Our history

The Network of Independent Spanish Teachers, Inc. was first conceived after I realized that a majority of Spanish teachers working for schools in Guatemala aren't receiving a dignified wage, nor do they have any of the employment protections we have in more developed countries. In some schools their treatment borders on abuse and exploitation. This platform exists to publicize their independent classes and to provide a virtual storage space for their valuable educational resources.

When I first visited Antigua in 2018, I attended a Spanish school for ten weeks and lived on the premises. Honestly, I loved it. I went back to the US for a couple months and then returned to the Spanish school  for an additional ten weeks of study, this time renting a house. I became friends with various instructors at a variety of schools, and they began to share with me the working conditions at not only the school I attended but in many of the other schools as well. Given my life-long career in higher education administration, I was shocked at what I heard.  I asked myself, "How can I help to alleviate the situation?" Ultimately, after exploring several options over a two-year span, the ideas congealed and pointed to a solution that helps the teachers to help themselves.

Our organization seeks to disrupt the Spanish language teaching industry in Antigua, Guatemala by empowering teachers to work for themselves. We are NOT a Spanish school or academy. The participating teachers can charge students less than the better Spanish schools and academies and receive 100% of the proceeds, often 4 to 5 times the wage they earned in a Spanish school. In addition they become their own bosses, deciding when and how they want to teach. Participation in the network is free for the instructors. They are neither our employees nor contractors. 

While helping teachers is our primary concern, our secondary focus is ensuring that participating instructors offer high quality Spanish classes to their students. For this reason we invite only the best and most experienced teachers (each with 10 years or more experience) to participate in our network. We also offer a stable, organized platform for the virtual storage of teaching materials developed by and available to the participating instructors and their students.

Learning to speak Spanish can have life-changing results-- enhancing travel, mental ability, employment, cultural understanding, and social lives. 

Let's make that journey mutually beneficial for both the instructors and students.

John Hunt

President

Photo credit:  https://unsplash.com/@clover98?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Clovis Castaneda</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/guatemala?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>