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SJSU team members meet with Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT) faculty in the remote village of Cusmapa, Nicaragua.

In March 2008, staff at the non-profit Fabretto Children's Foundation asked the SJSU Writing Center for assistance in developing an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) curriculum at its educational centers in Nicaragua. The Writing Center agreed, and a team of five faculty and graduate students began work on what would become the goals and objectives of the endeavor. On April 21, 2008, Congressman Mike Honda announced the launch of the new initiative to support Fabretto's schools and teachers in Nicaragua. This initiative has become the Fabretto/Puerta San Jose Partnership. The Fabretto Children's Foundation and Puerta San Jose are committed to improving education for disadvantaged children in Nicaragua. Recently, Fabretto/Puerta San Jose was earmarked by the Appropriations Committe in the US House of Representatives.

Through the partnership, Puerta San Jose is committed to facilitating the development and sustainability of Fabretto's English language teaching program. The goals are to

• assist Fabretto leaders in establishing an EFL curriculum that specifically addresses the needs of Fabretto students, both primary and secondary;
• create a model for ongoing professional learning for Fabretto's EFL teachers so that they can effectively enhance student learning of English;
• create an exchange program for Fabretto teachers to attend professional development courses at San José State University, and for students from SJSU to do volunteer teaching and other service learning projects at Fabretto centers;
• establish a professional network within Nicaragua to exchange resources and offer support to help Nicaragua's poorest children. The network will include the Fabretto Centers, US Embassy, Peace Corps, NICA-TESOL, and universities;
• secure funding that will allow the partnership to reach and expand the above goals.

Fabretto/Puerta San Jose Partnership Fact Sheet
Fabretto/Puerta San Jose Partnership 2008-2009 Report

 

If you would like to contribute to the partnership, please contact the SJSU Writing Center.

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