Teach English in Honduras (housing, benefits + stipend provided)

There are plenty of places to teach outside the U.S, but very few organizations give you the chance to make the impact of a lifetime. This immersing job opportunity provides a monthly stipend, housing with utilities, transportation, health insurance, and visa renewal trips. This challenging position provides the opportunity to spend a year teaching english to the most at-risk youth in Honduras, with an organization that has been featured on CNN, CNN en Espanol, Larry King Live, and USA Today.

In 2012, One Thousand Schools, formerly known as (Students Helping Honduras) opened the Villa Soleada Bilingual School to provide an excellent education for low income students—including children from a local shanty slum and former street children—in El Progreso, Honduras. With over 270 students from pre-K to 8th grade as of 2018, we have continued to add a new grade every year. In 2018, we broke ground on the high school which opened in 2021 and in 2022 we had our first ever High School Graduation.

We are proud of our rare model where children of very low economic standing can have access to a bilingual education—something that normally only upper class families can afford. Our mission as an organization is to alleviate extreme poverty and violence in Honduras through education and youth empowerment. VSBS is our primary project to fulfill that mission.

Covered Expenses:

In addition to the $450 monthly salary (currency exchange is 24L to $1), OTS covers housing in shared staff apartment, furniture, utilities, high speed internet, classroom materials, health insurance, transportation, and Honduran visa or residency card. Expenses not covered by us include travel to/from Honduras and money for personal travel/amenities.

Housing and Food:

Our volunteers will live in a comfortable staff apartment located in the city center of El Progreso and will be provided with transportation to and from the school in our bus. Wifi is always available in the apartment, in our El Progreso office, and in the school.

Requirements:

Teaching experience and advanced Spanish are both desirable volunteer traits. However, we are most interested in individuals who are flexible, able to deal with significant challenge, and willing to learn along with us.

In the past, most of our volunteers have ranged in age from 21-35 and have come from a variety of professional backgrounds from social work to international development. The most important qualities we look for in our volunteers are a genuine commitment to service and the ability to be a team player. We retain the right to dismiss a volunteer if it is in the best interest of the children or the program.

Timeline:

Teachers will fly to Honduras to begin training in July 2024 and school begins in late August. Date can be discussed with Villa Soleada Bilingual School representative. Volunteers have a winter break where many return to the US for the Holidays. The contract ends July 2024.

General Responsibilities:

Please note that life in Honduras can be unpredictable. Sometimes our teachers are called upon to do things that fall outside the scope of the activities listed here.

1. Facilitate relationships with parents and other community members
2. Lesson-plan (to be done on a weekly basis and submitted for review)
3. Foster a safe and productive classroom environment for students
4. Serve as a Lunch/Recess monitor
5. Support your fellow teachers in school and at home
6. Serve as an ambassador for our organization by helping to spread the word about our work to your families and friends
7. Grade exams
8. Collect performance grades from other teachers and prepare Bimester report cards
9. Fill out hard-copy of grading spreadsheet
10. Fill out the electronic version of grading sheet – kept on a computer accessible for all

Administrative Duties:

1. Maintain attendance records for all students in your homeroom
2. File a copy of your weekly lesson plans on the agreed upon schedule
3. Provide administration with a copy of your weekly class schedule before the week begins
4. Ensure classroom is open and ready for students at beginning of school day
5. Attend all teacher meetings
6. Keep the office informed of any problems (disciplinary or otherwise) you are having with students and any concerns you have about students
7. Keep student files updated
8. Keep the office informed of extended absences of students

Other Optional (But Recommended) Responsibilities:

1. Organize after-school reading workshops
2. Plan field trips
3. Plan and organize extracurricular activities for students
4. Attend Parents’ Association Meetings (at discretion of Administrator)
5. Participate in fundraising efforts to support our program costs

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience living or working abroad highly preferred
• Experience teaching, lesson planning, or supervising children in an education setting
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively
• Ability to adapt to change and be flexible

BENEFITS

Stipend Provided

Training Provided

Housing Available