A New High School in Chajul, Guatemala
“Colegio Horizontes is allowing girls like us, whose families don’t have money, to follow our dreams.”
– Hermelinda, 9th grader at Colegio Horizontes
A New High School in Chajul, Guatemala
Reshaping the Educational Landscape in Rural Guatemala
In 2022, we witnessed a dream become reality together: Colegio Horizontes, our revolutionary middle school, opened its doors and began to reshape the educational landscape of rural Guatemala. Two-thirds of students are young indigenous women who are now thriving in this beacon of hope, fostering a new era of female empowerment and leadership. As of 2024, the existing Colegio Horizontes middle school is full of 72 students from 7-9th grades. But our vision extends beyond this incredible start and our middle schoolers are eager to continue their studies. The success of Colegio Horizontes has reinforced our passion and commitment to launching a high school that will serve up to 50 high schoolers each year who will graduate with a high school degree that prepares them for a wide range of future careers. This new high school will prepare students to reach their highest potential and use their voice and agency to be civic leaders and advocates for change.
Timeline: Breaking Ground to Graduation
Key milestones in our high school launch
2023
Design & Planning
- Design high school building, begin to develop curriculum
- Break ground for high school foundation
2024
Construction Begins
- Middle school reaches capacity
- Construct high school, hire and train first group of teachers, finish curriculum development
2025
First High School Class
- Complete high school construction
- Our first high school class begins
2026
First Graduating Class
- Middle & high school reaches capacity with ~125 students
- We celebrate our first class of high school graduates who began middle school with us in January 2022
In parallel with construction, we will hire and train high school teachers, with an emphasis on hiring Maya Ixil women, to provide an academic experience that is empowering, physically and emotionally safe, and specifically designed for girls. One of our strategic priorities with our high school expansion is to build the infrastructure for students to pursue professions in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and apply their expertise to solve local challenges relating to agriculture, environmental science, healthcare, and more.
Construction of the new high school began in January 2024 and we are on track to open our doors in January 2025 for the start of Guatemala’s new school year.
Budget & Progress
Total Budget
Funds Raised
%
Budget Breakdown
- Construction 67%
- Teacher Training 11%
- Construction Contingency 8%
- Fundraising 8%
- Equipment, Furniture, Materials 6%
Expansion includes:
- 2 classrooms
- 1 multipurpose room for family meetings and workshops, school assemblies and morning meetings
- 1 fully-equipped laboratory (the first high school science lab in the region!) for science, art, and entrepreneurship courses
- 3 one-to-one mentorship meeting rooms, which will also be used for parent-teacher and family meetings
- 2 large storage closets
- 1 staff bathroom
Join us in creating new pathways through education!
Give by check (to “Limitless Horizons Ixil”, with “school” in the memo) mailed to:
Limitless Horizons Ixil, P.O. Box 3120, Santa Cruz, CA, 95063
Give through your donor-advised fund: search your fund portal for Limitless Horizons Ixil (EIN/Tax ID # 26-4296182).
Please email [email protected] with any questions or for more information about the campaign or other ways to give!
Interested in learning more?
Check out our case for support or take a look at a brief 1-page overview for more information on our high school expansion.
Learn more about giving opportunities and see how far your contribution can go.
Transport yourself to Chajul and tour our new construction or get a glimpse of our middle school in action.
Interested in learning more about Limitless Horizons Ixil? Take a look at our 2-pager with details on all our programs.
Construction Progress
