Our Story
Liceo Tecnológico La Montañita also known as The Little Mountain School
In 2015, Fr. Miguel Angel Alvizures Muralles visited several rural communities in his native Guatemala. In El Sacabastal, Buena Vista, and Marillanos he saw that many of the children did not have access to even primary education. High school and college-level education were virtually unavailable. Because most families in these communities are poor, their children also suffer from malnutrition.
Fr. Miguel and Mr. Forrest Day wanted to educate the students in Spanish AND ENGLISH, and provide the students with two meals each day. Their desire was to build a facility that would provide a healthy physical and mental environment for the children.
2017 marked the implementation of this ambitious project. A location was needed that would be convenient for children from all the communities visited by Fr. Miguel. The team decided to locate the school in the village of Joya Honda due to its central location. Two buildings were rented in Joya Honda, one for a study center and one to house the English teacher who would come from the United States. In February 2017, the Guatemalan Educational Outreach Inc. (GEO), a 501c3 non-profit organization was formed, its purpose being to raise the funds necessary to cover the project’s expenses. The organization immediately began fund-raising, mostly in the United States.
Opening the school required negotiations with the Ministry of Education. In 2018, authorization was given for the pre-primary level, and The Little Mountain School opened its doors. In the first year, the school served pre-primary children of 5 and 6 years old and a kindergarten, with classes in both English and Spanish.
The work had only begun! In 2019, a first-grade class was added, and we built a facility to house the school. The new school building contains three classrooms, two girls’ toilets, and two boys’ toilets. In 2020, donations enabled the school to add a second-grade class, build another classroom, and install recreational facilities for the children. The Covid-19 pandemic presented new challenges, but the faculty and staff were committed to serving the students and their families. The school made curriculum packets and food bundles available, and instruction continued online as much as possible. Currently, it is the summer of 2021, and we are eagerly awaiting the end of the pandemic and permission to reopen the doors of the school for in-person instruction.
In late 2021, Fr. Miguel shared his story and his dream with a group of travelers. One of the travelers was moved to donate money to build a new school.
Fr. Miguel had developed plans for a two-story, 10-classroom building with boys’ and girls’ toilets on each floor. Land to build the new school was available just below the existing school. Construction started in early March 2022. Construction costs were higher than expected, and the original donation was not enough to finish the school. A matching donation campaign was started and by the end of 2022, the main portion of the school was completed.
In 2023 a school board, Asociacion Camino a la Montanita (ASCAMON) was created to oversee the school.
In January of 2026, a new school year will begin. The school will have a little over 240 students, PreK to 8th grade.
The goal is to educate students to the 11th grade. A new grade has been added every year. The 2026 school year will start with a new 8th grade. The existing school was designed to house grades pre-K to 6th grade. Currently the only option is to use a large meeting room to house the 7th and 8th grade. When the 2027 school year starts and a 9th grade will be added, there will be no room in the school to house the 9th graders.
An ambitious fundraising program will start in 2026 to provide the funds to build a new school to house grades 7 to 11. The goal is to have the new school built to house the 6th to 9th grade by January 2027.
“Why We’re Called The Little Mountain School”
At first, the name The Little Mountain School might sound simple — even small. But when you stand at the base of a mountain, you realize something important: every great climb begins one step at a time.
In Guatemala, many children are born facing steep paths such as poverty, hunger, and barriers to education that can seem impossible to overcome. But through love, faith, and learning, those mountains begin to shrink.
At The Little Mountain School, we believe no mountain is too high when you start early, walk together, and keep climbing with hope. Education does not erase the mountains; it gives children the strength to climb them.
Guatemalan Educational Outreach, Inc. (GEO, Inc.) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to sustaining this work.
Together with our community in Guatemala and supporters around the world, we’re creating a place where children can learn, grow, and dream — one step at a time.
Thank you for being part of this climb.