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Village School
Villa Canales, Guatemala

https://village.edu.gt/

Our History!

Village began in October 1993 out of the desire of parents of CTE students to have the school expanded to
include elementary, middle and high school so that their children could continue with the same educational
methodology and philosophy throughout their formative years.

In November of that same year, we established the beliefs, objectives and human characteristics we wished to
instill in our students. These aspects would form the fundamental basis for the education of our future
leaders.

Around that same time, the formalities were begun before the Ministry of Education and the first students for
kindergarten, first and second grades were registered.

During 1994 the registration of students continued, along with the selection and hiring of academic and
administrative personnel.

In January 1995 the school year began with 64 students. In terms of the number of students, we met our goals
and achieved full enrollment in kindergarten, first and second grades.

Our Village family inaugurated in September 1999 the first phase of the new campus located at Kilometer
25.5 Carretera a El Salvador. This was one of our greatest achievements since we were able to offer our
students first-rate facilities, modern technology and an active learning methodology. At that time we had 450
students from first through ninth grades.

Since Village moved to its current location in carretera a El Salvador, it has continued to grow. In 2003 the
gymnasium was inaugurated, providing our students with spacious sports facilities.

In April 2004, the Resource Center opened its doors to students and teachers. The Center is equipped with the
latest b00ks and periodicals, computers, internet, overhead projectors, and interactive boards.

In March 2005, the first phase of the cafeteria was inaugurated, which provides students with a proper
environment for satisfying their nutritional needs.

Over the years, Village grew and was able to add one grade each school year and in the 2003-2004 school
year it had its first graduating class of future leaders headed towards various universities both locally and
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abroad.

Mission

Village School builds leaders by implementing innovative methodologies and strategies, and providing
students with superior facilities and innovative resources.
The School actively builds an integrated world view for both Guatemalan and international students, and
facilitates the development of academic, scientific, multilingual, physical, and moral development and growth.
At Village School, the goal is to develop young people who grow in a framework of ethical and participatory
excellence to become active protagonists in the social and economic processes of a democratic country.

Vision
Village School develops leaders of integrity who are free, responsible, and who demonstrate the ability to
overcome challenges in a changing society.

Beliefs
We believe in freedom of human beings as a foundation for all social organizations.
We believe in economic freedom and free enterprise as the basic means for personal and collective success
within the society.
We believe in respect for the law and authority as a framework for individual and collective conduct. We
believe in mutual respect as a basis for society.

Flexible Credit Curriculum

Village School, one of the biggest schools in Guatemala, has always been at the forefront in education. With
modernism that promotes and creates academic opportunities that go hand in hand with today’s professional
and individual needs, our new flexible credit high school program is our latest innovation. This curriculum is
actually well-known in other parts of the world, but it is relatively new in our country. With its flexible credit
format, this program pays attention to our students’ personal and professional needs, interests and future
plans. The idea is to provide each of our students with a chance for them to have high quality standards and to
allow them to actively participate in their education.

The program lasts 8 semesters (four years), and this allows students to take the necessary courses offered in
the curricular system. With the help of an academic advisor, students are able to choose the courses that must
take as well as the ones they are interested in. Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education, which is
why they are also invited to take part in this process. Together, parents, students and academic advisors
assign courses for each semester, taking into account the student’s ability tests, their academic record, the
curriculum, and their future plans. In order to guarantee that our students take the right courses and have the
correct amount of credits, Village School advises that students and academic advisors meet every semester
and make any necessary modifications according to each student’s progress and future plans.
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Besides taking students interests and needs into consideration, Village School follows the Guatemalan
Ministry of Education programs and standards as well as those of CITA (The Commission on International
and Trans-Regional Accreditation). Hence the need to have three different types of course for students to
take: the red courses are the ones students must take, the blue courses, which are the obligatory but optional
courses, and the green courses which are the electives. Another important aspect of our program has to do
with the fact that whenever a student flunks a course, they may take the whole course all over again, instead of
just taking some make-up or remedial final exam. These make-up courses have to be taken during summer
school or during the regular school year in a special schedule as an extracurricular class.
We invite you to come and learn more about our programs and our school in general.

In the next three years, a thousand educational institutions from all over the world will be selected and
associated with the schools of the Federal Republic of Germany; 500 of these schools will also be affiliated with
the Goethe-Institut. The first contract with one of these schools in Guatemala was signed on February 26, 2009
with Village School.

The project, Schools: Partner for The Future, was created by the German Foreign Ministry, Frank Walter
Steinmeier together with the Goethe-Institut, the Central Office for Schools Abroad, The German Academic
Exchange Service and the Pedagogical Exchange Service. Coordinated by the German Foreign Ministry, this
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project aims to create a 1000-school net around the world affiliated with the Federal Republic of Germany.
These schools are characterized for having high standards in their teaching of German as a foreign language as
well as transmitting information about Germany in general. The net of international schools, as well as those
schools that offer the Deutsches Sprachdiplom will be expanded and it will include 500 more schools
selected by the Goethe-Institut. The project’s goal is to work directly with schools in countries where the
teaching of German is not very extensive.

The Pedagogy Counselor for the Goethe-Institut in Mexico, Susana de Kuthy, and the General Director of
Village School Ing. Antonio Peyre signed the accreditation documents that distinguish Village School as the
first affiliated urban Guatemalan School on Thursday October 26 2009. The German Consul Sr. Norbert
Eichler highlighted the fact that this agreement will strengthen the relations between Guatemala and Germany,
and that it will benefit students and teachers as well. Susana de Kuthy expressed that the project, Schools:
Partner for The Future will allow students to live and experience firsthand what it is to interact in a globalized
world. For Germany this is chance to have long-term partners around the world that will be able to learn
German as well as their culture. Both students and teachers will have high support as well as good quality
classes and exchange programs in Germany.

Numbers and Facts

• 117 German schools around the world and 440 schools from other countries that offer the Deutsches
Sprachdiplom are already part of the net of affiliated schools. The Goethe-Institut is seeking 500 more
schools and the goal is to at least have 1000 affiliated schools in the next three years.
• 45 million Euros is the initial amount of money that the German Foreign Ministry plans to invest in this
program; The Goethe-Institut receives 19.8 million Euros to get their own programs running.
• 29 experts in education were chosen by the Goethe-Institut and sent around the world to select schools
to be part of this program.
• 8 courses took place last summer (2008); 457 students from around the world participated in these
courses.
• 426 teachers attended these courses.
• 120 scholarships (twice as many as last year) will be granted so foreign students can attend a university
in Germany.

Education opens new perspectives – learning new languages broadens people’s horizons.
In our affiliated schools around the world we expect to do more than just learning another language, we want to
encourage students to be interested in one another; learning about cultures and in understanding others; having
an open mind when facing cultural diversity; and to respect individuals and their specific characteristics.

Methodology

Our teaching methodology is specially characterized by being nontraditional; it is also part of the constructivist
school. Theory is a small part each lesson, and students spend most of their class time actively participating in an
environment that is conducive to learning.
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Each lesson is planned and taught according to the following five stages:
Experience
Conceptualization
Documentation and Amplification
Theorization
Application / Evaluation
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Objectives:
• To foster sports as a healthy way to have a good time among parents, teachers, Village students and
students from other schools in Guatemala.
• To create and strengthen friendship among students from different schools in Guatemala.
• To motivate students to try hard, persevere and be self discipline.
• To foster sportsmanship and fair play.

Preparation:
Theory: Academic and Curricular Programs
Practice: Events and other Cultural Resources
Morals: School’s Personal Growth Program
Physical: Athletics Program

Values:
Integrity
Character
Ambition
Passion
Compassion
Competitiveness
Pride

Sports

At Village school, we believe that sports are crucial in the neurological, cognitive and socio-emotional growth or
our students.

Volleyball
At Village School, volleyball is one of the sports that has achieved many great things. That is why we invite our
students to be part of one of our school teams. Volleyball practice for elementary and middle school students is
on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 2:30 to 3:30; and for high school students practice is on Tuesdays and
Thursdays.

For further information, please contact our athletics coordinator, Hector Giron.

Basketball
We have official-sized basketball courts and our program includes practices and specific techniques for this
particular sport. We encourage our students to be part of one of our school teams. Basketball practice for
elementary and middle school students is on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 2:30 to 3:30; and practice for high
school students is on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Contamos con canchas oficiales para la práctica y con recursos didácticos adecuados para el mejor aprendizaje.

For further information, please contact our athletics coordinator, Hector Giron.
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Baseball
Baseball is one of our strong areas at Village School. We have witnessed the birth of great baseball players that
have later on gone and joined national teams in different categories.
Come and join us.
Baseball practice for elementary and middle school students is on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 2:30 to 3:30;
and practice for high school students is on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For further information, please contact our athletics coordinator, Hector Giron.

Soccer
Soccer is a very popular and well accepted sport all over the world, Guatemala and of course at Village School
as well. We have specialized coaches for each level.
We invite you to join our school teams. Soccer practice for elementary and middle school students is on Mondays
and Wednesdays, from 2:30 to 3:30; and practice for high school students is on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For further information, please contact our athletics coordinator, Hector Giron.

American Football
American Football is a very popular at Village School as well. We have specialized coaches for each level.
We invite you to join our school teams. Football practice for elementary and middle school students is on
Mondays and Wednesdays, from 2:30 to 3:30; and practice for high school students is on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For further information, please contact our athletics coordinator, Hector Giron.

Levels:

Elementary School goes from first through fourth grade, ages 6 – 11; Middle School goes from fifth through
eighth grade, average ages 11 – 14; and High School goes from ninth through twelfth, average ages 15 – 18.

Methodology
Our teaching methodology is specially characterized by being nontraditional; it is also part of the constructivist
school. Theory is a small part each lesson, and students spend most of their class time actively participating in an
environment that is conducive to learning.

Each lesson is planned and taught according to the following five stages: Experience, Conceptualization,
Documentation and Amplification
Theorization, and Application / Evaluation.

Learning languages is at the core of Village School’s curriculum. That is why we have Math, Science and
Language Arts Classes, as well as French and German courses. These last two are taught as a third language and
are directly supervised by the Alianza Francesa and the Instituto Vong Humbolt.
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Students
Student enrollment is 677 in grades 1st -12th, 211 are in grades nine through twelve. Students represent 20
countries* (80% are Guatemalans and 20% from other countries such as: USA, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia,
Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Japan, Korea, Israel, Arabia). The majority of the students live in
neighborhoods that are contiguous to the school and represent people from medium to high socioeconomic,
educational, and cultural background.

FACULTY consists of about 85 Teachers (34 male and 51 Female). Each and every one of them holds a university
degree in their filed and five of them hold masters degrees. The Village School has a mentor program that
encourages student and faculty interaction in academics and extracurricular activities. Faculty is diverse
culturally; it includes 7 Americans and Canadians, 5 Europeans, 41 host nationals, and 9 from other Latin
American countries (México, Costa Rica Colombia) and 1 Asian.

ACADEMIC CALENDAR goes from August through May and the school year consists of 198 school days.
These are organized in four quarters for elementary and middle school, and two nineteen weeks academic
semesters in high school. The school day in elementary is divided into four 65-minute class periods, and two 30-
minute study hall periods; and in middle and high school six 60-minute class periods. In high school, each student
takes 7 to 10 courses per semester, except seniors who are required by the Guatemalan Ministry of Education to
take “Seminario” and “Temario” (Graduation Research and Community Service Project) in addition to their
regular class load.

Contacts:

direccion.general@village.edu.gt

direccion.ejecutiva@village.edu.gt

direccion.academica@village.edu.gt

direccion.administrativa@village.edu.gt

highschool@village.edu.gt

middleschool@village.edu.gt

elementary@village.edu.gt

admisiones@village.edu.gt

collegecounselor@village.edu.gt
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Curriculum:

The curriculum in high school is flexible; students may choose their courses according to their abilities and
plans for higher education. To ensure that Village Students get basic skills and knowledge, our curriculum
includes courses that are mandatory in all academic areas: science, math, language, idioma espanol, social
studies, and P.E. Students can also choose to take elective courses and for example take advanced courses or
basic ones.
High school students’ curriculum follows a program that is coherent and congruent with the school’s goals,
philosophy, vision and methodology. Furthermore, our program includes a wide variety of courses that prepare
students for higher educational programs.
In order for students to achieve their goals, our program encompasses methodology, pedagogy and motivation
as key aspects to guarantee success in teaching and learning according to the students’ interests, learning styles,
and multiple intelligences.
Students who fail a course do not have to be held back; they only need to re-take that course in remedial or
summer time.
High students who fail a course do not have to take make-up exams to pass their course; this is done in order to
ensure that the program’s goals are reached.
Another pedagogical aspect taken into account in high school is the fact that our program does take into account
the students’ plans for college.
Motivation is crucial for each student because they are expected to be active participants when choosing their
subjects.
When they actively take part in this process, they are eager and willing to take responsibility as well as credit
their success.
In order to graduate, high school students must have the minimum amount of credits; these credits are earned
with each course students pass. The amount of credits may vary from course to course.
The students’ GPA is an average of all the courses and their final averages from 9t to 12th.
When students graduate at the end of our program, they get two diplomas: one from the Guatemalan Ministry of
Education, and a High School Diploma that allows students to go to any university abroad.
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COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PLACEMENT

On average, about 70% of Village School graduates attend Guatemalan universities and about 30% attend
universities elsewhere.
All Village students are prepared for college entrance.

Summary of college acceptances abroad in the past 5 years:

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GRADING SCALE

ESCALA
LETRAS GPA
NUMERICA
A 3.5-4 90-100
B 2.5-3.4 80-89
C 1.5-2.4 70-79
D 0.7-1.4 60-69
F 0 0-50

Village School provides a college preparatory curriculum which meets requirements for both the US High
School Diploma and the Guatemala “Bachiller en Ciencias y Letras” Diploma. For the past four years, the
school has been offering an open curriculum which is both demanding and enriching.

Neurophysiologic

Sports: Soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, roller hockey, tennis, American Football
Arts: Painting, Theater, dancing, sculpture, music, singing

Neurocognitive

Business: Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship

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Social Studies: Philosophy, History of Guatemala, World History, US Government, US History, Sociology
Science: Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, Anatomy, Astronomy, Oceanography, Physics, Ecology

Socio-emotional
Fine Arts: painting, Theater, Dancing, Sculpture, Music, Singing

Neuro-Linguistic
Foreign languages: French, German, Mandarin
Spanish: Oral, Redacción Creativa, Redacción Avanzada, Gramática, Literatura Hispánica, Literatura Universal.
English: Advanced Writing, Creative Writing, British Literature, Journalism, Speed reading, Public Speaking,
American Literature, Literary Analysis.
Accreditation

Each school year students achieve great rewards for their efforts. As the years go by their experiences from one
year to the next support their goals. A school organization such as The Village School is no different.

July 26, 2006 remains forever in the history of the school as a very special date. CITA, Commission for
International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (located on the Arizona State University Research Center in
Tempe, AZ, USA) convened its accreditation Board and, after reading the Final Report of the Accreditation
Visitation Team, voted to award The Village School accreditation as a 1st through 12th grade international
school !

What does it mean to be Accredited?

As a school which exists to help young people develop excellence in their academic, physical.eadership, and
personal character development, The Village School wants their graduates to know that the educational
experience they have had here has helped to prepare them to go out into the world of university studies and
employment, not only here in Guatemala but wherever their goals are set.

Accreditation by an international professional association supports graduates in their goals. The word,
Accreditation, means trustworthiness, attesting to the value of something, to give credit to what another is
doing.

By being accredited, fellow professional educators are saying that according to strict educational standards of
quality, Village School has a curriculum program and facilities and environment which is trustworthy and of
educational value. Universities and employers in Guatemala and international locations will know by seeing the
Accreditation logo that the individual before them is well prepared for continuing studies and achieving future
goals in the context of a changing and dynamic world.

Congratulations to all the students, staff, and administration who participated in the accreditation process!

Since 2006, Village School Accreditation has successfully been renewed every 5 years!