Educate a Mexican Child Experiencing Poverty

Alejandra León will never forget her first day as a 3rd grader at Christel House Mexico (CHMX). “We were welcomed with a lot of enthusiasm – that made me feel safe and loved.” Growing up at Christel House, Ale received valuable guidance from the College & Careers program. She graduated from CHMX and entered Mexico’s CETIS high school system, earning a technical/professional degree in social work. An internship at Christel House inspired her to teach. But a financial setback put her university plans in jeopardy. A chance to work as a receptionist at CHMX saved her college dreams. She balanced work at Christel House while pursuing her university studies. “The teachers supported me at all times,” she says. Ale impressed the Christel House staff and was offered a job as a teacher’s assistant. Today she has her own class, teaching 2nd grade at Christel House. “I teach the way they taught me – with love, with professionalism and with a vision for the future of the children.”

We’re celebrating remarkable achievements at Christel House Mexico (CHMX). The national PLANEA tests for 9th Grade students show that over 90% of CHMX students are passing in both Math (92%) and Language Arts (97%); and over 60% of our students are scoring in the highest level! The pass rates beat the national average by 57 percentage points in math and 21 percentage points in language arts.  CHMX students also significantly outperformed private schools, with 47% more Christel House students in the top level in math than private schools and 39% more in the top level for language arts. “Our math and language arts curriculum goes beyond what is required by Mexico’s SEP (Secretariat of Public Education),” says Javier Alarcón Benet, CEO of Christel House Mexico. “We have very good, rigorous teachers, working with outstanding students and the results are demonstrated in these outstanding scores.”