School, AEFTS, and COVID-19 Updates

 
 

Due to delays caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-2021 academic year for our Starfish scholars finished at the end of March.

We hosted a year-end celebration to recognize the achievements of our scholars. 12 scholars graduated from high school in March! In addition, 100% of our Starfish scholars stayed in school during the 2020-2021 academic year, despite the challenges of the year. This is truly a testament to hard work and effort that our scholars put into their education!

 
 
 

During a brief “summer vacation” in April, our scholars completed a study packet, a bi-weekly virtual reading club, and other virtual extracurricular clubs (such as painting, crafting, etc.)

Also, as always, our staff was hard at work preparing for the 2021-2022 academic year! The renewal of scholarships took place. We confirmed that 68 scholars will be part of Starfish for the 2021-2022 academic year! Visit our webpage about sponsoring a scholar if you are interested in sponsoring one.

In addition, registration for tutoring for the 2021-2022 academic year was completed. Several more students from the community will join our 68 scholars next school year for tutoring at Starfish! We are pleased to report that all of our students from the 2020-2021 academic year re-enrolled for tutoring, including all of the students who did not apply for, or did not receive, a scholarship. This is our highest retention rate ever! Between the 68 scholars and the additional students, over 100 students will be part of Starfish’s tutoring program in the 2021-2022 academic year.

 
 
gracias.png
 

Also in April, we had the best time celebrating our annual An Evening for the Stars (AEFTS) event towards the end of the month. For the second year in a row, AEFTS was virtual due to COVID-19. Between making drinks; our surprise “birthday cake”; hearing from our Starfish scholar Emily, staff, and volunteers; and playing trivia, the night could not have gone better!

With the support of sponsors, auction donors and bidders, and those who made donations, we raised $55,127 (USD), which will provide over four months of full scholarship, tutoring, and leadership programming for over 100 Starfish scholars!

This night would not have been possible without the support of:

  • The event sponsors;

  • The silent auction item donors;

  • The speakers and hosts;

  • Our AEFTS event planning team;

  • Our volunteers and everyone else who made this event a success; and

  • Our staff and students in Guayaquil, who are the true stars of the evening.

Again, thank you for joining our event and your support!

 
 
 

School and tutoring for the 2021-2022 academic year started on May 10th for our Starfish scholars and students. For the 2021-2022 academic year, students will receive Starfish tutoring twice per week in five different groups virtually, due to COVID-19.

For this academic year, we have two new staff members in Ecuador, both educators! One will focus on math, and the other with a focus on English, both of which are gaps in our current team.

Of note: The Ecuador Ministry of Education is allowing hybrid schooling for this academic year. Parents are allowed to decide whether their children will attend school in person or virtually. This hybrid learning model was piloted in the mountain region of Ecuador during the last few months while they were still in school, since their academic year follows a different schedule than the coastal region of Ecuador, where Starfish is located in Guayaquil. We know from surveying Starfish families that most, if not all, will be keeping their kids home still.

 

May 2021 COVID-19 Update

Last year, we reported that Guayaquil was one of the worst-affected cities in South America by COVID-19. Now, the pandemic is worse in Quito (about seven hours north of Guayaquil, where Starfish is located), where hospitals are filled to their capacity. It is difficult to confirm the accuracy of the official reports of COVID-19 infection rates and other related information. Also, testing is hard to access in impoverished areas such as Flor de Bastión in Guayaquil, where Starfish is located. While mask-wearing is enforced in public, life looks normal in areas like Flor, since people cannot afford to stay home.

In the Starfish community, some have lost family members from other areas of Guayaquil and Ecuador due to COVID-19, and a few have been infected themselves and recovered. The biggest way that COVID-19 has affected families, however, is economically. Many people lost their jobs for long periods of time, most for at least three months. Several Starfish parents work in construction, and since everything has been paralyzed they are only day laborers. Therefore, income has reduced greatly, and it appears that this hardship will not end soon. Vaccines are not yet readily available to most populations in Ecuador, and they may take a long time to reach poorer neighborhoods such as Flor. Thus, many Ecuadorians are still suffering from this pandemic.

As a part of the Starfish family, thank you for all the support you have given us this past year. We truly appreciate it during these difficult times. For those of you who continue to be affected adversely by the pandemic, our hearts are with you as well.

 
Starfish Foundation