Letter from the Springhouse Community

Dear Springhouse community,

My husband, Juan Pablo Cubur, is a facilitator and Springhouse staff member, and our 14-month-old son, Daragh, goes with him to Springhouse three days a week. After we moved to the New River Valley, where I grew up, we weren’t sure what Juan Pablo would do for work. As a chemistry, biology, physics, and math teacher in Guatemala with over nine years of experience, he faced the frustrating bureaucratic barriers of transferring certifications in order to continue his vocation—a challenge shared by so many immigrants. Through a serendipitous meeting at an ESL class, Juan Pablo connected with the Springhouse team and learned they were launching a Spanish-English immersion school. It felt almost too good to be true to stumble into a community so deeply aligned with our values.

Juan Pablo and I are both teachers; we met at the school where we worked together in Guatemala. While education is central to our lives, we know that learning core subjects is not enough. More than ever, we all need to remember our connection to both the earth and to each other. Our family’s experience through the U.S. immigration process has not been easy...