Santa Emilia has a Primary School that goes through the 6th grade. However, going to High School has been a challenge for young people in Santa Emilia. There was no High School within the community.
Students were either forced to travel by bus into Matagalpa to attend High School classes or pay tuition to attend classes at a private High School. Neither alternative was affordable for most High School age students.
In 2011, JustHope and the project's founding partner, Trinity United Church, Cheney, Kansas, helped the community of Santa Emilia establish its own weekly High School. Since most of the students need to work during the week, the high-school is all day Sunday, which means it can use space at a nearby private technical school rather than needing to build and maintain a separate building.
The JustHope partnership provides the salaries for three of the High School’s six teachers. The government Department of Education in Matagalpa provides the other three teachers. In addition, JustHope donates teacher supply packets at the beginning of the school year, along with computers and school materials when they are available.
The goal is that within five years, the High School will be financially stable and fully supported by the community and government.