The American School of Guatemala is an independent, non profit, non-denominational, college preparatory institution offering an academic program modeled after the education practices and methodologies of the United States. It is founded on the principles of coeducational, bi-cultural (Guatemala-United States), and bilingual (Spanish-English) teaching.
ASG is fully accredited in the U.S. by the New England Association of Colleges and Schools and is recognized by the Guatemalan Ministry of Education as a Laboratory School. As a member of the Del Valle Grupo Educativo, ASG is actively committed to the development of education in Guatemala.[2]/
History
In 1945 a group of parents established the school. On June 10 of that year the first classes began with levels Kindergarten through grade 5. There were 34 students, and first campus was a private residence in Zone 9. The student body increased to 74 by the end of the first school year. By that time, 12 teachers worked at the school. A 1948 presidential decree gave permission for ASG to be an experimental/laboratory school. Later the school gained its first large campus in Zone 14. After a few years ASG moved to Zone 16 where it created the beautiful campus you see today. They had grades from K- 12 and offer scholarships to those who cannot pay.[3]
Accreditation and affiliations
ASG is a member of associations that sponsor activities and provide education services. These organizations are:
Tri-Regional Association of American Schools in Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and Colombia[4]
Association of American Schools of Central America, AASCA[5]
Inter-Regional Center, IRC
Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, ASCD
Association for the Advancement of International Education, AAIE[6]
New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC[7]
Finally, the school maintains relations with the Bucks County Organization for Intercultural Advancement, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. Foreign teachers are contracted by this institution as exchange teachers.