A History of the Episcopal Schools in the Dominican Republic

by Bob Stevens

Education has historically been a major area of social action for the Dominican Episcopal Church, which has a long tradition of involvement with elementary and secondary education. In the Dominican Republic there are two words for schools: escuela  (the direct translation of the English word "school") is government run and generally of poor quality; and colegio (which comes from the common Latin word from which we get "college") is privately run and offers a better quality education. All Episcopal schools are colegios.

The Dominican Episcopal Church believes a way out of poverty is through the education of the mind. Income from tuitions allows the Episcopal Schools to be self-sufficient: providing for teachers' salaries, upkeep of the school, part of the salary of the priest who serves as the school's rector, and  a quota for the dioceses. Historically, the pattern has been to open a school offering preschool, kindergarten and early primary grades, then as facilities and funds permit, add a grade a year through primary school, and later, through high school.

The first Episcopal school coincided in 1897 with the establishment of Holy Trinity mission in San Pedro de Macoris, when Fr. Benjamin Wilson opened a one-room school. Aside from Holy Trinity, which was closed by the early 1920's, the Dominican Episcopal Church has gone through three distinct periods of educational expansion. The first period was in the 1920's when San Esteban opened its doors in 1922. About the same time, the Episcopal Church assumed operation of two other schools, San Marcos, in Porvenir, and Santa Cruz, in Santa Fe, two sugar mill settlements on the outskirts of San Pedro. These three schools offered primary education, principally in English, and principally to Antillean children.

The second period of expansion began in the mid-1950's during a time of vigorous growth of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic. San Marcos (Haina) was organized in 1955. San Gabriel, in the sugar mill village of Consuelo, followed in 1959. San Andrés (Santo Domingo) and Jesús Nazareno (San Francisco) were both inaugurated in September of 1962.  Although there existed a small English language school in La Romana in the 1920's, it was not formally organized as Todos Los Santos until 1959. Much of the funding for the construction of these school facilities came from the United Thank Offering. This brought the number of Episcopal Schools to seven, for San Marcos (Porvenir) was closed in the 1970's.

The third period of growth began in the mid- to late- 1990's. During this period, existing schools upgraded their educational curriculum to offer computer instruction and internet access, and initiated the scholarship program for needy children.

In the late 1990's the diocese opened several preschools in existing or modified facilities., several of which, over time, have grown to offer early primary education: Centro Buen Pastor (San Pedro de Macoris), El Buen Samaritano (San Francisco de Macoris), Nido de Amor (Puerto Plata), el Niño Jesús (Montellano), Angelitos de Dios (Santo Domingo), and Santiago Apóstol (Angelina).

In addition, the Diocese built the first phase of four completely new multi-story schools, three of them with help from UTO: La Transfiguración, La Anunciación, San José, and San Matías. Phase I of these schools (approximately 4600 ft² ) includes the first story with five classrooms and a laboratory. Phases II and III are the second and third stories respectively, also with five classrooms and a library or computer lab each. The Episcopal schools operate within the very dense urban pattern of the Dominican Republic. This means that compared to the U.S., the schools are located on very small lots. For example, the new La Anunciación church and school is located on a 18,462 ft²  (0.42 acres) and the new Transfiguración church and school is located on 21,517 ft²  (0.49 acres).

The Dominican Church began the scholarship program because many of its students came from poor families. The program has grown until now (2001) over 400 students receive scholarships. From early on it was felt that the families needed to have a financial "investment" in their children's education, and thus the vast majority of the students receive a half-scholarship: in general, as in most cultures, something that is free is not worth as much as something that requires out-of-pocket costs. Only in exceptional cases do students receive a full scholarship. Tuition varies from school to school and city to city, depending, in part, upon the school's socio-economic setting, the student's grade level, etc.

In summary, by 2002 the Episcopal Church operated 17 schools. Its priests serve as rectors of the thriving schools associated with their missions. The Church remains committed to the vision of serving people through providing quality education, which, in turn, assists in the development of the Dominican Republic, and in the propagation of the Good News.