This April, students from Cohasset High School traveled to Los Reyes in Quiché, Guatemala, with School the World, a Boston-based nonprofit that partners with rural communities to strengthen public education systems.
For the students, the trip offered a kind of learning that cannot be taught through textbooks alone. Over April break, Cohasset students stepped into a global classroom, one shaped by side-by-side service, cross-cultural connection, Spanish language immersion, and firsthand conversations about the role education plays in communities around the world.
During the week, students worked alongside local families, educators, and community members to help finish classrooms and build a playground. They also participated in family visits, learned about the Quiché indigenous community, and taught a lesson to Guatemalan students.
The experience reflected Cohasset High School’s Vision of the Graduate: Inspiring Character, Purposeful Growth, and Scholarship Serving the Greater Good. Through the trip, students practiced collaboration, empathy, leadership, respect, work ethic, and global citizenship while contributing to a shared community goal.
“This unique service trip embodies true learning and brings a global citizenship curriculum to life,” said Carolyn Crimmins, English teacher at Cohasset High School, and Karina Nelson, Spanish teacher at Cohasset High School, who served as teacher leaders and chaperones. “Our students stepped outside of their comfort zones, worked side by side with community members, and saw firsthand the power of education and a community’s commitment to its children.”
Cohasset’s involvement with School the World began when students first joined School the World trips independently, then brought that experience back home. Senior Mia Peeples, co-president of the School the World Club at Cohasset High School, first traveled with School the World as a freshman and later helped launch the Cohasset chapter with a classmate. Since then, students, teachers, families, local businesses, and community partners have helped make the trips this year and in 2024 possible through fundraising and support.
“Everything I’ve experienced with School the World has definitely influenced what I want to do in the future,” said Peeples, who has participated in three School the World trips and plans to study history and international studies at the University of Michigan. “Meeting these communities shifted my global perspective, and it made me think about how I want to use my education.”
The Cohasset community has played a central role in sustaining the effort. Students have organized fundraisers with support from teachers, families, local businesses, and Cohasset Recreation, which has helped make community events like babysitting nights possible. Peeples said the support from her teachers and town helped the club grow: “I was just really in on it, and then my town was just really in on it, too.”
School the World’s Student Service Learning Program is designed to be more than a one-week project. Students work alongside community members as part of School the World’s long-term partnership model, which includes school construction, teacher training, parent engagement, libraries, scholarships, and continued educational support.
Families of high school students interested in similar service learning opportunities can learn more about School the World’s upcoming July trips to Honduras and Guatemala at schooltheworld.org.