H.E.M. School has 250 students that come from a variety of backgrounds. Our aim is to provide a quality education and this is obviously reflected in our student body. As a private school, we attract students from many of local families of influence -- doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. We also have students from families that own and operate small local shops, coffee farms, etc. Some of our students are supported through scholarships provided through American donors and the school.

As a result, we have a wide range of economic and social status in our classrooms. This is somewhat of a cultural readjustment that is more common among the various smaller bilingual schools in our country. Why do we make a point of pointing this out? It is because foreign teachers often come to Central America with the mental images created by the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" with kids in rags in awe of the foreigner. In reality, school kids in Honduras are very similar to those in North America -- some love school, others would rather play outdoors.

However, teachers have an opportunity to have a tremendous impact on social development through bilingual schools. Some of the students in our and other bilingual schools in communities throughout Honduras will one day become mayors, members of local, state and national government, etc. The attitudes that we help to form in these students will affect the priorities they place on providing social assistance and infrastructure in communities that have been traditionally marginallized in Honduran society when they are in positions of influence themselves.

At the same time, there are always after-school-hour opportunities in our community for teachers to get involved with local orphanages, youth art centers or other local efforts to invest time directly with those that have the most urgent needs in our region.