A document describing and extolling the Peace Corps\u27 School to School program. The program is described by the then current Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver in 1964 as:  a new program in which the Peace Corps will make it possible for a United States school to sponsor the building of a school overseas. The school in this country will raise the money to be used by the host country community to purchase construction materials . -- [p.6

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University of Memphis University of Memphis Digital Commons Miscellaneous/Other Documents Peace Corps 1967 Peace Corps' School-to-School Program Peace Corps (U.S.) Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/govpubs-peacecorps-misc Peace Corps School~tOmScHool Program RECEIVED JUN 1 2 2023 OCT 012010 libraries usauKS* 'EPOSIT ITEM i / 8 '  "Upon the education of its people, the fate of this country depends." This sign hangs in a classroom in El Salvador. It could be anywhere in the developing world. Throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America the need and the children are the same. Many schools and school-related groups in the United States realize that a desperate need does exist for classrooms which will enable the young people in the developing countries to begin or continue their education—an education that could decide the fate of their country. And they want to do something about it. Now interested schools can participate in building classrooms where no school existed before and share in an exciting adventure in mutual understanding and respect with their host country schoolmates and friends through the Peace Corps School-to-School Program The idea There is wide agreement that help to developing nations should place particular emphasis on private initiative and self-help. But how does a school which wants to do something to further this idea actually become involved in a meaningful project? In this frame of reference PTA President Gene Bradley of the , J ' -a* - . & - < • -VvJ . .•••,•• .7^ '. •5 1l ?&*'• ' '• . «»i <* -' »• ;v \ • »«'„*»"•.' Si » " <« N^N^'-^V:" xVyj 'V,v. V x* . --4fBfe : h > CN School-to-SchpoLsite at La Quebrada, Arequipa, Peru •ftr »* ,• — v v. * w * . -V -Rosendale School (Schenectady, New York) asked a govern­ment official what he could do with $750, the amount raised by his local PTA. The reply: "I'd build a school. I don't mean sending in con­struction crews. No, I mean buijing the cement and the block-making machines and providing a couple of supervisors to over­see the construction. I mean self-helpAnd so the idea for the School-to-School program was born. The Peace Corps agreed to participate in the pilot project between the Rosendale School and Casablanca, Colombia. Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver announced the Peace Corps School-to-School Program in April 1964 as a "major inter­national self-help program." His announcement stated that, "School-to-School is a program that is uniquely suited to the Peace Corps' idea of self-help. School-to-School is a new program in which the Peace Corps will make it possible for a United States school to sponsor the building of a school overseas. The school in this country will raise the money to be used by the host country community to purchase construction materials. (It is estimated that this will normally amount to $1000. In some countries, how­ever, due to higher material costs or the necessity for heat, for example, $1500 to $2000 is required.) Members of the host country community will then work with the Peace Corps Volun­teers to build the. schools. "The School-to-School program offers an exciting new avenue for better understanding between Americans and the peoples of the Peace Corps countries. It is a program which can potentially have great results around the world in furthering the purposes for which the Peace Corps was created. It is based not on hand­outs, but on self-help for community development." Responses by American communities to this announcement testified to the timeliness of the idea and the willingness of the American people everywhere to join with the Peace Corps in its global mission. Thousands of requests for information have been received from schools, student councils, graduating classes, boards of education and PTA's. To date, thanks to the initiative of these schools, in more than 20 countries in the developing world schools are actively being constructed. President Johnson welcomed the School-to-School idea as an expression of America's ideas and ideals at work. In an article appearing in the New York Herald Tribune, columnist Roscoe Drummond "linked the Peace Corps School-to-School program with President Kennedy's great challenge: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." He concluded: "One good answer to the question is: 'Help to build a school'." Participation in the program A prime objective of the School-to-School program is to get a U.S. school meaningfully involved with a school in another country. It is hoped that in working toward a common goal, the children of the two communities will become interested in learn­ing more about each other and their respective countries; that through the exchange of letters and ideas a foundation of mutual understanding and respect will be laid between the students, which will continue after the actual school is completed. Because this close relationship between the students is the key to the School-to-School Program, the following qualifications for partici­pation in the program have been established: Who may participate: 1. Individual schools, classrooms, student bodies and other school groups may participate. 2. School-related organizations such as the PTA, a specific school or school district may participate providing the students participate in the fund raising. 3. Local community organizations may participate providing they do so in conjunction with a school. Procedure for participation in the School-to-School program First step: Once a school or organization has decided to undertake a School-to-School project, it notifies the School-to-School Office, Peace Corps, Washington, D.C., with an estima­tion of the amount to be raised and the time it will take. Second step: When the contribution is available, the sponsor­ing school again writes the School-to-School office, with details on the fund raising, amount available, etc. At this time the School-to-School office will review the requests coming in from the field and try to match the available contribution with an appropriate request. Third step: When 3 project has been selected, the sponsoring school will be contacted by School-to-School and asked to send in its contribution. Fourth step: Once the contribution has been received in Washington and sent to the appropriate overseas Peace Corps Director, that Director will write the sponsoring USA community about the exact location, details on the project and the name of the person who will be handling the correspondence. This will be the beginning of the school-to-school liaison. As work on the school progresses, there will be many opportunities for the ex­change of information between the overseas community and the contributing U.S. students. The Peace Corps has set up eight strict conditions that must be met before the money is turned over to the overseas com­munity: 1. The community must demonstrate that it can organize to 10 build the school. This ability can be assessed by the community's former efforts in carrying out self-help programs. 2. The community must obtain a suitable lot and have clear title to the land. 3. Sound architectural and construction plans must be drawn. In general, the regulations of the country's Ministry of Education will be followed in approval of the site and plans. 4. The community must prove its serious intention to undertake the project by providing at least 25 per cent of the total invest­ment and completing the foundation of the building before School-to-School funds are used. 5. All labor in the actual construction of the school must be provided by the people of the community. 6. Local responsible authorities must give firm assurance that at least one teacher will be available to run the school. 7. The community must understand and agree that the donat­ing organization is not expected to provide anything more than funds for the construction materials. 8. The political and social situation in the community must be sufficiently stable to give a reasonable assurance that construction will progress in an orderly manner to completion. Hotv should money be raised? Because it is important that the students take an active interest in the project, the money should be raised by the students them­selves. Each school is free to use its own ideas and methods in conducting the drive, but it is suggested that the fund-raising activities emphasize international affairs. For example, the U.S. school which sponsored the pilot project held a fair at the local elementary school. The children manned the booths and helped plan the games. Handicraft exhibits from Colombia, where the school was to be built, were shown at the fair. What to expect in return This is an adventure in international understanding. Partici­pants in the School-to-School Program will share in the tide of rising expectations. They will play an integral part in helping fulfill two of the Peace Corps' primary objectives: to help pro­mote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served, and to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the American people. It is hoped that the two schools will develop a liaison despite differences in education, language and culture. To help estab­lish the link, the Volunteer at the site will send a descrip­tion of the project, together with snapshots, to the students of the sponsoring school. He will suggest to the new teacher that she might like to write to the principal of the American school to see if further exchanges would be useful and possible. In addition, an excellent opportunity is afforded American students to develop pen-pal relationships as well as a real understanding 11 of the interests, the problems and challenges of life in the host country. As Sargent Shriver said: "Peace Corps School-to-School should develop in the children of both lands a deeper awareness of the world, a keener sense of democracy, geography, compas­sion and understanding." —two letters quoted in their entirety from the Rosendale-Casa-blanca school—the pilot project. "I am 10 years old and I am a very poor boy. I would like to have a friend of a North American boy. I hope he will answer this note. I live very far and am going to eat my lunch on my bicycle. 1 am three hours on the road."— Luis Eduardo Foreo "My name is Junio Garzon. I am the smallest boy in the school but the most undisciplined and I can't learn much because of being so playful. I'd like a North American boy to write to me. In order to write this note it's up to another classmate to hold my hand." The response to School-to-School Overseas The program has aroused an enthusiastic response from com-munities overseas. Shortly after Sargent Shriver announced the program to the field, requests for both information and assistance came from countries throughout the developing world. The fol­lowing excerpts illustrate the need for schools in these countries. "The need for the school is indeed absolute. There has never been a school in the village. The children in the community have never gone to schools in other areas because of long distance to and overcrowded conditions of such schools. "The interest of the people is extremely high . . . voluntary work parties have been organized. The peanut harvest has just been completed so that many of the villagers are free for the next four or five months to contribute their time and effort." Senegal, West Africa "The need hi Guarancan is great . . . about 80 children are not receiving an education . . . and many simple health habits of basically educated people are not to be seen. A basic education for the children would be a large step in the right direction for Guarancan. The interest. . . is very high. The people have already donated some money to the project, they have formed work committees, land has been donated, the lot for the school has been cleared, rocks and sand have been carted and piled, the foundation for the school has been laid, . . . and the Gene Bradley and Peace Corps people with the help of the Peace Corps members are searching desperately for funds with which to continue the project." Colombia, South America "This is in a coastal belt where, during the rainy season, there is an average of nearly an inch of rain per day, and you can imagine the conditions for these little children . . . The Minister of Education told me last week that no more primary schools can be built by the government at this time, although more than half of the primary-school age children in the country are without classrooms . . . Please assure our friends that their help is much needed and will be well employed." Ivory Coast, West Africa "The village, as is typical of the small Honduran village, has never had any form of educational facilities within easy reach— the nearest public school is overcrowded and an hour and a half away. The citizens are eager for a school of their own and are working with the Peace Corps Volunteer to build a road to the village in order to facilitate delivery of building materials for the new school." Honduras, Central America "In Pajal there are between 70 and 80 school age children who have never attended a school of any kind. The parents, think­ing of the future of their children, have a deep desire to build a school ... on hearing of the Peace Corps School-to-School pro-gram they came to us, with the earnest desire that we help them with the kinds of materials that they could not possibly afford." Guatemala, Central America "The Barrio leaders propose to erect a permanent school build­ing to provide classrooms for the students who are now studying in one incomplete, permanent building and in one quite flimsy, palm and bamboo building. During the rainy season the building is not usable because the roof is full of holes. Presently even the principal's office is used as a classroom." Philippines At Home Equally strong was the response from American communities, schools and private citizens. The following excerpts illustrate that such a joint effort is more than a contribution to an overseas community; it is an investment in international understanding. "The School-to-School program . . . strikes me as a 'promising new idea' with great potential. Through the School-to-School program you are helping inspire a much wider voluntary partici­pation by the private sector. To the degree that we can realize this personal participation in national programs, our whole thrust toward progress and peace is strengthened." President Lyndon B. Johnson Superintendent of Schools: 'The School-to-School project initiated by the Rosendale FT A is most significant because it gives the pupils, teachers and parents an opportunity to share in a meaningful educational experience, which provides many chances for a deepening of the essential values of democratic life ... It has my enthusiastic support." Dr. Rexford Souder, Superintendent of Schools, Niskayuna, Schenectady, New York. School district: "Our participation (37 schools in Scranton) became a reality at such a pace that it still seems almost like a dream! ... I was downtown shopping this afternoon . . . and it seemed as if the whole town was talking about 'the school in the Ivory Coast'—at least if the clerks in the store are a fair sample . . . Mr. Shriver made a tremendous impact on Scranton . . . and the check for the school ($1663.77, collected in a single day) seemed a wonderful way to say 'thank you' . . ." Mrs. Patricia Young, Scranton, Penn­sylvania. Eighth grade class: "Recognizing our position in the world as junior citizens of to-16 day and leaders of tomorrow, we are interested in helping others to help themselves ... We have learned the importance of edu­cation . . . we wish to present the enclosed check . . ." Members of 8th Grade, Highland Park School, Highland Park, Illinois. Student Council: "In searching for a new project, the School-to-School program tops the list.. . an extremely rewarding experience for all parties involved . . . We feel . . . that the benefits derived from such a program could be as meaningful and valuable as the three R's." Stephen M. Barnard, Gladiola Elementary School, Wyoming, Michigan. Business leader: "The School-to-School program gets to the heart of the educa­tional problem which underlies all others ... It has the addi­tional advantage that it cuts through the impersonality of govern­ment programs to enable individual participation . . . Nothing that has been suggested in the field of improved foreign aid has impressed me as much ... it could do more to strengthen the resolution of the American people to play a constructive role in these troubled days than anything I can think of." Leon E. Hick­man, Executive Vice President, ALCOA. From the host country officials and Peace Corps Volunteers the response has been encouraging, enthusiastic and challenging. Host country regional official: "The construction ... is really impressive. To construct schools in a country where illiteracy is a compromising sore is a beauti­ful gesture on the part of the Volunteers for which all of us Brazilians are very grateful. It's been a pleasure to testify to the work of those Volunteers connected with the School-to-School program." Jose Pacheco Pimenta, Office of the Presidency, Sao Francisco Valley, Brazil Peace Corps Volunteer Leader: "(Re pilot project in Brazil) In all modesty I can say that both of the classrooms are constructed to last. . . 40 students have writ­ten letters (and will send handmade dolls) . . . School-to-School has done a terrific job in its program. Edsel Ford High School (Dearborn, Michigan) has become a part of Santa Maria da Vitoria literally." Patrick J. Harrington, Bahia, Brazil Host country cabinet official: "Apart from making a contribution to the school construction programme in this country, it would, I am sure, help build bridges of understanding between the peoples of our two democ-18 racies. In hundreds of village communities in India the local people have enthusiastically come forward to build up self-reli­ance, assisted at best only on a limited scale by Government. Your own programme fits in very well with our pattern of rural development." S. K. Dey, Minister, Community Development and Cooperation, India "The foundation of any state is the education of its youth.99 DIOGENES Interested participants should write— Peace Corps School-to-School Program Washington, D.C. 20525 

Peace Corps\u27 School-to-School Program

https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/context/govpubs-peacecorps-misc/article/1019/viewcontent/PeaceCorps_SchooltoSchool_1967.pdf

Peace Corps\u27 School-to-School Program

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