I have told you that I live in the DR and work as a fist grade teacher, but there is so much more! Here are three questions for you.
1. Why does Doulos Discovery School exist?
2. Why do I teach at Doulos?
3. Why is your involvement so important?
Why does Doulos Discovery School exist?
Doulos Discovery School is not just an ACSI accredited Christian school and it’s definitely not just an English immersion school in the Caribbean. It is so much more than that and it didn’t take me long to discover how amazing Doulos really is. Here is why!
Doulos was started by Chad and Krista Wallace. They originated from Tyler, TX and moved to the DR to be missionaries over 16 years ago. It wasn’t until they saw the poorness of the educational system in the DR that they decided to start their own school. They wanted it to be a school that would benefit the people of the Dominican Republic and at the same time further the Lord’s kingdom. Doulos Discovery School’s mission statement is to:
“Educate and equip servant leaders through Christian Discipleship and Expeditionary Learning to impact the Dominican Republic”.
Doulos now has 250 students Pre-K3 -12th grade with over 60 Latin American and North American staff. Students graduate from Doulos with an American and Dominican high school diploms as we are also a college prep school.
*How is Doulos’ mission statement implemented daily in the lives of the students you ask?
Through Christian Discipleship and Expeditionary Learning. As a Christian school, Doulos seeks to teach and lead their students through Christian Discipleship by having every lesson biblically integrated. This does not mean, that teachers will limit themselves to simply praying with their class everyday or post Bible verses around their room. It means that teachers will combine academic content with the Christian worldview into every subject. Biblical integration incorporates believing, thinking and doing and teaching each class from the perspective that God is the foundation for all truth. As a staff at Doulos we seek to imitate Christ and we want to teach our students to do the same and help them understand discipleship as a way of life.
Expeditionary Learning(EL) inspires and strives to self-motivates students to take control of their learning while engaging them
holistically through hands-on and project-based expeditions. EL’s instructional practices emphasize student inquiry, critical thinking and craftsmanship. Students engage in original research, create high-quality academic products to share with outside audiences. EL really pushes students to do hard things and learn how to overcome difficult tasks!
Doulos combines Christian discipleship and Expeditionary Learning to teach our students holistically through the lens of Christ’s love. All is motivated by the Christ’s love that we receive as Christians, which is then poured onto our students from our overflow.
In addition, Doulos intentionally enrolls students of mixed economic backgrounds. The reason for this is because Doulos believes that leaders come from mixed backgrounds and they desire to bridge the prejudice gap between social classes. So about 50% of students can afford to pay for their education and the others receive scholarships from families and individuals from the states.
Why do I teach at Doulos?
As a follower of Christ Jesus, my goal is to serve God, fulfill His will for my life and to imitate my Lord and Savior. As a teacher with a passion for little kids, I want to teach my first graders to do the same. Professionally,teaching at Doulos pushes me to be the best teacher that I can be as I teach at an Expeditionary school and 90% of my students are Spanish speaking. I am surrounded by phenomenal staff with the same desires and passions as me, who are able to pour into my life emotionally, spiritually, and professionally.The majority of my students are Dominican and speak Spanish. With a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) Doulos combines my passions and degrees perfectly. I am able to teach elementary aged students and teach them a new language, English. I speak to my students in English and integrate every subject through out the day! What a challenge!!! The bottom line is that I get to pour into the lives of young students DAILY, who are so easily influenced and malleable. I get the opportunity to mold children’s minds and lives and direct them to see the life of Christ and experience His love!!
Why is your involvement so important?
You now know all about Doulos. You know it’s mission statement and how it is implemented through the day. You have also learned about why I am there and my passion for teaching. Now I want to bring YOU into the Doulos picture and tell you why you are so important. As a missionary, I fundraise to work at Doulos so that the cost of education for students is affordable and I ask people to cover my life in prayer as a new wife and new teacher living in a third world country. This is where you come in and without YOU, living and serving in the DR is not possible. You are important because with your support in prayer and financial needs you become the backbone to my ministry and become apart of the body of Christians who are allowing God to use them and make Doulos possible. You are apart of Doulos and my story is also your story as you continually encourage, pray and help provide for my financial needs. How cool is it that you can be apart of something so meaningful and dear to my heart and be so far away? God can use you to impact Doulos and the Dominican Republic and so many of you already have! If you have donated to my ministry, prayed for me, or encouraged me in some way, know that God has used in the DR!
I hope this sheds light on my ministry and explains more in-depth exactly why Doulos exists!! The more I learn about Doulos the more I am inspired and excited to teach as such a school!! I hope this post will help you share in that same excitement!
Team Gerent In The DR 