Preschool: Jaxnaq’tzb’il Xnaq’tzb’il Kynab’il Qchman
translation: Teaching the Wisdom of our Ancestors.
Inspired by the world-renowned preschools of the Reggio Emilia philosophy, our preschool is rooted in the Maya Mam culture and emphasizes the development of critical thinking and collaborative work based on the children's interests and provocations set by the teachers. Children learn through investigation and experimentation with each other as well as with the teachers. Parents are required to attend monthly meetings where they learn about nutrition, Mam world view, and good parenting practices. They participate and support the various activities throughout the year. This participation has improved the quality of parenting in the community as well as the parents’ understanding of the purpose and value of education.
The school grew out of the need to care for the children of the women working in our women's businesses and our work to reinvigorate the Mam culture. We opened in May 2012 with 2 teachers, 1 cook, and 8 students between the ages of 2 and 6. The following year we opened it to the community at large, and nowadays the line forms early on enrollment days to be able to enroll their children when the open slots are so few.
In 2024 we had 30 students, 4 teachers, 1 documentalist, a cook and a helper. It is the success of this school along with our Learning Center that has led us to launch a project to build a new community school that will one day provide excellent learning to more than 400 students from preschool through middle school.
