Students and Community Characteristics - Overview

Year to year, the constant in terms of student demographics is the element of ‘change’. Per average, students study at Colegio Maya from 3 to 5 years before moving to another country. The student population turnover is consistent as most students come from families that are posted in Guatemala for governmental, NGO, or multi-national company positions that are subject to short term contracts. Generally, on any given year, the school hosts students from 25-35 different countries. Though, this in itself is a difficult distinction to make as many students have been born in countries other than those of their parents’ nationalities. These “third culture” kids often feel homeless in terms of having a geographic home. Significant percentages of the student body at Maya are the little more than one-third representation by U.S. students, the growing 20% representation by Korean students and the gradual growth in numbers of host country nationals (almost 20%). Consequently, owing to the international flavor of the background of the students, English is not the first language for a majority of the Colegio Maya students. Additionally, given the reputation for its supportive instructional environment, Colegio Maya is often considered by parents with children with various learning needs.

To date, behavior, attendance and discipline have not been issues at Colegio Maya. In fact, the student government council has undertaken the project of looking at establishing a student honor code and court. Last year a survey was given to students and faculty to identify Colegio Maya’s top ten values and the students in elementary, middle school and high school all agreed on the top three: Respect, Honesty and Friendship. The other seven values receiving the highest count by all three student groups as well as the faculty include: Diversity, Sharing, Growth, Integrity, Trust, Unity, and Individuality. These values are actively promoted through our calendar, Daily Bulletin, advisories and general school program and activities.

Community support for the school is offered by the PTA Association. They are active in fund-raising and supporting instructional initiatives for the school. Additional support is provided by the participation of ‘room parents’ at the elementary level. Financially, in addition to regular tuition, Colegio Maya receives a small grant from the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools.