“Go Global, Be Local”

With its pristine beaches, lush rainforests and abundant wildlife, Costa Rica is a favorite destination for ecotourists from around the globe. Yet thousands of the country’s children attend schools that lack books, desks and even electricity. Three thousand miles away, a global partnership helps Ravenscroft students make a difference for these communities — and discover how much their participation gives them in return.

Since 2007, Ravenscroft has partnered with Immersion Abroad Costa Rica to support a local school. Ravenscroft’s involvement has two distinct components: a market hosted by third- and fourth-grade students to raise money for improvements at partner schools, and a Middle School service trip that combines cultural immersion with a hands-on sustainability project.

In the 2018 artisan market, brownie salesman Brett Jordan ’27 looks on as Xander Lamond ’27 demonstrates the elasticity of the slime he’s selling for his project.

“A perfect example of learning by doing”

“The integration of the service trip and the artisan market is a perfect example of learning by doing,” Jessica Yonzon, Ravenscroft’s Director of Global Education, said. “The programs offer opportunities for students to lead themselves to learn, appreciate and understand global issues and cultures; lead with others by collaborating to raise awareness and funds to support their service efforts in Costa Rica; and change their world by taking action to maintain a sustainable partnership with communities there.”

The partnership evolved from separate trips Lower School teachers Denise Simpson and Michelle Schulze took through UNC World View, a program designed to help educators develop a global mind-set. Both were deeply moved by the experience.

“Many schools are unbelievably undersupplied,” Simpson said. “On my first trip back, one of the things we bought was a refrigerator.”

A fourth-grade teacher at the time, Simpson wanted her students to connect with Costa Rica’s schoolchildren. To coincide with an economics unit, she created a market where Ravens could make, advertise and sell products such as jewelry, soap and artwork to fellow students. The market project, which was expanded the following year to include third-graders, consistently raises several thousand dollars each spring to support partner schools.

Student entrepreneurs Jackson Burgess, Christopher Jackson and Liam King, then third-graders, make their sales pitch to a prospective customer at the 2020 market, which took place shortly before the school’s shift to remote learning in March.

Schulze traveled to Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 2016 through an international study grant. “I stayed with a host family and had a wonderful experience,” she said.

A year later, she helped chaperone students on a service trip, purchasing supplies and athletic equipment for several local schools. They visited various markets; toured chocolate, coffee and pineapple plantations; and saw wildlife being cared for at Zoo Ave, a rescue center in San José. Everyone enjoyed the trip, but Schulze felt it lacked one vital component.

“I wished the kids had had more of an immersive experience by staying in local homes,” she said. “[That experience] forces them to be everything we hope they will be, based on our Lead From Here framework — to lead themselves, be communicative and be culturally inclusive.”

Since then, IACR has helped organize memorable homestay experiences as part of the trip. During the day, students typically visit the Ad Astra Rocket Company, tour a geothermal plant, hike to waterfalls and take cooking and dancing classes. In the evenings, they join their host families for an authentic meal, play games and learn Spanish.

“Curious to see the impact”

The group also contributes to a sustainability project for the schools, such as building chicken coops and planting gardens. Partner schools have used funds to install electricity in classrooms, purchase ceiling fans and provide shoes for students. The money also supports the local economy, such as when farmers buy fruits, vegetables and chickens for the projects.

Annabelle Hunter ’24 and Alexa Gillon ’24 said that their participation in the Lower School market — where they made and sold hairbows and bookmarks, respectively — helped convince them to participate in the service trip as Middle School students in 2019.

“It sounded fun, and there was a lot we’d be doing for nine days,” Annabelle said. “I was also curious to see the impact the money from the market had.”

Alexa, who has lived in China and traveled throughout Asia, said, “I really wanted to see Costa Rica and help the children there.”

After the cancelation of the 2020 service trip due to the pandemic, funds raised by Ravenscroft’s third- and fourth-graders were used to purchase five new desks at Escuela Barrueta-Atenas and to provide food to vulnerable families in the Penas Blancas community.

The 2020 service trip was canceled because of COVID-19, but funds raised during the market — which took place just before Ravenscroft pivoted to remote learning on March 16 — were still sent to IACR, which used them to support families unexpectedly experiencing dire circumstances.

“The Penas Blancas community — immigrants from Nicaragua who work in the pineapple and yuca fields — was one of the most affected due to the pandemic, so we thought helping them with food would be the best thing to do with the money,” Odie Calvo, IACR’s Executive Co-Director, explained. “Sixteen families were provided with enough to eat for two months. In addition, we purchased five desks for Escuela Barrueta-Atenas. What a motivation to go back to school!”

Schulze summed up the impact of the partnership this way: “The Costa Rica trip is what IACR’s slogan, ‘Go Global, Be Local,’ is all about. It’s how we change their world, but how they change ours as well.”