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Why a Junior-Senior High School? Why not an elementary school?
Although the government has worked hard to get primary education in Rwanda close to 95%, secondary school enrollment in Rwanda is only 15%. Rwanda still faces enormous challenges, and secondary schooling is one of the critical needs identified by the government to build a better economic and governing infrastructure.

What is the "focus on sustainability"?
Because Rwanda has significant challenges regarding erosion, population density,
deforestation, and access to electricity and running water, the school will serve as a
role model, using facilities with low impact on the environment while still being cost-
effective in the local context. Along these lines, we are starting to build:

• catchment tanks for rainwater retention
• low-tech, locally built ceramic filtration system for clean water
• graywater recycling (to school garden)
• permaculture school garden, which will make use of complete nutrient
  cycle on-site
• passive lighting design in classrooms
• biogas digester
• solar-powered electricity

As part of the science curriculum, students will be included in the running and maintenance of such systems.

But "sustainability" is also related to our relationships in community. The question "How can we build a healthy life for future generations?" relates to parenting skills, community structures, good governance, ethics, and religious tolerance.

Why not make the school bigger?
We believe that a small, tightly knit community of teachers and students can be more
effective at providing a quality education in terms of academic, moral, physical, and
spiritual development.

What is Expeditionary Learning?
Over 136 schools in the USA are using this excellent model, based on the teachings of Kurt Hahn and the Outward Bound program. An EL school includes:
small adult-student groups of 12-15 called "crew" that meet each day, helping to build strong student-student and student-staff relationships (The idea behind the word Crew is that "we are crew, not passengers, on the ship" and therefore we all have responsibility toward the ship’s successful voyage.)v
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cross-disciplinary "expeditions" outside of regular classwork, which require
problem-solving, individual and group work, rigorous evaluation, and presentation to the community-at-large
•
evaluation of physical health habits such as exercise, diet, mental health, and hygiene (in addition to evaluation of academic skills)
•
appreciation of the natural world and experiences in nature
•
diversity (cultural, economic, religious) that helps students to appreciate a world where people have differences
•
emphasis on social skills (teamwork, leadership, sense of fairness, kindness to others, perseverance, etc.) as part of the school report
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Notes from School
For more on Expeditionary Learning, visit www.elob.org.

Why are classes in English?
Rwanda now has three official languages: Kinyarwanda, French, and English. Rwanda recently joined the East African Community along with Burundi. As Rwanda seeks to build economic partnerships with neighboring Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya and to become more integrated with the global community, English is a critical tool for development. Students will also study French, and international students and teachers will be encouraged to learn Kinyarwanda.

What is your school calendar like?
The Rwandan school year starts in January and there is a long break in July and another in December after exams.

How much does a student's tuition cost for a year of school?
The school runs in three trimesters and it is $400 a trimester or $1,200 a year for a student to attend school. This includes uniform, lunch program, textbooks, and supplies. See our "You can help" page if you'd like to sponsor a needy student or contribute to our scholarship fund.

Funding
Because poverty is one of Rwanda’s greatest challenges and even the most basic fees are beyond many students and their families, it is our strong desire to create an endowment for the school, which will help fund the partial or full tuition of students who otherwise could not attend any school. You can help! Click HERE to find out how.

Partnerships
ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) (www.elca.org) funds and supports the director of the Rwanda School Project as a missionary in education to the Lutheran Church of Rwanda and the Rwamagana Lutheran School.

WheatRidgeLogo200.jpg
Wheat Ridge Ministries (www.wheatridge.org) is providing a three-year grant to the school to help improve nutrition, health and anti-AIDS education, as well as equipment for our kitchen and gardens.

The Koinonia Foundation (www.kfaid.com) is providing our solar power system and related equipment.