The dream of opening a school has been part of me since I started teaching.  I hated school so much; it felt oppressive and made me feel small.  I’m sure that being dyslexic in a high achieving family didn’t help. When I became a teacher I wanted to create a space where kids felt safe, accepted and loved. As I worked as a teacher and then later studied education this became my primary focus.

The question was:  How do I create a sense of peace and safety so students can engage in learning in a positive and supportive environment?  It has been a lifelong process of finding this answer, first with children, then young adults and then older adults. I want to create a place where people can escape in learning. Starting with a Saturday reading room and then growing into a space where people come together to learn, to grow, and to be better. A place that is free of judgement and limitations, a space that embraces the individual and helps them find their strength and dream bigger.  

After years of searching for this place I realized it didn’t exist, so it was up to me to create it.  I learned that 50% of Costa Rican’s don't finish High School and no matter how many public and private schools we have locally, there is percentage of kids that fall through the cracks. Without a high school diploma, earning a living wage is impossible in Costa Rica.  The problem is generational.  The children of those 50% who didn’t complete high school have the deck stacked against them from the beginning.  Once they’re teenagers, they often times drop out of high school to go to work to support their families.  The cycle never ends!  At IREN, we have created a plan that can grow into something truly extraordinary, but we need your help.  IREN needs an economic push to get the process rolling and growing on its own.  

We are asking you to help us change the way kids see education, change the way extraordinary kids see themselves and forge a road for locals to be released from the cycle of poverty where they find themselves.  IREN is the hope and a place where we have the tools and resources to make Costa Rican dreams come true.  

IREN offers three educational modalities: 1) alternative full day high school tutoring program for extraordinary students, 2) after school tutoring in the afternoons and 3) adult education in the evenings and on Saturdays. With these three programs we hope to effect students from both local and expat communities, creating a space for these two groups to live and thrive together.

When I started teaching, I had a premise that has always been the cornerstone of my perspective.  The student is always the center of someone's world because they have a potential that is unfathomable.  Each child has the potential to be the cure of the disease of poverty, the solution to peace, or be the future leader we have been waiting for.  Each student at IREN is treated with that potential and that vision.  

Your donation makes a difference!  You can be part of the greatest potential for future change......people!

This initial investment helps up open doors.  We have secured a building but we need furniture, air conditioning and some basic resources.  We will open in October with a Saturday Reading room and our tutoring center open during the day for locals and expats and our evening classes will be focusing on local HS students who are taking their national exams after many interruptions in classes due to national teachers strike.  Help us make this first step!!!