Presbyterian Schools of Belize
Training the next generation of Christian leaders for Belize is the mission of the Presbyterian Schools. There are three schools which are administered by the Presbyterian Church, located in the northern Corozal district of Belize. All instruction at these schools is in English, which is the official language of Belize. Each school is administered by a board of directors made up of parents and church leaders appointed by the Presbytery of Belize.
Presbyterian Day School in Cristo Rey village is the oldest the schools. It was started by missionaries Tom and Helen Lacey in 1975. Presently, PDS has 120 students, from kindergarten through 8th grade. Dorothy Meyer is the headmistress of the school. Dorothy is a missionary of the Christian Reformed Church in the U.S. The remainder of the teachers are Belizeans, many of whom are former students of PDS.
Here is a report from Dorothy Meyer, in PDF format: It's Saturday
A second elementary school, the Presbyterian School of Concepcion village, has been under construction for the last six years. Over 200 students from kindergarten through 8th grade, are enrolled. The headmistress of the school is Esther Melendez.
Cornerstone Presbyterian High School is the newest Presbyterian school. Located on a 20 acre campus between San Narciso and Concepcion on the Northern Highway, construction began in 2003. As of March, 2005, Cornerstone has 110 students in the 9th and 10th grade (known as First and Second Form in Belize). Albert Zantingh is the headmaster of the school. Plans for the future of the high school is to add a grade each year and eventually include a junior college and Bible college. The campus will have two 3-story classroom buildings, athletic fields, an open-walled assembly area, an astronomical observatory, and additional buildings for vocational education. For much more information on Cornerstone Presbyterian High School, please visit this web page: www.presbyterianschoolsbelize.com
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1. Your church can organize a team to come to Belize and help construction at the schools. For more information on team projects, contact Mark Thompson at Mission to the World, mark.thompson (at) mtw (dot) org.
2. Volunteer teachers are needed at the schools, both to do direct instructing and to help train Belizean teachers. Persons who can help in small business / micro-enterprise instruction are especially needed. For more information, please contact Carla Stevens, cstevens (at) btl (dot) net.
3. Financial contributions may be made to the schools. For more information, please contact Dorothy Meyer, dlmeyer2 (at) btl (dot) net, or Albert Zantingh, therockjesus (at) gmail (dot) com.
A letter from Albert Zantingh, principal of Cornerstone Presbyterian High School:
January 10, 2008
Dear friends and supporters,
I wish to extend to you a warm greeting from all of
the staff and students at Cornerstone. The purpose of this letter is to
share with you a current financial need. Cornerstone
is in its fifth year of existence. We
are young and growing. Because we
are young and growing, we did not take into account all the financial
implications of managing a NEW high school.
Let me explain. By
the grace and blessings of God, we have run in the black for the first four
years of service to the Belizean community. Along the way, people have
contributed to the school with goods, services, and even monies.
I was simply amazed and continue to be amazed by God’s provision.
He knew our needs long before we did.
This is our fifth year. New
financial challenges have surfaced. We
have witnessed an increase in the cost of living, electricity and transportation
costs, and infrastructure and maintenance costs.
In addition, we have increased costs associated with the educational
programs offered at Cornerstone – more programs, more teachers.
Finally, we have experienced a decrease in government grant contributions
to students. These last two
challenges are of particular importance. In
previous years, our staffing payroll and the contributions from the Government
of Belize balanced. Now with a
decreased government grant and an increase in teachers’ salaries for programs,
the monthly government income no longer balances with salary expenses.
Now we must dig into the operational funds raised through tuition.
We need your help to get us through the next three years until we have
put into place a more sustainable financial plan.
Would you be willing to support Cornerstone? Contact me for details at e-mail address therockjesus (at) gmail (dot) com. or 011-501-622-8381 (my cell) or write to our address – Box 232 Corozal Town, Belize, Central America. We value your prayer support as well. If you are willing to support through prayer or are already praying, let me know that as well.
Thank you very much for your support.
In His service,
Albert Zantingh