SALUDA, S.C. – Sarah Longshore, Saluda High School principal, was selected to participate in a Lifetouch Memory Mission® to build a school in the Dominican Republic January 18 – 26, 2016. As a 2015 finalist for the National Assistant Principal of the Year title, Longshore was chosen to represent the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) out of its 27,000 members worldwide.

 

Fifty-two volunteers, including district administrators, school board members, principals, other educators, and PTA members from across the country worked alongside Lifetouch volunteers and Dominican nationals to build a school for the children and families of a small, mountainous farming community called Rio Grande. Currently, children in the Rio Grande area attend a one-room school for grades one through four. Most do not attend school after the fourth grade; those who continue their education walk more than two miles to a school that houses grades one through eight. There are currently no opportunities for an education beyond the eighth grade. However, the school Memory Mission volunteers helped to build will be a two-story structure, when completed, that will contain first grade through high school.

 

During the trip, volunteers worked on a variety of projects, including building structures with concrete blocks and stuccoing walls. Longshore recalled, “The Dominican construction workers are quite possibly the best teachers I have ever had. Even though we did not speak the same language, they used reinforcement, encouragement, demonstration, and visual cueing to teach me their trade.”

 

While in the Dominican Republic, Longshore had an opportunity to visit with community members, interact with teachers and students, and participate in a day of photography for the students and families in this village – many of whom have never seen a photo of themselves.

 

“I got to experience the wonder a child feels when she sees herself for the very first time. And for most families, this was the first time they had ever been photographed together.”

 

Memory Mission participants also held two-way conversations with their home schools using Google Hangouts On Air. Longshore used this opportunity to speak with Spanish Two students at Saluda High School about the Dominican culture, landscape, opportunities, and cuisine. In addition to hearing about Longshore’s experiences, students were able to see the surroundings and construction site and get answers to their questions in real time.

 

“I am proud that Mrs. Longshore had this opportunity,” said Saluda County Schools superintendent Dr. David Mathis.  “She has a genuine passion and desire to enhance the lives of others. I know she will be long remembered by the families she touched in the Dominican Republic,” he concluded.

Learn more about the Lifetouch Memory Mission here.