship many of these students would not be able to afford to come to school. We are eternally grateful for your support in making a difference in the lives of these children. 

The Special Needs Program at Ambergris Caye Elementary School is second to none on this tiny island. Very often, children with Special Needs are not accepted into schools because the schools do not have the resources to accommodate the child.  Or, there is a lack of teachers with certification in Special Needs.  Whatever the reason, it was more than apparent that there was a huge void which needed to be filled.  So, four years ago Ambergris Caye Elementary School started a Special Needs program with the assistance of their administrator a trained psychologist.

Necessity was surely the "mother of invention" as the administrator, Ms. Ryan, was faced with the same dilemma other schools were faced with.  What do we do for children with "special needs"?  Do we take the easier road and not deal with the issue, or do we face the music and create the accommodations necessary to meet the needs.  "In all good conscience, there was only one answer to the question", states Ms. Ryan. "As a trained professional, I had to address the need."  So, Ambergris Caye Elementary set out on the journey to establish the first Special Needs program on the island.  

The first year the program was small, with only the one student, who sparked the inception of the program.  Ms. Ryan took on the role of the Special Needs teacher, in addition to role as principal, at the time.  Along with her colleague, Ms. Amanda Burgos, they took on the challenge of working with a little boy with autism.  While high functioning, this first student came to the school with no verbal skills. The first year is always the biggest challenge, but the team of two, Ryan and Burgos, created what is now a thriving program which accommodates 12-14 children with special needs. In a school where the total student population is approximately 100-110, this means that more than 10% of the student population falls into the special needs category.

As the word spread that Ambergris Caye Elementary School accepted children with special needs the program grew. By the second year there was a obvious need to hire a teacher to facilitate the program.  For the last two years the program has had a special needs teacher, with her Masters in Special Education.  This year, as we enter into our fifth year of the program, the goal is to do more inclusion into regular classrooms.  By doing this, the children are better socialized and can develop better interpersonal skills.

The program is ever evolving and will improve each year through the process.  Ryan states, "Every child deserves the right to an education, no matter what their capacity for learning is.  At ACES we are doing just that, giving each child the opportunity to become the best they can be."

This year has been a huge success for our Special Needs Program.  In addition to our designated Special Needs Classroom we have full inclusion of at least twenty students in geneal education classrooms.  Additionally, this year, ten of our teachers are continuing their education and are enrolled in a Bachelor's program which will also provide them certification in Special Needs.  

Next year promises to be even more rewarding as we develop our program to include some team teaching in classrooms who have children with Special Needs.  Team teaching will allow more one on one time with students who need remedial help in areas in which they are challenged.  Focusing on the basics and building sound foundations in Math, Phonics, Spelling, Grammer and Creative Writing.  

Continuing to raise awareness is an ongoing process within the community.  The understanding that children with Special Needs are able to learn. The objective is to make every child the best individual they can become.  Too often children with special needs are left at home and never engaged, thereby never being able to reach for their highest achievements. The staff at ACES is making a difference not only in the lives of these children but in the community as a whole. We continue to educate parents and community leaders about how much these children can learn and do to become productive citizens in the community.

Our program has grown tremendously in the last year and I have all of you to thank for that! We are now accommodating children with Autism, Down Syndrome, Visual Impairments, Physical Impairments and Speech and Language Disorders. Students are engaging in academic courses as well as life skills, social skills and speech.

Our latest project is our greenhouse. The greenhouse was built and screened in to keep away those pesky iguanas! Students collected recycled plastic containers which we cut and poked holes in. We were able to purchase some dirt which students used to plant the seeds. Each day the children take turns watering and maintaining the greenhouse. We hope to have cucumbers, peppers, basil, cilantro, parsley, tomatoes and flowers all very soon!

Next term, we will discuss healthy eating. This will involve food preparation and grocery shopping. Students will have the opportunity to visit local fruit stands and stores and practice purchasing their favorite healthy foods.

The student body at Ambergris Caye Elementary School has responded so positively to our special needs classroom despite some of the daily challenges we face. The children have been accepting and welcoming to all of our children with special needs. Each morning students greet each other and provide opportunities for social interactions. All of the students are so willing to help our special children, whether it be walking them to class, helping them purchase their lunch, pushing a wheelchair, playing during lunch time or giving them a hug when they’re having a difficult day. It is so heartwarming to be involved in such a positive and accepting school community.

I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your continued support. Special education is something that is relatively new to the island of Ambergris Caye. I meet so many children with special needs on a daily basis who are lost in the shuffle of large classroom sizes at the local public schools or do not attend school at all because of their needs. In a recent survey conducted in the community, 64.7% of teachers said that their school does not provide them with information on how to teach children with special needs. That is why these scholarships are so very important. Every child has a right to an education, a right to learn. The special education students at A.C.E.S. have reached so many major milestones and we will continue to work towards reaching our goals. We must continue to create awareness within the community, improve education and show people that having a disability does not define who a child is but is simply presents itself with obstacles that can be overcome.

Every child should have the right to an education, this should be a given.  However, there are still places in the world where the opportunity doesn't exist.  When you are a child with Special Needs in a thrid world or developing country the opportunities are even more limited. Last year Ambergris Caye Elementary School was blessed with the opportunity to open a Special Needs program, this is the only Special Needs Classroom on the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize.

The challenge here was to raise the awareness.  The first issue was acceptance by the community in large.  Cultrually the norm was for most children with special needs to be kept at home.  Unfortunately this limited their stimulation, thereby not allowing these children to reach their fullest potential.  We started with the very first "Run for Awareness" a 5k run organized by our Special Ed teacher, Sarah Freudenberg.  This event was a huge success with over 150 participants running through the streets of San Pedro!  

This year we are off to another great start.  The community is now backing up our program and they sponsored a Haunted House the week of Halloween with all proceeds going toward our Special Needs Program.  Every child needs the opportunity to become everything they can be, to be able to reach their fullest potential.  It is important for us as teachers and leaders to teach them to reach for the stars...

Every child is a shining star.  Help us, help them.  Especially during this season of thanks and giving, be thankful for your own children and give to those who's stars might be a little more difficult to reach.